Hydration systems & winter hiking

[Lawn Sale]

Great stuff, definitely.

Never thought of burying water bottles for the return trip, DOH! I always use a Nalgene in the winter.

Warm water in an upside down Nalge inside an insulated cover buried in a pack will still freeze solid in under 6 hours at -35°F.

However, the 1.75 Liter beers we buried in 2' of snow were fine the next morning.

 

[Mark]

As much as I love my Camelback, I never use it in the winter. It's not worth the risk of having the tube or mouth piece freeze up. Even if drained, I've seen ice plugs form that are difficult to clear. If I knew I could keep it completely inside my jacket, I might try it, but I usually hike in just a T-shirt even down to 0F. I go with hot Gatorade (50%) in a Nalgene in an insulated hip carrier. I've had them get a little slushy towards the end of the day when they're almost empty, but never had a freeze up.

Experiment at home with flavors. I tried hot lemon lime once and had trouble choaking down the stuff during the day. I like grape or orange best. I don't know how much the salt and other stuff in the mix lowers the freezing point, but I'd guess that you get a few more degrees of drinkability.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I don't know how much the salt and other stuff in the mix lowers the freezing point, but I'd guess that you get a few more degrees of drinkability.

Maybe one. It has very little effect inlowering the freezing point. A chemist might chime in with the exact amount.

What the 'stuff' in the water does do, is to make freeze 'slushily' rather than with large crystals.

 

[Lawn Sale]

You're right, for every 5 parts per thousand of salinity, the temperature decrease is only 0.5°F, so it's pretty minor.

I can do the math on it if you'd like, relating teaspoons of salt to a Nalgene, but it'll be pretty minor and not really worth pursuing.

 

[Neil]

I usually carry hot Gatorade in the Nalgene bottles in winter. It's not as gross as it sounds.

What seems gross at home is often the best you've ever tasted "out there". Who ever thought Earl Gray tea and maple syrup would be a winner?

Johnnycakes, you make a very convincing case for using a bladder this winter.