Hiking or Mountain Biking? Your cell phone could save your life - Updated

"If you own a cell phone, bring it on every hike. Before you leave, give your phone number and service provider to your check-in contact. Plus, don’t think that a cell phone or GPS is a substitute for a good map and accurate compass. Keep your phone turned off during the hike, but power it up occasionally to check for service (and to drop some digital breadcrumbs). If you become dangerously lost or injured, dial 911 even if you don’t have strong service. For better service, head for higher ground—cell phones operate by line-of-sight radio waves. And finally, just be careful out there."

With more and more mountain bikers going into more and more isolated terrain and track like the Heaphy opening up for cycling (During the winter!), we can expect more people to be getting into trouble in the Great Outdoors.  This article is an interesting explanation about how technology is ahead of how we think cell phones work in "non-service" regions.

In New Zealand, don't dial 911 - dial 111.
Full article here explaining why your phone may save you even when there is no service.

And guess what?  The same day this advice is posted, we get this reported about a mountain biker who had, unbelievably, been attempting a Southern Crossing of the Tararuas:

"On Wednesday, the missing man made contact with us via cellphone. He was in a distressed and hypothermic state, uncertain of his exact location. Due to extremely bad weather conditions, rescuers were unable to be flown to where they suspected the man might be, instead being dropped off in a riverbed some hours away."

Read the news item here.

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Do you have a question?  Email Gary: gary@myotec.co.nz. Include any relevant background information to your question.  Please be patient and be aware that I may not be able to answer every inquiry in detail, depending on workloads (My paying clients take precedence!). I will either reply by email or, most likely, by way of an article (Personal identifying details will be removed before publication).

Did I suffer Heat Stroke or was it Hyponatraemia?

"I went for a 25km walk at the weekend and was badly affected by the heat, after about 15-20km. We were walking across hilltops, in the wind, with little shade. I came down the hill, through the bush, at an early spot and managed to get a bus home.

The symptoms were mental tiredness (I just wanted to sit down, then sleep), a headache, dizzy spells, feeling a bit 'spaced out'. I had drunk most of a Mizone and had drunk plenty of water. In fact, I probably drank too much and had a full feeling in my stomach. I had eaten meusli for breakfast, mueli bar, stuffed potato, a sausage rolls (later two as they had salt).

I felt much like I had when tramping in hot weather overseas a few years back. At the time I had some 'enerlite' re-hydrations salts, but a local prescribed me a salty tomato soup with plenty of garlic with dinner, and that sorted me out.

The previous weekend we had walked further distance, but it was not so hot and I did not feel the same way. Also, the terrain was probably flatter.

I think the problem is lack of salts - I may have sweated a lot out in the hot, windy conditions, and tried to fix it with too much water.

I am concerned this might happen again. Is there a nutritional hint about food I can eat before going out in heat? Is it a matter of drinking more Mizone/Powerade? Do you know if the powdered Powerade as good as the stuff you buy in the shops?"

Tobin
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Gary
Tobin, we will never know for sure whether it was overheating and dehydration (Heat stroke or heat exhaustion) or a case of too much water (Hyponatraemia). The symptoms can be nearly indistinguishable. I am guessing that you suffered the former. It is quite easy to overheat when lugging a back pack up and down hills. The high effort and slow pace do not give much benefit of a self generated breeze and the back pack does not allow the escape of excess heat via the back. Please read these articles about hyponatraemia.

The sure way to find out what is happening during these hikes is to get into the habit of weighing yourself before and after. Record everything you drink. If you suffer these symptoms again and you have gained weight during the hike, then you can assume that your body is excessively hydrated. If you have lost weight then you can work out how much you should be consuming from now on in similar conditions. The best way to do this is to use a set of scales that give you a break down of body composition. Please read this article here about body composition and hydration.

For example, my daughter and I went for a 1hr 40 min run yesterday. She lost 1.2kg (1.2 liters) and I lost 1.8kg (1.8 liters). We drank nothing during the run, so I now know that I need to drink about 1 liter per hour of running in similar circumstances; whereas my daughter can get away with a little less. When we get home, we can weigh ourselves and drink the equivalent to the difference in weight over the next hour or so.

I like to use Schuessler Tissue Salts to replenish the salts lost during intense or prolonged exercise. The brand I stock are the Active Elements brand. Please read these articles here about tissue salt replacement for athletes.

I do not like the pre-made sports drinks. There is nothing healthy about them with their synthetic colourings and flavourings and they tend to be among the most acidic of drinks. For waht they are they are expensive. It makes no sense at all to add more acid to a body that is already struggling to offset acids like lactate. Please read these articles here about acidity and take note of the "Acidity Chart" here.

The ones you make up yourself are better.

But here is an even better option for activities like day long hiking - Balance Ultimate Recovery. It works perfectly as a sports drink and has no artificial colourings or flavourings.

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I need more information about the Super Smoothie for hiking

In Walking NZ Issue 130/2008 your article talks about smoothies during hikes etc. I would like to know more please. My husband and a friend are about to begin the Te Araroa Trail from Cape Reinga. They are in their early 60's and have been training for about 6 months walking 2/3 hours every day in varying terrain.

Question: What are the dry ingredients mixed with and in what proportions. I presume you have a container that it's all put into, shaken and then consumed. I read that smoothies must be used within 20 minutes before they start to lose their goodness. 

Regards Jessie

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Gary:

Jessie This is a quick reply between clients. Here is the recipe for the Super Smoothie which happens to be the most downloaded page on my site: http://blog.garymoller.com/2008/08/super-smoothie-recipe-updated.html 

I have used it with success during hikes, keeping the dry ingredients in a sealed plastic bag and mixing it up with water in a decanter as we go. Of course there are no berries or bananas, oil etc in this one. I use infant formula (minus the melamine!) as the nutritious filler. Works well. 

As of a few months ago, we now have a new option that I am very favourable to. This is the Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack which is a bit like a fruit juice that contains all of the ingredients that I recommend as extras to the Smoothie - plus a lot more. 

Use the Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack when on the road and in the bush and use the Super Smoothie when at home base where you have refrigeration, a blender and all the healthy ingredients, like berries and home made yoghurt. Use the Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack during long hikes, bike rides and runs, either making it up as you go or pre-mixed in your water bottle. 

The Super Smoothie is best consumed right away before the ingredients oxidise.