How much water to you consume on backcountry hunts?

[Loper]

Last week I did my backcountry hunt where I camped instead of staying at a hotel/AirBnB. I calculated that for about every 24 hour period I consumed about 1.5 liters of water. This includes water for dehydrated meals, coffee/tea in the morning and general hydration.

My buddies consumed more water than I did and were surprised how little I consumed.

On average, how much water do you consume in a 24 hour period on a backcountry hunt? How much water to you typically hike in with when you leave the truck? When you need to get more water in the field, do you often fill up to your max capacity, or just enough to get you through the day?

 

[Maverick1]

96-128 oz per day. Some days more, some less. Depends on temperature and activity level. (That includes water used for food - oatmeal, protein powder, etc.)

How much I carry on the hike in depends on the area, how far I’m going, and how much water is around.

When I stop to fill up I usually fill everything. Pumping, filtering, squeezing is kind of a PITA, but so is having to find water.

The comments above are for a bivy style hunt. If I’m hunting from a base camp, or closer to the road, then that changes things a bit since I will most likely have water at base camp or the vehicle.

 

[Poser]

It varies greatly depending on how hot it is. A particular longesh trail I’ve done a number times for access purposes has varies from stopping as many as 3 times to filter water to getting there with half a bottle. Regardless, if you’re putting out hard physical effort throughout the day, I’d venture that 1.5 liters including meal rehydration, is leaving you in a suboptimal state for recovery.

Anyway, as we have a lot of water in the San Juans, I seldom fill up more than 32 oz when on the go. At camp, I’ll fill up 100 oz for dinner, breakfast, coffee and rehydration. Summer time might be ~200 oz a day total. Winter time night be more like 100-130 oz.

You should really be drinking more water.

 

[Spoonman]

100oz at a minimum for me.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I use Nalgene bottles and when in the high country in Septmember I am usually drinking at a minimum 4 nalgenes a day (128oz.) counting dehydrated meals, etc. If it’s hot or I’m exerting myself a bunch with elevation gain/loss, I’ll typically drink more. Exerting yourself at high elevation (Colorado) is not the place to be skimping on water. Some guys really know their bodies well and know exactly where that limit is. If you don’t know that then you should be drinking as much water as you can. Hitting that wall because you are dehydrated or lacking calories can get you in trouble fast in the high country.


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[grfox92]

I require a minimum of a gallon a day. That includes water for oatmeal and ramen and coffee.

Hot days on my antelope hunt I could have used way more then a gallon and wound up running out of 100 ounces of water at about 2 pm.

If it's cold I could get away with drinking much less water, but I strongly feel it negatively affects physical performance.

I'm looking for the perfect system to carry a full gallon. I currently use 2 50 oz smart water bottles, and I try to chug water before I leave to truck.

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[Blackdog317]

I will use 4 - 5 liters per day on a backcountry hunt. The amount I carry from camp depends on the conditions and how far we have to go before crossing a water source. I will usually fill up everything when filtering new water, unless there is a good reason not to.

 

[cmahoney]

4 liters a day


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[schmalzy]

5 liters minimum while actively hiking/hunting with another 1-2 at camp.Most of my hunts have been in hotter weather, and I tend to drink a lot of water daily anyways.


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[CApighunter]

Depends on temps and exertion level, but usually about 4L. I always carry an extra 2L dirty bag I can fill for reserves if needed.

 

[Huntin_GI]

Not sure if you ended up packing meat out but I always regret not having drank more water in the days leading up to a pack day. I think I should drink around 128oz daily but don’t usually get there. Come packing day I hate myself.

 

[GotDraw?]

First- your question is poorly framed. Tightly framed questions get accurate answers:

What altitude, what temp? How heavy a backpack? How much hiking per day? You atv hunting?

You were drinking the normal amount of water a person should have just sitting on couch at home all day.

If you were hunting hard, then you had to be getting dehydrated w/o knowing it. Being only a little dehydrated lowers your strength output by 20% on a hunt, so you need to be aware of this.

Drinking water can be boring for some folks, if it is for you, then get a Nalgene and add powdered lemon flavor or tablets to the water to make it more interesting.

Me-- 2.5 to 3 liters minimum carrying a 30-45lb pack in 35deg-70deg CO archery weather in steep terrain-- not including water to rehydrate meals. This is for a typical 4 mile day side hilling and dealing w/deadfall and scarce game trails.

If hot out (over 75 degrees) and high exertion, like climbing up 4,500' elevation from the road w/a pack, then 4l or more. If cold and not moving much- 2 liters.

No matter how you slice it, you're drinking too little unless you're truck/atv hunting in cool weather.

JL

 

[MT_Wyatt]

3L

 

[5MilesBack]

I calculated that for about every 24 hour period I consumed about 1.5 liters of water.

The standard recommendation for water consumption even sitting on the couch all day at home is 1/2 your body weight in ounces (200lbs = 100oz water/day). So unless you only weigh 100lbs, 1.5L (~50oz) isn't even enough water for a day at home.

Add in higher altitude and exertion and water intake should go way up. An average day while elk hunting during September for me is about 160-200oz........~5-6L. But I sweat a LOT while elk hunting. And 35-40oz of that total is just coffee.

 

[fatlander]

As much as I need. Sitting on a knob glassing all day is a lot different than dogging an elk herd across steep country.


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[mstei4]

I don’t know how you do it, I’m about 1.5 liters into the day about 2 hours after waking yup

 

[Gatorgrizz27]

6-7L a day, I carry 4 in my pack and drink at least a liter in the morning and evening at camp.

I live and work in a hot/humid climate, so my body seems to be used to that intake level. When it’s hot here I might drink 2 gallons a day.

 

[Loper]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I was consistently sipping from my water bladder but never took more than a sip or two at once because I didn’t want to run out too quickly and have to find a water source. It turned out that my buddies consumed more and ran out quicker.

I guess I need to consume more water through out the day to hydrate. I got a headache and didn’t have an appetite the first day, but I assumed it was due to the elevation as I’m a flat lander and went from sea level to about 8K feet in less than 24 hours.

 

[VinoVino]

My last hunt, I drank about 1 liter hiking 8.5 miles, then another liter while butchering and hauling meat 1.75 miles to the car. Really wished I had another liter, at least, as my calves were cramping up pretty badly on the last 1.5 miles hiking out. I’ll be sure yo bring more on my next excursion.

That doesn’t count the two cups of coffee before heading out on the trails.

If you’re just hiking, 1.5 L might be enough. But if you’re carrying anything heavy up any elevation, or have the potential to do so, I would recommend bringing more water or have somewhere you can collect more.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Last week I did my backcountry hunt where I camped instead of staying at a hotel/AirBnB. I calculated that for about every 24 hour period I consumed about 1.5 liters of water. This includes water for dehydrated meals, coffee/tea in the morning and general hydration.

My buddies consumed more water than I did and were surprised how little I consumed.

On average, how much water do you consume in a 24 hour period on a backcountry hunt? How much water to you typically hike in with when you leave the truck? When you need to get more water in the field, do you often fill up to your max capacity, or just enough to get you through the day?

5-6L per day. But I don't have a colon, so I need to be extra careful to stay hydrated.