How much water to you consume on backcountry hunts?

[AZGUY]

This is in AZ on 70-85 degree hunts but I won’t leave camp without 7 liters in my pack and usually end up consuming 5-6 by the end of the day.

 

[Pdzoller]

Not sure if somebody already mentioned this but don’t forget your electrolytes.

I try to drink about 100 ounces per day not including my food. Spending most my time in the Cascades, water isn’t hard to find. I usually take about 32 ounces and a filter with a two liter water skin. Situations will be very different in other places. Obviously only taking 32 ounces, a filter and empty water skin with hopes of finding water randomly in a desert region is dangerous.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

This is a great topic. Lots of variables (gender, height, mass, environment, exertion, etc).

HONESTLY...the best recommendation is to keep your urine LIGHT LIGHT yellow color.

If your urine is clear you have the tipped the scales and are over hydrated which is not harmful (in general). However, it's not necessary and you will pee more and if you're rationing your water it is wasteful.

If your urine is moderately yellow you are under hydrated but not significantly so. When I see this color it's a reminder to push fluids and get the color back to light yellow. Not emergent but you want to get fluids on board sooner than later.

If your urine is dark yellow/amber you're definitely dry and need to push fluids asap. If this were me I would push 1 L. After 30-60 minutes reassess urine color and push another 0.5-1.0 L if needed. This will likely get your urine color back where you need it. If not, push another 0.5-1.0 L and reassess in 30-60 minutes. Keep repeating until your urine is LIGHT yellow.

For me, that can range from 1.5-3 L per day depending upon exertion. I hunt Idaho in Oct/Nov so my needs are much less than those hunting in hotter climates.

I over hydrate before I leave the truck. I stay in the back country so I'm not coming back that night. I will usually drink 1.5-2 L before I head up the trail. For my hike in and the rest of day 1 this helps immensely.

 

[BDWMT]

It seems I need more water the older I get. Cramps have become a huge risk for me in the mountains so I pack 3 nalgenes with hydration supplements. Most days I pack water back to the trailhead but that’s better than the alternative of running out and locking up with cramps.

 

[Pdzoller]

Something to keep in mind, coffee is a diuretic and dehydrates.

 

[dtrkyman]

No idea but not enough, I have to make sure I drink, get sick of water and bring some flavored packets, just tried liquid IV, not bad.

Basically try and down a bunch of water before I head out in the AM. start off hydrated goes a long way!

 

[Simon1523]

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?

Body weight divided by 2 in oz min
Count for more depending on weather and meal needs

 

[S.Clancy]

November mule deer in MT- 3 liters
August mule deer in NV - infinite. We packed a gallon a day up to camp. Our resupply date I was so dehydrated I could barely hike. NV in August is crazy

 

[EdP]

Here in the mtns of sw Va at 5000 ft elevation it's 2 to 2 1/2 liters a day when hunting from a camp I've backpacked in. I don't use a lot during the day while hunting away from camp and often only take one 1/2 liter bottle with me. The weather is usually between 25 and 45F and I'm moving slowly so I'm not sweating. Water is heavy so I go light during the day but make a point to rehydrate well when back at camp. I'll down a second 1/2 liter in a short time after getting back to camp, add extra water to the pot when making supper, drink some over the evening and another 1/2 liter over night.

When I go for a day hike of 12-15 miles in the same area during warmer weather I'll take 2 liters and use all of it, sometimes refilling a bottle.

 

[sILlogger]

.75-1 oz per lb of body weight per day is what i shoot for. Regardless of at home or on the mountain

 

[Dos Perros]

I can get by on 2 liters or less in a day, all things depending of course. I tend to hunt drier more arid spots, I'm not really sure why, am just sort of drawn to that kind of country. When we hit water though, I might jam in a full liter or more right there, taking consumption for that day up by a liter or more, so it probably averages out to be higher than 2 liters a day.

Last fall a buddy and I packed 6 miles into a grizzly bear infested wilderness area, and we were counting on a bunch of springs dotted on the map along this ridgeline. They were all dry, at least upon initial inspection. As the sun was dipping behind the mountain that evening we were setting up tripods to glass and a bull bugled just a few hundred yards away, and it was clear he was going to feed into this face we were over. I was so thirsty and physically wrecked I remember praying to God my friend wouldn't kill that bull (a raghorn).

The next morning we were forced to drink from a wallow.

It wasn't too bad.

I hope to never to it again, tho.

 

[*zap*]

Being thirsty and not having water sucks.....hydration is important also so same amount as normal.