When on a camping trip, many campers forget how important it is to stay hydrated in an environment that your body is not used to. Here are our top 5 best ways to keep you hydrated on a camping trip.
Top 5 Best Ways to Stay Hydrated
1. Camel backpack
If you’re going to be hiking, walking, cycling or doing just about anything that involves you exercising outside, the simple way to keep water on you without having to lug a clunky water bottle around with you is to turn yourself into a human camel. Fella’s, I introduce to you, the camel back! Fill the backpack with water, sling it on your back and you’re ready to go. The straw-like tube attached to the back pack means you can sip-sip-sip away whenever your tongue needs a bath.
Photo by Cape Union Mart
2. Eat Your Water
Fruit and veggies are a great source of water, so when you’re on a camping trip pack fruit and vegetables like melon, tomato, cucumber and watermelon. Yes, watermelon is actually a vegetable. Who knew?
Fruit and veg aren’t the only food that supply a good source of water, some meat even contains about 60% water! Chicken is great for a chow-down hydration session.
Photo by Irum Shahid
3. Sunscreen
Keep your skin hydrated and protected from the big ball of fire in the sky. Africa’s sun is a scorcher and if you don’t balance the application of sunscreen with drinking water you’ll wake up with sun stroke and a terrible sunglasses tan/burn.
Photo by Osseous
4. Frozen Juices
These are fun and great for kids of all ages (aka: adults too). Take six small fruit juiceboxes and freeze them. The sugar content in the juice means that the 250ml of juice doesn’t freeze completely solid but does make for a delicious crunchy ice-lolly that is loaded with vitamins, minerals and hydrating goodness.
Photo by Steven Depolo
5. Drink. Drink. Drink.
Why wait to hydrate your body only when it really needs it? As they say: prevention is better than cure! Drinking water in the morning will prepare your body for a day of exploring and give you the boost you need at the beginning of that hike.
Water is best. Sodas, iced tea, coffee, and sports drinks that contain caffeine fall short of good old-fashioned water. Sure, drinks which contain caffeine give you an extra boost but they act as diuretics, which means that even though you’re getting water, you’re also pulling a little extra fluid from your body because of the caffeine content.
Photo by Christian Kitazume
Remember, when camping, stay hydrated, and if you experience thirst, loss of appetite, dry skin, skin flushing, dark coloured urine, dry mouth, fatigue or weakness, chills or head rushes you may be experiencing dehydration and need to get give your body the nutrients and hydration it needs to get you back to ‘happy camper’ status.
Now that you know how to keep hydrated on a camping trip, its time to pick your adventure…
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