Favorite Mountain Climbing Beverage

[Gray Ghost]

Just wondering if people would like to share their favorite trail beverages, specifically with High Peaks-type hiking in mind. During the summer I usually freeze water with some sliced lemons. As the day progresses, I have a cold, lightly flavored drink. This winter I have gone to gatorade and have found I feel more energized. Just looking for some other things to try. -GG

[Boreal Chickadee]

diluted gatorade for long hikes-makes a big difference for me when you're going 10-12 or 16 miles
i carry powder in baggies
always carry plain water also-you never know when you might need plain water for an eye wash or wound wash

(one finger typing stinks especially when 12 letter labels on your keyboard are entirely gone)

[Kevin]

diluted gatorade for long hikes-makes a big difference for me when you're going 10-12 or 16 miles
i carry powder in baggies
always carry plain water also-you never know when you might need plain water for an eye wash or wound wash

Ditto

[Head]

diluted gatorade for long hikes-makes a big difference for me when you're going 10-12 or 16 miles
i carry powder in baggies
always carry plain water also-you never know when you might need plain water for an eye wash or wound wash

(one finger typing stinks especially when 12 letter labels on your keyboard are entirely gone)

Ditto Ditto....Also like a nice cold one on the summit

[windsong781]

Ditto on the diluted gatorade. Having hiked with and without, the gatorade makes a big difference in preventing an electrolite inbalance. I never hike with just plain water anymore, even if it is a short hike.
Windsong

[NicksMaint]

This may be a little wierd but...

For a few years I have been packing (not all the time but off/on) a mixture of water, apple cider vinegar and honey. It tastes good anywhere's from almost frozen to heated like tea. You can pack the ingredients, as neither honey nor the vinegar need refrigeration. Getting the measurements down to your liking takes some experimentation. On a long trip I also pack some Gatorade powder for some variety. The only caveat is that you need to use quality vinegar, the cheap stuff just does not cut it.

[Wldrns]

Ditto on the diluted gatorade.

The same applies for marathon canoe racing. Thats what I drink on the ADK 90 miler. Lots of it, 30-50% concentration. Can't stand the blue stuff tho.

[Rivet]

On longish hikes, I like to drink Mountain Dew at the midway point. The sugar and caffeine give me a boost. (No, this is not an advertisement for Pepsi company)

[Edelweiss]

diluted gatorade for long hikes-makes a big difference for me when you're going 10-12 or 16 miles

I agree that gatorade works well, particularly on long hikes, but I have never diluted it. I was under the impression that, to get full benefit of the carbs, potassium and salt, you should prepare it as the directions suggest. True, it's quite sweet. For that reason I will also carry and alternately drink plain water.

[Boreal Chickadee]

A few years back some sports medical research found that a perfect mix would be:

1 Tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate (about 30 ml)
7 1/2 ounces of water

I unfortunately only copied the recipe from the article and not the citation.

I do remember the article basically saying unless you're in a triatholon a diluted mix of gatorade etc would be best for overall continous drinking. I frequently take small drinks even with a bottle, not a camelback. I use old gatorade bottles because I can drink while I'm walking or just a mere pause with the smaller opening.

What I do is make the mix according to how I feel. There are times in a hike I'll make the mix stronger. I just listen to my body complain.

Now my teenage son wants his only full strength.

Also for those of us who deal with hypoglycemia, a diluted mix sipped on a more continous basis is much healthier for our bodies to deal with.

[Edelweiss]

Thanks Judy-
That makes a lot of sense. I like to take small, frequent sips of water from my Platypus (not in winter, or course) interspersed with sips of gatorade which I put in a Nalgene bottle. I'm going to try the diluted mixture and see how it effects my energy levels.
Joanne

[Boreal Chickadee]

Joanne-
So what youre doing is essentially the same as a diluted mix.
I don't have any of the water bladders. Here's a question for you: Do you ever put sugary drinks in the baldder? I'm thinking it just seems like a breeding ground for yeasts and molds. I see some have big wide openings but are they really completely cleanable? I'm pretty fanatical about my gatorade bottles and run them thorugh the dishwasher after every hike.

[Dick]

Of course the Gatorade people tell you you shouldn't dilute it - they want you to drink more Gatorade. However, I don't know what the optimum amount really is.

I thought these might help the discussion:

http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/drinks.htm

http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=6677

http://www.gatorade.com/home/index.php

http://www.atg.wa.gov/teenconsumer/pages/healthandsafety/sportsdrinks.htm

(I intentionally included a commercial site for comparison)

One confusion appears to be the difference between energy drinks and hydration drinks.

On another website someone mentioned that, in small amounts, sugar aids the absorption of water, but that too much actually has the opposite effect.

Dick

[Gray Ghost]

Judy - So the recipe you listed is actually used to dilute gatorade? Sorry if I seem a little lost here....or maybe that is another recipe altogether. It sounds good either way. I also had the same reservations about camelpacks, but there are kits you can buy to clean them--the tube included. I think they do a pretty thorough job. I have wondered though if drinking too much--which I believe has happened when using my camelpack--can actually be a negative. On Winter hikes I've found that I drink far less...whether it's a seasonal thing (certainly probable) or due to the fact that I don't use my camelpack in Winter, I'm just not sure. -Kyle

[Edelweiss]

Joanne-
Here's a question for you: Do you ever put sugary drinks in the baldder? I'm thinking it just seems like a breeding ground for yeasts and molds. I see some have big wide openings but are they really completely cleanable? I'm pretty fanatical about my gatorade bottles and run them thorugh the dishwasher after every hike.

Judy-
I don't put gatorade or any other sweet drink in my bladder for the very reasons you have mentioned, although I've hiked with people who do and say they are able to rinse and reuse the bladder with no ill effects. My bladder has a narrow mouth so is more difficult to clean and then there is the issue of cleaning the hose ..... very difficult. The Nalgenes, on the other hand, after they come out of the dishwasher, are sanitary with no lingering gatorade smell.