My summers growing up were full of camp. Cub Scouts starting when I was six, Boy Scout camp every year after that, and plenty of other camps in between, week after week spent outside in the worst heat of the year. That is most of my childhood, really, learning to beat the heat and live in weather that settles in and does not let up. Do enough summers like that and you stop fighting the heat and start working with it. You learn the tricks, and most of them are simpler than people expect.
This is not medical advice, and I am not going to pretend it is. If someone is genuinely in trouble out there, the move is to call 911 or your local emergency services and get real help on the way. What follows is just the practical stuff, the habits that keep an ordinary hot day from turning into a miserable one.
Hide From the Sun
The single biggest thing I learned is that you do not have to be in the sun to be outside. Shade is your best friend, and you should treat it like a resource you are always looking for. Find the tree, the canopy, the shadow of a rock wall, the porch, whatever is around. Plan your day so that when the sun is at its worst, you are not standing directly under it.
The same goes for what you wear. Light colors, a brimmed hat, long sleeves that are loose and breathable, sunglasses. It sounds backwards to cover up when it is hot, but keeping the sun off your skin makes a real difference over the course of a long day. Sunscreen on whatever is left exposed, and reapply it more often than you think you need to.
You can also use your clothing to actually cool yourself down. Soak a bandana in cold water and tie it around your neck, or fill your hat with water or a little ice and put it right back on your head. There are cooling scarves and towels made for exactly this that you wet down and drape around your neck, and they work well. Anything wet against your skin in dry heat pulls warmth off you as it evaporates, and on a hot day that small bit of relief goes a long way.
Time Your Day Around the Heat
The middle of the afternoon is not when you want to be working hard. If you are hiking, start early, as early as you can stand. Get your miles in during the cool of the morning, take the worst of the afternoon slow and in the shade, and save the evening for moving again once it backs off.
This is the rhythm the desert teaches you, and it works anywhere it gets hot. Front-load the hard stuff. Rest in the heat. The day goes a lot better when you stop trying to push through the hottest hours and just plan around them instead. Half the battle to beat the heat is simply not being out in the worst of it.
Drink Cold Drinks and Keep Them Cold
Water is obvious, but cold water is the part people skip. A cold drink does more than a warm one, both for actually cooling you down and for making you want to keep drinking. Freeze a bottle or two overnight and let them melt through the day. Pack a small cooler for the car. Whatever it takes to have something cold when the afternoon hits.
Keep sipping before you feel like you need it, and mix in something with electrolytes if you are sweating hard for hours. The goal is to stay ahead of it, not to catch up once you already feel rough.
Put the Swimming in the Hottest Part of the Day
Here is the best trick I ever learned, and it is the most fun one. If there is water around, schedule your swim for the hottest part of the afternoon. That is exactly when you want to be in a lake or a river or a pool instead of baking on a trail.
That is exactly how camp was structured, and for good reason. Mornings for the activities and the work, then the heat of the afternoon spent in the water where nobody minds how hot it is. Even on a road trip or a regular camping weekend, lining up the swimming, the creek wading, the splash in the lake, with the peak of the heat turns the worst part of the day into the best part of it.
Know When to Stop and Beat the Heat the Smart Way
The last thing, and the most important, is being willing to back off. I have pushed too hard on a long hot trail more than once, and the smart move every time was to stop, get to shade, cool down, and let everybody catch their breath before going on. There is no prize for powering through the heat, and ignoring how you or someone in your group is feeling is how a good day goes sideways.
If it ever moves past tired and uncomfortable into something that worries you, do not try to tough it out or handle it yourself. Get to a cooler place and call for help. The trail and the trip will still be there. The best way to beat the heat is really just respecting it, planning around it, and knowing when to get out of it.
If hot weather is on your mind, I have written more on the subject worth a look. Reading the Sky covers spotting dangerous weather before it finds you, and Sun Safety gets into protecting your skin on the trail. For the times the heat gets the better of someone, spotting and treating mild dehydration and how to spot and treat heat exhaustion are both worth knowing before you head out. And if the desert is calling, my desert hiking tips cover what I learned on the trails around Tucson. When in doubt, the National Weather Service has solid plain guidance on hot weather too.
What is your go-to trick for staying comfortable when it is really hot out?
