Working In Hell

Frax

Frax

Participating member
Location
Expat now in Chapel Hill, NC by way of Calgary, Al
OK. That's an exaggeration, but the Southern summer is still something to be reckoned with.
I've concluded after 4 years here and the previous balance of my life in the cold white north that although working in extreme cold is even more unpleasant and painful than the extreme heat; the heat is nevertheless the more dangerous of the extremes.
The cold will eventually chase you indoors unless you're an idiot, but the heat can damage you before you know it. Plus, it messes with the brain, making a serious error possible.
What are your strategies?
 
No surprise...staying hydrated.

Start the day with coffee...i never worry about the diuretic aspects of coffee...I just drink another cup! Juice...yogurt...juicy fruits to start the day.

Too much water bloats me and I can't drink enough. What I found was to get plain powdered ice tea...not with sugar...mix a gallon and dump in about a third of a cup of lemon or lime concentrate. Freeze 3 qt jugs half way with this and the rest goes in fridge. in the morning I top off frozen jugs with fridge ice tea. They go in a soft cooler filled with many qts. of frozen water. Food in another cooler.

3 qt. Camelback full of plain water if I'm climbing.

I monitor my blood thick/thinness the same as in the winter. Pinch and finger tip, not hard, and wait for capillary refill. I say "Capillary Refill" out loud. If my nailbed isn't pink and filled I know I need water. That came from a wilderness first responder class and it has served me well winter and summer.

Monitor each other. Pay attention to moods. Someone who chatters and gives a long answer to a question might get short and snippy.

Keep the food coming. It's really hard to eat when its hot and working hard.

My brother told me that he bought a flat of V8 and another of coconut water. His whole crew said that they felt a LOT better mixing them with water during the day.
 
I can drink plenty of water, but if I am not getting enough electrolytes, then I can get sick. Also I bring a wide brim hat for times when a helmet is not necessary, like when it's clean up time.
 
I drink a Gatorade on the way to work, then drink water as much and as often as I can. I occasionally drink Gatorade during the day to, to rebuild electrolytes. I lived here for 29 years, then moved to MN for two years and now back in NC. It's HOT after being in the tundra, but water water water....
 
Some cool, or should I say cooling strategies so far. I seem to tolerate the heat well enough as far as comfort goes, but I've noticed muddled thoughts from time to time near the end of a day which freaks me out a bit. I might try dumping water on my stupid brain. That sounds good.

I've done four things this summer that I think make a huge difference lately but I haven't done them long enough to know if it's statistically significant.

I've made my own energy drink with 1/2 tsp salt, 2. squeezed lemons and 2 limes and a couple teaspoons of sugar in 24 oz water. Might be psychological, but it feels better than Gatorade.

Also, I've made fridge pickles to snack on. Kind of the same as making canned dills but storing them in the fridge instead of processing them. They last for a month or two. Like a milder form of pickle.

My aunt made me a knitted thing from cotton yarn that I can fasten around my neck. Dunk it in ice water from the cooler and wrap around the neck. I was skeptical, but it really does work.

Fruit smoothie for breakfast.
 
@Frax, Coolvest, maybe. A bit of trouble to set up for every day, but those who use them, swear by them.

http://coolvest.com/

Also, something that was recommended to me to prevent bad muscle cramping I get after sweating all day in a tree is drinking a couple of bottles of Pedialyte each day you're climbing. I buy the house brand stuff that sits next to the name brand stuff in the baby care section of most grocery stores. Pedialyte is intended for use when babies get dehydrated due to illness.

I had severe muscle cramping, mostly at night, but sometimes before I even made it home at the end of a day. Pedialyte or its substitute plus a few bananas after a climbing day almost completely eliminated any symptoms of cramping. I can't help but think that it might provide some assistance with mental acuity, also. I refrigerate a couple of bottles and have them hanging off of a small haul line, which I usually pull up into the crown of the tree once I've finished my initial ascent. Great stuff, and tastes great, too.

Tim
 
I've got a good trick from college soccer two-or-sometimes-three-a-days preseason training in August in NC.
If you start feeling too hot splash water on a few joint-pits around your body...inside of elbows, back of knees, armpits, neck, lower back. You'd be surprised how quick you can get your core temp down like that.
works best with a sideline squirt bottle and cold water but any water will do.
 
Frax said:
Some cool, or should I say cooling strategies so far. I seem to tolerate the heat well enough as far as comfort goes, but I've noticed muddled thoughts from time to time near the end of a day which freaks me out a bit. I might try dumping water on my stupid brain. That sounds good.

I've done four things this summer that I think make a huge difference lately but I haven't done them long enough to know if it's statistically significant.

I've made my own energy drink with 1/2 tsp salt, 2. squeezed lemons and 2 limes and a couple teaspoons of sugar in 24 oz water. Might be psychological, but it feels better than Gatorade.

Also, I've made fridge pickles to snack on. Kind of the same as making canned dills but storing them in the fridge instead of processing them. They last for a month or two. Like a milder form of pickle.

My aunt made me a knitted thing from cotton yarn that I can fasten around my neck. Dunk it in ice water from the cooler and wrap around the neck. I was skeptical, but it really does work.

Fruit smoothie for breakfast.
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For your energy drinks you might want to cut back a little on the salt, and maybe the sugar. Salt especially will dehydrate you and sugar really isn't good for you. Clean water is key and lots of it. The more you can sweat out the better. This is how the body lowers it's core temp normally. Stay hydrated and stay safe.
 
All BS aside, some good tips in here: Bananas and anything high in potassium (spinach anyone?) helps with cramps-Tim was dead on with the pediayte-Walgreens carries a powder form to mix with water on the jobsite. That sh*t will bring you back from death's door I swear (good for hangovers too!) -to cool your core COOL YOUR EXTREMITIES too cool too fast is no bueno- pickle juice seems to help with cramps too. I shoot some apple cider vinegar in the morning and chase it with pickle juice (keeps me from making that vomit face from the vinegar) and it seems to help too. I sweat like a whore in church, so I have to make sure I watch my intake of sugar/salt or else I'll get kidney stones (those are poop) so Craig was dead on with that. Don't worry Frax, soon your Yankee blood will leave your body and the Southern heat will be nothing.......Now the gnats, mosquitoes and ticks.....those just suck!wp_ss_20160715_0002.webp
 
Treetopflyer said:
Wouldn't git so gat dumb hott if y'alld start preservin inteada slayin out soo many gat danged ol Trees I tell ya:llorando:
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No sh*t.
With all the amazing and huge trees here, you'd think we'd get more pruning to do.
But no. Huge trees of diverse species grow here all by themselves all over the place. People only want them looked at in terms of hazards. Pruning is usually hazard dead wood.
I get to the point where even pruning a crape to make it look pretty again is a rare treat.
 
Tropical heat is sure different.....Nora...breezes flowing most days.. heat never bothers me...I only drink water all day long....eat lunch sometimes but nothing heavy...for me my body is just built for heat...I am mixed race so my skin tolerates sun easy....always has....but there is truly nothing that beats water....lots of water like in the foreground....2016-07-17 09.47.16.webp
 
swingdude said:
Tropical heat is sure different.....Nora...breezes flowing most days.. heat never bothers me...I only drink water all day long....eat lunch sometimes but nothing heavy...for me my body is just built for heat...I am mixed race so my skin tolerates sun easy....always has....but there is truly nothing that beats water....lots of water like in the foreground....View attachment 38789
Click to expand...
Swing .... we are all ultimately a mixed race.
 
Treetopflyer said:
Wouldn't git so gat dumb hott if y'alld start preservin inteada slayin out soo many gat danged ol Trees I tell ya:llorando:
Click to expand...
That is the most interesting thing I have found about the south. People are more interested in their heads than having shade from trees. I just don't get it. My neighbor is anal about his grass, doesn't have a tree on 3/4 of his lot and cuts his grass at night wearing a tikka headlamp.
 
oldoakman said:
That is the most interesting thing I have found about the south. People are more interested in their heads than having shade from trees. I just don't get it. My neighbor is anal about his grass, doesn't have a tree on 3/4 of his lot and cuts his grass at night wearing a tikka headlamp.
Click to expand...
I think trees are just too ordinary here. It's the default vegetation.
Virtually any of the trees I climb here routinely would be a big gigantic deal in Calgary. We'd all fight over who got to climb it. Back there people are really protective of their trees since most of them are planted. We did a lot of pruning.
Spruce is the exception. Could remove one of those in my sleep.
 
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