# Beating the heat!



## capetrees (Jul 24, 2022)

Other than drinking as much water as possible, what have you guys been doing to beat the heat as of late? This isn't regular heat, this is crazy hot. I drink a combination of Gatorade and water back and forth, it helps, but was wondering if there's something else or different to use. Climbing can be dangerous in that once up top working in the sun, access to drinks isn't readily available and can get bad by dehydrating (happened to me once).

and ideas?


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## nitro1253 (Jul 24, 2022)

Look up drip drop. You add it to water. Definitely helps more than gatorade will


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## Mad Professor (Jul 24, 2022)

I make my own hydration mixture:

1 tsp lite salt (KCl)

2 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp table salt

1/2 the recommended amount of Tang drink mix to make a gallon mix

Dissolve the above in 1 gallon of water.

I make up a few gallons at night and put them in the fridge.

The baking soda (raises pH) and the sugar in the Tang, help your body absorb the electrolytes and water.

The Tang also has other ingredients: citric acid, ascorbic acid, and calcium and phosphorous........among other things

I used to just use sugar instead of the Tang, but then it just tastes like sweet salty water.


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## PithFreak (Jul 24, 2022)

Pretty much what’s said, I drink lots of water with a bottle or 2 of Gatorade, really the issue with me is having sun contact, if I can manage working in the shade, I got the heat half beat. I rotate shirts, within 15 mins I’m pretty soaked, I’ll let it dry on a branch and use the next shirt for 2 hour or so then repeat. Sweat rag is needed too it gets to the point I’m pouring sweat into my eyes and it makes it hard to see


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## capetrees (Jul 24, 2022)

That sound exactly like me yesterday!

How about Squincher? Anyone use it? I see where it's kinda the equivalent of Gatorade but more potassium, more for working guys as opposed to athletes.


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## Mad Professor (Jul 24, 2022)

PithFreak said:


> Pretty much what’s said, I drink lots of water with a bottle or 2 of Gatorade, really the issue with me is having sun contact, if I can manage working in the shade, I got the heat half beat. I rotate shirts, within 15 mins I’m pretty soaked, I’ll let it dry on a branch and use the next shirt for 2 hour or so then repeat. Sweat rag is needed too it gets to the point I’m pouring sweat into my eyes and it makes it hard to see


The sweat on the T-shirt help cool you off.

I'll spray down my T-shirt with water and dunk my head to get my hair wet.


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## lone wolf (Jul 24, 2022)

Mad Professor said:


> The sweat on the T-shirt help cool you off.
> 
> I'll spray down my T-shirt with water and dunk my head to get my hair wet.


All day long as needed!


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## SS396driver (Jul 24, 2022)

I use these add on tab per 16 oz of water


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## PithFreak (Jul 24, 2022)

Mad Professor said:


> The sweat on the T-shirt help cool you off.
> 
> I'll spray down my T-shirt with water and dunk my head to get my hair wet.


Yes I know that’s the point of sweating, doesn’t change the fact I hate being drenched with clothes stuck to you

I do the dunking my head into cool water but dry myself off quickly after


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## Mad Professor (Jul 24, 2022)

I just looked some of those powders/tablets prices, pretty expensive.

The mixture I make up with Tang costs about $7-8 to make 3 gallons.

I remember working on a farm as a teenager, baling hay in this kind of weather/heat. Worst part was stacking the bales inside the barn/hay mall.


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## soloz2 (Jul 24, 2022)

I've been trying to get out as early as I can in the morning, which is either 7 or 8am due to local noise ordinance for outdoor power tools. If I'm splitting I set up my canopy over my splitter the other day which kept me in the shade and really helped.
Push water and then I've been drinking an electrolyte water and/or a mix to replenish what the body needs. I'm also taking today off to get some rest.

I picked up some of these when I was at Costco. Price is reasonable and flavor is not bad. Definitely too sweet when mixed in a smaller cup so I use a liter cup. https://www.costco.com/liquid-i.v.-...ks-in-resealable-pouch.product.100301223.html


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## Abbeville TSI (Jul 24, 2022)

Amen, brother! And wear a long sleeve shirt in the loft.


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## ValleyForge (Jul 24, 2022)

I leave the a/c running in the kubota…lol


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## MFV (Jul 24, 2022)

I put a shade on mine helps a lot. But not as much as an a/c cab. I also make homemade pickles and mix in drinking a little pickle juice on days I am drinking gallons of water.


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## uniballer (Jul 24, 2022)

I use a *Carhartt Beverage Holster* when I work in the sun (e.g. greenhouse roof), but not sure if that would get caught on something climbing a tree...

Mine holds a 500ml water bottle, or 12 oz Gatorade.


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## pdqdl (Jul 24, 2022)

I grew up not drinking any water all day, and working in the sun. So I was definitely hardened up against the heat. Unfortunately, I seem to have outgrown that strength. 

I had a real nice spell of heat exhaustion about 10 years ago. I was climbing a tree, and began to feel weak, so I was hurrying on the removal. On the last cut, I made a bad cut, and ripped the power off the house. Then as I got to the ground, I found that I could no longer stand up without being extremely dizzy and weak. So I laid on my back, drank large quantities of water from the nearby garden hose, but to no avail. Every time I stood up, I was quickly settling back down on the ground.

No amount of water or rest would help. Not until I accepted a Coke from the homeowner did I feel any better. Since then, I have learned that all that nonsense about salt balance is mostly myth: during heat exhaustion you are suffering as much as anything from low blood sugar. ALL the remedies for heat management include sugar. 
Since then, I've had quite a few occasions when I felt the heat coming on, I broke immediately for some form of sugar water, and my heat exhaustion symptoms began declining.

I have also found that drinking 8oz of water not less than every 15 minutes lets me blast right through the heat and keep working. I had a friend on manuevers in the desert, *the Army made everyone drink not less than a quart per hour.* Having tried it out, I agree that it works pretty well. My guys get tired of me pushing the water, but they don't wilt in the heat as badly, either.


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## alanbaker (Jul 24, 2022)

Switchal old haying drink, basic recipe is one teaspoon honey and one teaspoon cider vinegar per quart, has many variations. What I have found works and tastes better is one tablespoon of fruit vinegar in a pint of water. I make the fruit vinegar with any berry, raspberry is the best. Two cups of fruit,crush the fruit add two cups cider vinegar, cover and let sit 7 to 10 days (keep the fruit flies out) strain liquid through cheese cloth ( like making jelly) for each cup of liquid add one cup sugar, heat to dissolve the sugar store in canning jar or resealable beer bottles. Also makes great salad dressing.


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## Bikerbrian (Jul 24, 2022)

pdqdl said:


> I grew up not drinking any water all day, and working in the sun. So I was definitely hardened up against the heat. Unfortunately, I seem to have outgrown that strength.
> 
> I had a real nice spell of heat exhaustion about 10 years ago. I was climbing a tree, and began to feel weak, so I was hurrying on the removal. On the last cut, I made a bad cut, and ripped the power off the house. Then as I got to the ground, I found that I could no longer stand up without being extremely dizzy and weak. So I laid on my back, drank large quantities of water from the nearby garden hose, but to no avail. Every time I stood up, I was quickly settling back down on the ground.
> 
> ...


Once you get heat stroke it seems real easy to get it again from what I have been told ..


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## Del_ (Jul 24, 2022)

Lots of good advice has been posted.

There is a limit to how much working in the heat people can take. That limit varies but there is a limit for everyone. I've worked in the heat for decades and when it comes to day after day of beating down heat and humility sometimes you just have to limit work length times and sometimes take whole days off at a time. As mentioned earlier, once you get heat exhaustion, you get heat exhaustion much easier from then on.

I take days off and treat them like I would if they were days with 2 ft. of snow.

Live to fight another day.

Don't fight it until passing out in the tree, or on the ground.

In the tree you just may hang there and die before anyone can get you down.

Or you may pass out and slip out of your saddle. When inverted most saddles are quite easy to slide out of.

You gotta stay conscious or you may become a dead man.

.


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## pdqdl (Jul 24, 2022)

Just for a medical perspective: heat stroke is severely dangerous, and has completely different symptoms than heat exhaustion. One is a medical emergency, and the other can become one quick enough.

Look 'em up and study for yourselves. I haven't found a good comparison article yet that isn't very accurate except for technical medical articles.


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## benjo75 (Jul 25, 2022)

Glacier Tek. Cooling vests. Takes about 15 minutes to re freeze. Lasts around 4 hours. I have 2 vests with 3 sets of packs. Around 60 degrees. People will laugh until they try them then they will have one in a few days. I used to love the heat but had a heat exhaustion about 10 years ago. I can still take the heat but don't enjoy it anymore and pour sweat constantly. The vest makes my day a lot more enjoyable. I'll usually work about 3 hours without it then around 10 am I'll dig the packs out of the ice chest ard put it on. Buys me 4 more hours of comfort. They'll re freeze in the ice chest on the way to another job if you don't have an extra set with you. I don't work in the snow without gloves and a jacket so why stay out there in the heat and be miserable if you don't have to.

It works good on those jobs where your brushing out a tree til noon. Get down, swap to a bigger saw, put on the cool vest then head back up and start blocking down the rest of the day.


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## biggerstaff94 (Jul 25, 2022)

PithFreak said:


> Pretty much what’s said, I drink lots of water with a bottle or 2 of Gatorade, really the issue with me is having sun contact, if I can manage working in the shade, I got the heat half beat. I rotate shirts, within 15 mins I’m pretty soaked, I’ll let it dry on a branch and use the next shirt for 2 hour or so then repeat. Sweat rag is needed too it gets to the point I’m pouring sweat into my eyes and it makes it hard to see


Sweatbands may look stupid but they work. 


capetrees said:


> That sound exactly like me yesterday!
> 
> How about Squincher? Anyone use it? I see where it's kinda the equivalent of Gatorade but more potassium, more for working guys as opposed to athletes.


Squinchers are good (taste wise). Not sure about the how good they are compared to gatorade hydration wise. Landscaping job i worked at had them.


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## Leeroy (Jul 25, 2022)

No idea if it would work with with climbing gear, but have you considered a small CamelBak style hydration pack for drink of choice?


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## PithFreak (Jul 25, 2022)

biggerstaff94 said:


> Sweatbands may look stupid but they work.
> 
> Squinchers are good (taste wise). Not sure about the how good they are compared to gatorade hydration wise. Landscaping job i worked at had them.


Can’t be looking like a tennis geek. I put a big rag under my hardhat keeps flies and sun off my neck too lol


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## JRM (Jul 25, 2022)

A big part of this is being properly hydrated prior to the start of the day. Most people don't drink the recommended amount of water in a 24 hr period to begin with and are by default starting the day at a deficit. Best to stay away from Caffenated beverages. Eat light meals, stay away from trans fats and processed foods. Drink smaller amounts more frequently. When ya stop sweating, start paying attention!


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## biggerstaff94 (Jul 25, 2022)

PithFreak said:


> Can’t be looking like a tennis geek. I put a big rag under my hardhat keeps flies and sun off my neck too lol


Absolutely lol. Thats what a rolled up bandanna is for.


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## PithFreak (Jul 25, 2022)

JRM said:


> A big part of this is being properly hydrated prior to the start of the day. Most people don't drink the recommended amount of water in a 24 hr period to begin with and are by default starting the day at a deficit. Best to stay away from Caffenated beverages. Eat light meals, stay away from trans fats and processed foods. Drink smaller amounts more frequently. When ya stop sweating, start paying attention!


Working under intense load with lots of heat while 1-2 coffees in is the worst feeling ever. I get a sick feeling from it. The gut feel stops me in my tracks


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## JRM (Jul 25, 2022)

I'm a pretty big coffee drinker in the colder months. Summertime I back way off and feel better for it.


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## MMG (Jul 25, 2022)

Mad Professor said:


> I just looked some of those powders/tablets prices, pretty expensive.
> 
> The mixture I make up with Tang costs about $7-8 to make 3 gallons.
> 
> I remember working on a farm as a teenager, baling hay in this kind of weather/heat. Worst part was stacking the bales inside the barn/hay mall.


I came up in a hay field. My Dad would do between 15k & 25k a year of small square bales. Grass hay only, no alfalfa. Mom saved milk jugs all year as did some of the crew. Fill a milk jug half full of water, put it in the deep freeze until hard frozen. Fill the jug with water and you have cold water for several hours. The ice cold water, while hard to drink sometimes, helps keep your body temp down. Keep the jugs in the shade and the ice lasts for a surprisingly long time. Take extra water to refill the jug as needed until the ice is gone.


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## PithFreak (Jul 25, 2022)

JRM said:


> I'm a pretty big coffee drinker in the colder months. Summertime I back way off and feel better for it.


Do you know the feel I describe though? Feels like my stomach is bone dry and grinding itself up. I try to avoid much coffee but I just love it otherwise


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 25, 2022)

MFV said:


> I put a shade on mine helps a lot. But not as much as an a/c cab. I also make homemade pickles and mix in drinking a little pickle juice on days I am drinking gallons of water.


_90's at 9!_ tv weatherman said this morning ~

i built shade for mine, too! made all the difference. still in place and doing its job well after many hot Texas summers! water is still hard to beat to stay hydrated. on hot days out on pasture... when i get back, i even drink the community water! lol 

yesterday. i like pickled onions, too. from home garden


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 25, 2022)

we had been just sitting around below the fan... a/c running. but alas, so hot... this is what happened! ~


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 25, 2022)

other day i was up at the ranch... couldn't get any water in the kitchen... then i noticed.... even the windmill had melted! ~


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 25, 2022)

JRM said:


> A big part of this is being properly hydrated prior to the start of the day. Most people don't drink the recommended amount of water in a 24 hr period to begin with and are by default starting the day at a deficit. Best to stay away from Caffenated beverages. Eat light meals, stay away from trans fats and processed foods. Drink smaller amounts more frequently. When ya stop sweating, start paying attention!


down here, on hot days up at ranch or here... for me... no food! or i cannot go out and work! i am quite aclimated to this heat and can stay out in it all day. but, not if i eat. color of pee says a lot, too! light yellow is ideal. during hot days and sweating... may hardly need to go. 3 qts water dramnk in an afternoon is not unusual for me... on really hot, hot days.

water, light duty and shade! at all costs, if possible... plenty of shade!


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## Jonathon Masters (Jul 25, 2022)

Ran out of time to read all the post so someone may of said it already but I use Himalayan Pink Salt all summer. I have a water bottle I can clip to my harness. Bartlet was giving them out at a climbing competition. I fill that with half water half Gatorade and maybe a teaspoon of the salt. My chiropractor recommended it for muscle spasms.


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## RMB (Jul 25, 2022)

You Guys have a lot of good and experience advice on this Heat topic. I want to say about 20 years ago while helping build a new Church from an existing old lumber building I received a heat stroke. I didn’t know what was going on I didn’t ask for help I just told them I didn’t feel good and went home. First thing I did (probably not the best to do) was go and take a cold shower until I felt better. Then drank a lot of water. Well, I found out later that wasn’t good but I guess it worked for me. I have to say I almost forgot about that until today. As for Gatorade, (just a tip) I found that it cost you less if you get the 51 oz. canister powder mix instead of the bottles. I like to squirt some lemon in it for a finer taste, hey that just me.


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 25, 2022)

Jonathon Masters said:


> Ran out of time to read all the post so someone may of said it already but I use Himalayan Pink Salt all summer. I have a water bottle I can clip to my harness. Bartlet was giving them out at a climbing competition. I fill that with half water half Gatorade and maybe a teaspoon of the salt. My chiropractor recommended it for muscle spasms.


i don't take salt during these hot dogged days. but, good idea. when my Dad was in USAF and we was at a SAC base... down close to the line where all the B-52's were parked... inside one of the buildings by the water fountain was a pill dispenser. i asked my Dad what they were for. as we stopped to get a drink...

_salt tablets for help with all this heat. retains water..._


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## SCHallenger (Jul 25, 2022)

pdqdl said:


> Just for a medical perspective: heat stroke is severely dangerous, and has completely different symptoms than heat exhaustion. One is a medical emergency, and the other can become one quick enough.
> 
> Look 'em up and study for yourselves. I haven't found a good comparison article yet that isn't very accurate except for technical medical articles.


Basically, heat exhaustion is characterized by what many here have described such as feeling weak, dizziness, nausea, & dark urine. At this point in time your blood glucose & electrolyte levels are dangerously low. If you do not rest & rehydrate (many excellent recipes & recommendations have been given here), this can progress to HEAT STROKE in which your body temperature rises uncontrollably. This can lead to brain damage & death if not treated quickly by covering the victim with ice & getting IV treatment ASAP!!


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## Mad Professor (Jul 25, 2022)

MMG said:


> I came up in a hay field. My Dad would do between 15k & 25k a year of small square bales. Grass hay only, no alfalfa. Mom saved milk jugs all year as did some of the crew. Fill a milk jug half full of water, put it in the deep freeze until hard frozen. Fill the jug with water and you have cold water for several hours. The ice cold water, while hard to drink sometimes, helps keep your body temp down. Keep the jugs in the shade and the ice lasts for a surprisingly long time. Take extra water to refill the jug as needed until the ice is gone.


I worked at a few farms growing up. My grandparents/uncle, a neighbor's helping out him and his sons ( our pay/reward was getting permission to fish the farm pond full of bass and perch), and full time/overtime the last few summers of HS years at another nearby farm. 

Sometimes we were equipment poor: (no kicker on the bailer) so we'd have to follow the bailer and toss the bales into the hay wagons, another time the conveyer broke and a storm/rain was brewing, so we had to toss the bales up into the barn. 

All the farmers were pretty good at giving us breaks and providing plenty of water/liquids.


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## Robxander (Jul 26, 2022)

I've been through 8 litres of water in a 5 hour day on the forestry. Soaking wet with sweat dripping off me.
I get real bad cramps in my hands and arms so Ive started using rehydration tablets in the water and it seems to help.
Also keeping the sun off my neck with a cape attached to my helmet helps too.


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## trains (Jul 26, 2022)

In Australia, we are used to this type of heat, but people still die from heat exhaustion.
Either start work extra early, then stop in the later part of the day when the heat has reached its peak, then go again later when it cools off if at all possible.

If you have to work out in the heat of the day.
Stay hydrated, and keep your electrolytes up, ie sports drinks bought or home mixed, have loose fitting long sleeved shirts and long pants, and a good hat, keeping the radiant heat off you is important, loose fitting helps with air flow and cooling.

As others have already mentioned, heat stroke is not to be taken lightly, and you can die from it.

Ive been hit with it when working in roof spaces, up trees, cutting wood on the ground etc, know the early signs and take them seriously.

it takes a good week to start getting used to the heat, so if you have just been hit with a heat wave, it will take a while to get used to the heat.

By the end of summer here, when the days are around 38c, you think its cool compared to the mid 40s.


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## PEK (Jul 26, 2022)

Many moons ago I worked in a knackers yard using steam boilers to render down bones etc there were always salt tablets available it used to get damn hot in there. As mentioned before Himalayan pink salt is good 250 million years old one of the purest you can get!


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## lohan808 (Jul 26, 2022)

Bikerbrian said:


> Once you get heat stroke it seems real easy to get it again from what I have been told ..


I have had 2 while doing electrical maintenance on solar fields in the southeastern summers a few years ago. Definitely more prone to the risks of heat related fatigue exhaustion, I do take extra care now.


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## benjo75 (Jul 26, 2022)

Does anyone besides me constantly pour sweat worse than you used to after getting too hot? I never did really sweat that much before now i just pour sweat even if it isn't all that hot.


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## Bill G (Jul 26, 2022)

It is amazing the huge variations in regional temperatures this year. I know it always varies greatly but this year seems excessive.

I am on the Illinois/Iowa border 2 hrs north of Missouri and 2 hrs south of Wisconsin. We had one of the coldest springs of my lifetime. We are now at the end of July and it has definitely been the coldest one that I know of. I am not sure if we hit 90 more than 3 days. Now we may pay for that in August but right now I'm my specific area no one can complain about the heat. I know that is far from true outside my little area but here it had been as cool as could be. I wonder what the GDDU's will be for July. I am betting very low


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## GeeVee (Jul 26, 2022)

Carpet guy I know, will never be the same, Heat Stroke so bad he has brain damage......

I personally- barely able to drive home with one eye open after a hard day- maybe seven hours worth of working in and out of the Bobcat Skidder, landscaping in 100* heat, and that was 45 minutes at a time, with 15 minutes in the river ever hour for the entire crew.

I'm wearing long sleeve dri fit shirts now to keep the sun off the skin, (skin cancer is already a problem for me) and a straw hat as much as possible. Even using my golf umbrella on my cart between throws or waiting on the other players. 

SInce I wear contacts, if I am using chainsaws or pruning/trimming, when i get sweat AND sawdust or pollen, I'm having to wash my face down alot. lowering my body temp by soaking my head helps. The cooling towels I can put under a hat helps. 

For me, a hat holds heat in, makes my head real hot, so I get under the umbrella as much as possible and take the hat off.


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## MFV (Jul 26, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> _90's at 9!_ tv weatherman said this morning ~
> 
> i built shade for mine, too! made all the difference. still in place and doing its job well after many hot Texas summers! water is still hard to beat to stay hydrated. on hot days out on pasture... when i get back, i even drink the community water! lol
> 
> ...


Hopefully I will make some more in the fall spicy pickles with some green tomatoes mixed in


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## MFV (Jul 26, 2022)

benjo75 said:


> Does anyone besides me constantly pour sweat worse than you used to after getting too hot? I never did really sweat that much before now i just pour sweat even if it isn't all that hot.


Yes but my wife says that’s a good sign


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## Captain Bruce (Jul 26, 2022)

Good Lord, Thundering Jesus! I suppose the work must be done, the food on the table, and all that.......but if its non-essential arbor work, My God Man, get in the A/C, or the pool! The Thames, is Right Out.....


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## trains (Jul 27, 2022)

I see our heat that we get here in Aus, which other parts of the world seem to be experiencing lately, and they are not used to it, the same as the cold I see in other parts of the world.

When its really cold, people just dont go out or do things unless absolutely necessary, and even then under extreme care with the required things needed.
Its the same with the heat, on very hot days, you just dont go out, travel, the roads melt, and tyres can fail when its over 45c, and if you do go out, its with extreme care etc.
I guess its what you get used to, its happened before, dosent always happen, but it has got cold, and gotten hot before, and it will do so again.

take care in the heat, its not to be taken lightly, just like going out in the cold.


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## user 185711 (Jul 27, 2022)

Lots of water and electrolytes. If I start feeling bad it's almost always too late to reverse that feeling so I try my best to stay ahead of it. Sometimes I get busy and forget to drink water. If I haven't peed in a while I take that as a sign that I need to drink something.


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

PithFreak said:


> Can’t be looking like a tennis geek. I put a big rag under my hardhat keeps flies and sun off my neck too lol


nope! next thing mite be ivy league pants and penny loafers!!! lol


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

RMB said:


> You Guys have a lot of good and experience advice on this Heat topic. I want to say about 20 years ago while helping build a new Church from an existing old lumber building I received a heat stroke. I didn’t know what was going on I didn’t ask for help I just told them I didn’t feel good and went home. First thing I did (probably not the best to do) was go and take a cold shower until I felt better. Then drank a lot of water. Well, I found out later that wasn’t good but I guess it worked for me. I have to say I almost forgot about that until today. As for Gatorade, (just a tip) I found that it cost you less if you get the 51 oz. canister powder mix instead of the bottles. I like to squirt some lemon in it for a finer taste, hey that just me.


i will keep a water bottle in shop refer half full. cold. then when time to hydrate fill it with fresh filtered warm water. then i can drink a lot! too cold and i cannot... well, other than a cold one!!!! lol


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

Robxander said:


> I've been through 8 litres of water in a 5 hour day on the forestry. Soaking wet with sweat dripping off me.
> I get real bad cramps in my hands and arms so Ive started using rehydration tablets in the water and it seems to help.
> Also keeping the sun off my neck with a cape attached to my helmet helps too.


with the DIY shade i made for my tractor i was able to reduce water consumption in half when shredding on pasture on a hot August afternoon... and felt better all the time out working, too


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

trains said:


> In Australia, we are used to this type of heat, but people still die from heat exhaustion.
> Either start work extra early, then stop in the later part of the day when the heat has reached its peak, then go again later when it cools off if at all possible.
> *it takes a good week to start getting used to the heat*, so if you have just been hit with a heat wave, it will take a while to get used to the heat.
> 
> By the end of summer here, when the days are around 38c, you think its cool compared to the mid 40s.


ha! i have been down here in South Texas for decades... still not used to some of this mid-summer heat!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

lohan808 said:


> I have had 2 while doing electrical maintenance on solar fields in the southeastern summers a few years ago. Definitely more prone to the risks of heat related fatigue exhaustion, I do take extra care now.


its no joke! heat can hit u and sap you very fast. sometimes quite unexpectedly. fatigue and early onset confusion is characteristic... i am a US Marine Veteran and in early training and add'l training dealing with outdoors and survival... the issue of heat stroke is a major subject!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

PEK said:


> Many moons ago I worked in a knackers yard using steam boilers to render down bones etc there were always salt tablets available it used to get damn hot in there. As mentioned before Himalayan pink salt is good 250 million years old one of the purest you can get!


hi PEK - i bet it was hotter than... around those big boilers....

_'nope! no a/c down here. your job is to be right here, next to this unit. careful, it gets hot!'_


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

benjo75 said:


> Does anyone besides me constantly pour sweat worse than you used to after getting too hot? I never did really sweat that much before now i just pour sweat even if it isn't all that hot.


not here, bj - mite be time to talk to a dermatologist skin specialist


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## ValleyForge (Jul 27, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> ha! i have been down here in South Texas for decades... still not used to some of this mid-summer heat!


Texas heat is insane…when you have misters that line the streets, and stay running at night, you know you’re in trouble…lol


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

Bill G said:


> It is amazing the huge variations in regional temperatures this year. I know it always varies greatly but this year seems excessive.
> 
> I am on the Illinois/Iowa border 2 hrs north of Missouri and 2 hrs south of Wisconsin. We had one of the coldest springs of my lifetime. We are now at the end of July and it has definitely been the coldest one that I know of_. I am not sure if we hit 90 more than 3 days._ Now we may pay for that in August but right now I'm my specific area no one can complain about the heat. I know that is far from true outside my little area but here it had been as cool as could be. I wonder what the GDDU's will be for July. I am betting very low


last nite on tv weather news they put up the month of July.... and only one day early in month had some rains. all other days of July here, no rains and temps at or over 100f!!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

ValleyForge said:


> Texas heat is insane…when you have misters that line the streets, and stay running at night, you know you’re in trouble…lol


u r right! VF. in fact, this morning the news has a bit on keeping not you, me or.... cool, but the a/c unit!   and had mister system for the unit! but, imo, waste of $! suggested not to do it too often, more like once a week! i guess the compressor don't get hot on other days! lol. if anyone in the viewing audience belived that, they mite think a glass of water once a week is sufficient! ~ 

but, i think they did cover their.... and said, actually, if u need a mister for compressor prob another problem! as it is designed to handle high heat of operation! compression creates heat!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

GeeVee said:


> *Carpet guy I know*, will never be the same, Heat Stroke so bad he has brain damage......
> 
> I personally- barely able to drive home with one eye open after a hard day- maybe seven hours worth of working in and out of the Bobcat Skidder, landscaping in 100* heat, and that was 45 minutes at a time, with 15 minutes in the river ever hour for the entire crew.
> 
> ...


oic. at first, i thot Carpetguy was name of an AS member!!!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

GeeVee said:


> *I'm wearing long sleeve dri fit shirts now to keep the sun off the skin*, (skin cancer is already a problem for me) and a straw hat as much as possible. Even using my golf umbrella on my cart between throws or waiting on the other players.


good tip! i do when in tractor or mower. white. gets sweaty wet at first, then settles down as the breeze, wind and/or some motion blows across and the drying cools. i should do it more than i actually do. when its hot and i think about it, i can let it slide... as all the equipment is in motion and i am working... 

good tip!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

MFV said:


> Yes but my wife says that’s a good sign


[]

it was a few decades back... but alas, i had to let sweaty Betty go!!! 

[]


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## ValleyForge (Jul 27, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> u r right! VF. in fact, this morning the news has a bit on keeping not you, me or.... cool, but the a/c unit!   and had mister system for the unit! but, imo, waste of $! suggested not to do it too often, more like once a week! i guess the compressor don't get hot on other days! lol. if anyone in the viewing audience belived that, they mite think a glass of water once a week is sufficient! ~
> 
> but, i think they did cover their.... and said, actually, if u need a mister for compressor prob another problem! as it is designed to handle high heat of operation! compression creates heat!


Between Dallas and Phoenix, it’s a struggle to say whose heat is worse..lol

the a/c misters work!! They are for hot low humidity days where there isn’t enough water vapor in the air to facilitate the heat transfer. Pay attention to your chest freezers, they’ll run forever on hot low humidity days.


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

trains said:


> I see our heat that we get here in Aus, which other parts of the world seem to be experiencing lately, and they are not used to it, the same as the cold I see in other parts of the world.
> 
> When its really cold, people just dont go out or do things unless absolutely necessary, and even then under extreme care with the required things needed.
> Its the same with the heat, on very hot days, you just dont go out, travel, the roads melt, and tyres can fail when its over 45c, and if you do go out, its with extreme care etc.
> ...


seeing Heat Waves can be cool!



but Springsteen tickets at $5,000.00 ea - not cool!! ~


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

ValleyForge said:


> Between Dallas and Phoenix, it’s a struggle to say whose heat is worse..lol
> 
> the a/c misters work!! They are for hot low humidity days where there isn’t enough water vapor in the air to facilitate the heat transfer. Pay attention to your chest freezers, they’ll run forever on hot low humidity days.


lol, maybe so, but down here... rarely,_ if never._.. do we see hot summers that at not hot humid summers!


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## ValleyForge (Jul 27, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> seeing Heat Waves can be cool!
> View attachment 1005932
> 
> 
> but Springsteen tickets at $5,000.00 ea - not cool!! ~


Hey now…the Boss is concerned about the lesser people too…he is selling more affordable tickets at 4,000$ too….lol


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## PEK (Jul 27, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> hi PEK - i bet it was hotter than... around those big boilers....
> 
> _'nope! no a/c down here. your job is to be right here, next to this unit. careful, it gets hot!'_
> 
> View attachment 1005929


Hi, yes very hot there were 6 boilers I think they were called iwells or something similar. When we had all pig back fat in when the boiler was opened we would get the crackling and grind the salt tablets on them, fantastic. It has been 36c to 43 c here for the past couple of weeks the wife at night puts a hot water bottle which she has had in the freezer all day in the bed.


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

trains said:


> I see our heat that we get here in Aus, which other parts of the world seem to be experiencing lately, and they are not used to it, the same as the cold I see in other parts of the world.
> 
> When its really cold, people just dont go out or do things unless absolutely necessary, and even then under extreme care with the required things needed.
> Its the same with the heat, on very hot days, you just dont go out, travel, the roads melt, and tyres can fail when its over 45c, and if you do go out, its with extreme care etc.
> ...


my lawn suffered from the extreme freeze we had here couple years ago. it has done some good recovery in some tuff areas. now this heat has ruined it again! other day i was walking across an area of it...

*'crunch... crunch... crunch!'*

if it was taller, i mite could make square bales out of it.... 

hay bale making in back yard lawn... lol


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 27, 2022)

PEK said:


> Hi, yes very hot there were 6 boilers I think they were called iwells or something similar. When we had all pig back fat in when the boiler was opened we would get the crackling and grind the salt tablets on them, fantastic. It has been 36c to 43 c here for the past couple of weeks the wife at night puts a hot water bottle which she has had in the freezer all day in the bed.


hi PEK: i am still learning those C's lol  but have learned anything 40C and higher.... *h o t ! *


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## JRM (Jul 27, 2022)

Gotta be careful with the misters on A/C units, if the water has minerals in it you'll plug up the fins over time. Or at the very least make them less efficient than before.


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## PEK (Jul 27, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> hi PEK: i am still learning those C's lol  but have learned anything 40C and higher.... *h o t ! *


We are lucky at night the temperature is not too bad, hopefully tonight a storm and a bit of rain. Our house here was built during communism cool in the heat and keeps the warmth in in the winter. My man cave and tool store is the cellar under the house, cool this time of year and warm in the winter, that reminds me I have got a couple of chains the gypsys dropped off to sharpen, I will not take cash off them but they bring me 2 litre bottles of my favorite beer Kamenitsa for each chain, perfect this weather.


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## MFV (Jul 27, 2022)

ValleyForge said:


> Between Dallas and Phoenix, it’s a struggle to say whose heat is worse..lol
> 
> the a/c misters work!! They are for hot low humidity days where there isn’t enough water vapor in the air to facilitate the heat transfer. Pay attention to your chest freezers, they’ll run forever on hot low humidity days.


I think it’s a little better here because we have a lot higher humidity


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## MFV (Jul 27, 2022)

I was watering mine glad we got some rain


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## Bubster (Jul 27, 2022)

I am not a spring chicken anymore,and if I can just take it somewhat easy on the hottest days I will.I do drink about 3 quarts of Gatorade ,with several 16oz bottles of water mixed in throughout the day.I will also eat several cups of blueberries throughout the day.Good for potassium.As far as feeling cooler,nothing feels better than a light breeze blowing on a sweat soaked shirt.Hurry up fall,we need you.


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## GeeVee (Jul 27, 2022)

I may have failed to mention. Bananas, Dill pickles, Cucumbers Apples and Avocado are all eaten by hand and are good energy and minerals for hot days that wont fill you up with a gut bomb....


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## ballisticdoughnut (Jul 27, 2022)

On hot days it’s best to keep your meals light, meaning don’t over eat. A good diet rich in micro nutrients will go a long way. Salt is your friend up to a certain point of course. Potassium and sodium are really important when it’s hot. Drink when your thirsty, don’t over do it though. The more you drink the more you deplete your minerals. Everyone I work with complains about the heat where I just keep chugging along. Never really had a problem with it. It’s over 90F here in the PNW at the moment.


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## jolj (Jul 27, 2022)

Work early or late to stay out the sun & wear light colors also.
I was picking figs at eleven o'clock, felt like 130 pm.


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## a. palmer jr. (Jul 27, 2022)

We're getting a little break right now, high today about 84F. Supposed to be around that the rest of the week..


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## fields_mj (Jul 28, 2022)

Pace yourself. Slow and steady wins the race. When I was younger, I could run balls to the wall 12 hrs or more per day, every day with no problem which was great for working construction. By the time I hit my mid 30's, I'd been working in factories over a decade so when I'd start a construction job and try to go at my old speed, I'd burn out hard after about 5 or 6 hours. An older friend worked with me on a roof one weekend and changed my perspective and he was right. This past Saturday was a real scorcher here in Indiana. I spent all day (12 hrs) milling a 10' oak log in half (just under 60") and getting the halves winched up on my trailer to haul to the mill. I ran through over 2.5 gal of fuel through my G660 running a 42" bar. After every tank, I sat on the tail gate and took a 10 min break and normally drank a bottle of water. Sharpened the chain every other refill. Drank over 1.5 gal of water and didn't have to take a pee until late Sunday morning. I was a little stiff when I woke up on Sunday, but could have easily gone out and continued working if I had needed to.


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

JRM said:


> Gotta be careful with the misters on A/C units, if the water has minerals in it you'll plug up the fins over time. Or at the very least make them less efficient than before.


that's why they said use just once a week! and i thot... why in the heck bother then?


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

MFV said:


> I was watering mine glad we got some rain


we got some yesterday! maybe 4 drops, if that. dark clouds, plenty of noise... and winds. big reds on tv weather maps... storms going this way and that way... and totally missed giving my area any rains! 

imo, almost seems a mute point now. lawns so bad shape...

how bad is it where i am?? well... yesterday i watered around my homes foundation....


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

Bubster said:


> I am not a spring chicken anymore,and if I can just take it somewhat easy on the hottest days I will.I do drink about 3 quarts of Gatorade ,with several 16oz bottles of water mixed in throughout the day.I will also eat several cups of blueberries throughout the day.Good for potassium.As far as feeling cooler,nothing feels better than a light breeze blowing on a sweat soaked shirt.Hurry up fall,we need you.


true! don't think i have ever had cold watermelon and not felt cooler ~


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

ballisticdoughnut said:


> On hot days it’s best to keep your meals light, meaning don’t over eat. A good diet rich in micro nutrients will go a long way. Salt is your friend up to a certain point of course. Potassium and sodium are really important when it’s hot. Drink when your thirsty, don’t over do it though. The more you drink the more you deplete your minerals. Everyone I work with complains about the heat where I just keep chugging along. Never really had a problem with it. It’s over 90F here in the PNW at the moment.


hi bd ~ how's PNW treating you? i am from Seattle. saw the high temps there on tv weather other nite. i do miss those times during summer, high in the Cascades with weather down here like that!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

jolj said:


> Work early or late to stay out the sun & wear light colors also.
> I was picking figs at eleven o'clock, felt like 130 pm.


big dif between my bike rides between 2-3 pm, and those between 9-10 pm!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

a. palmer jr. said:


> We're getting a little break right now, high today about 84F. Supposed to be around that the rest of the week..


those mid 80's have been our lows here nite after nite!!


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

fields_mj said:


> Pace yourself. Slow and steady wins the race. When I was younger, I could run balls to the wall 12 hrs or more per day, every day with no problem which was great for working construction. By the time I hit my mid 30's, I'd been working in factories over a decade so when I'd start a construction job and try to go at my old speed, I'd burn out hard after about 5 or 6 hours. An older friend worked with me on a roof one weekend and changed my perspective and he was right. This past Saturday was a real scorcher here in Indiana. I spent all day (12 hrs) milling a 10' oak log in half (just under 60") and getting the halves winched up on my trailer to haul to the mill. I ran through over 2.5 gal of fuel through my G660 running a 42" bar. After every tank, I sat on the tail gate and took a 10 min break and normally drank a bottle of water. Sharpened the chain every other refill. Drank over 1.5 gal of water and didn't have to take a pee until late Sunday morning. I was a little stiff when I woke up on Sunday, but could have easily gone out and continued working if I had needed to.


some times when i am drinking to refresh and also hydrate, too... i will drink my fill, then drink some more, too! especially, when running equipment up at the ranch ~


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## ballisticdoughnut (Jul 28, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> hi bd ~ how's PNW treating you? i am from Seattle. saw the high temps there on tv weather other nite. i do miss those times during summer, high in the Cascades with weather down here like that!
> View attachment 1006095


All things considered it’s been pretty good here. It’s “hot” but really not that bad. I love the PNW I’m originally from Westlake Village CA.


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## Backyard Lumberjack (Jul 28, 2022)

ballisticdoughnut said:


> All things considered it’s been pretty good here. It’s “hot” but really not that bad. I love the PNW I’m originally from Westlake Village CA.


i left the PNW during the VN era... after UofW. USMC calling me to go bounce on carriers! i left, but the PNW never left me!  i am one of those rare Texans these days... that likes salmon better than beef!

having live in E, Central and Western WA... a Washington boy at 

take care, stay cool ! ~


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## ballisticdoughnut (Jul 28, 2022)

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> i left the PNW during the VN era... after UofW. USMC calling me to go bounce on carriers! i left, but the PNW never left me!  i am one of those rare Texans these days... that likes salmon better than beef!
> 
> having live in E, Central and Western WA... a Washington boy at
> 
> take care, stay cool ! ~


Oh I love me some salmon! Nothing like a nice filet fresh out of the water. Certainly wouldn’t turn down a nice steak though. Have a wonderful day sir and thank you for serving this great country.


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## GeeVee (Jul 28, 2022)

Di I also fail to mention MELONS of any kind? Nice cold Watermellon, Cantalope, or Muskmellon, are like 75% water....... WAY better than a popsickle....


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## JD Guy (Jul 28, 2022)

Mad Professor said:


> I just looked some of those powders/tablets prices, pretty expensive.
> 
> The mixture I make up with Tang costs about $7-8 to make 3 gallons.
> 
> I remember working on a farm as a teenager, baling hay in this kind of weather/heat. Worst part was stacking the bales inside the barn/hay mall.


Roger that on the hay. As a teenager I always got the hayrack stacking job behind the baler because I was tall, same reason I unloaded at the barn on the elevator. The short guys got to stack in the barn and used to yell at me for loading the elevator with the bales almost touching because they got no break


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## JRM (Jul 28, 2022)

GeeVee said:


> Di I also fail to mention MELONS of any kind?



There's at least one set I know of that won't do much for hydrating


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## ballisticdoughnut (Jul 28, 2022)

JRM said:


> There's at least one set I know of that won't do much for hydrating


Lol. I see what you did there.


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## JD Guy (Jul 28, 2022)

Agree with rhe hydration advice, also STOP and get in the shade if you're feeling bad. I've had heat exhaustion too and it's a super bad feeling, has affected my heat tolerance ever since.

On the salt tablets, we were encouraged to take them during late summer preseason football practice but they always made me feel worse and learned later that they are now not recommended. Back then was pre Gatorade though and you were just supposed to "tough it out", water breaks were given but we were monitored so we didn't drink too much. Things have changed, I'm sure! Oh, and if you got knocked out in a game just smelling salts and as soon as you could tell the coach what the score was and which quarter (without looking) you were good to go back on the field.


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## tree MDS (Jul 29, 2022)

Just stop being a ***** and suck it up. Maybe pace yourself a bit. Don’t drink too much water. it’s not like momma’s tit, not going to save you from being a *****. Suck it up, be a man. You’ll survive.


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## capetrees (Jul 30, 2022)

tree MDS said:


> Just stop being a ***** and suck it up. Maybe pace yourself a bit. Don’t drink too much water. it’s not like momma’s tit, not going to save you from being a *****. Suck it up, be a man. You’ll survive.


coming from the guy in the bucket.

ok


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## tree MDS (Jul 30, 2022)

capetrees said:


> coming from the guy in the bucket.
> 
> ok



Haha. Yeah, the one that’s getting three times the work done.


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## MFV (Jul 30, 2022)

I like


Backyard Lumberjack said:


> i left the PNW during the VN era... after UofW. USMC calling me to go bounce on carriers! i left, but the PNW never left me!  i am one of those rare Texans these days... that likes salmon better than beef!
> 
> having live in E, Central and Western WA... a Washington boy at
> 
> take care, stay cool ! ~


I like salmon too But you obviously haven’t been to killer’s steak house


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## MFV (Jul 30, 2022)

Killen’s


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## capetrees (Jul 30, 2022)

tree MDS said:


> Haha. Yeah, the one that’s getting three times the work done.


that's great but the topic was more toward how does a person thats working up a sweat, busting it as a groundie or climbing in the trees on hot days cool down.


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## tree MDS (Jul 30, 2022)

capetrees said:


> that's great but the topic was more toward how does a person thats working up a sweat, busting it as a groundie or climbing in the trees on hot days cool down.



Haha. Like I said, suck it up.. either that or partake in Fresca and melon balls lmao


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## capetrees (Jul 31, 2022)

Or we could always max out our credit and buy brand new air conditioned equipment to keep our pretty selves cool.

good luck with sucking it up and getting heat stroke and dehydration you big man.


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## tree MDS (Jul 31, 2022)

capetrees said:


> Or we could always max out our credit and buy brand new air conditioned equipment to keep our pretty selves cool.
> 
> good luck with sucking it up and getting heat stroke and dehydration you big man.



See, that’s one of the things that I actually like about the tree business, seeing the different ways people go about things, the seemingly endless combinations of equipment, etc. 

You see my situation one way, but you’re only seeing the small picture, what’s right in front of your nose. I’m thinking more long term and seeing a bigger, different picture. To each their own. 

Have a Fresca and chill, bro, we’re all good. I just couldn’t resist a little heat stroke thread jab. I’ve been doing trees full time for 32 years now (including 13 months in the sub tropics), never had heat stroke once, and don’t sit around emptying the cooler eating melon balls all day like some people, that’s all. I don’t get it, I got a 21 year old kid that walks across the yard and needs a water break. I buy two bags of ice and one of those big packs of water bottles everyday just so I can have a water on occasion myself. I guess that’s what set me off. Kinda pisses me off.


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## jolj (Aug 4, 2022)

78f at night


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## capetrees (Aug 4, 2022)

jolj said:


> 78f at night


81 here


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## ValleyForge (Aug 4, 2022)

tree MDS said:


> Haha. Like I said, suck it up.. either that or partake in Fresca and melon balls lmao


Mmmmmm…Fresca…love that crap…lol


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## lone wolf (Aug 4, 2022)

84 here now.


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## Bill G (Aug 5, 2022)

As I noted earlier. In my area we have had zero to complain out as related to heat. Well that was last week. On Friday July 29th I looked the forecast for this week and my jaw dropped. The had us predicted to be 101 on Wednesday and hot as heck for and aft. Well over the weekend I decided not to mow the yard as it is sandy soil and if it was going to be hot an dry that would burn it up. Well that was a dumb decision. It has been cool and wet most of the week. Guess what the yard looks like now,........ The other kicker is Saturday is predicted to be a scorcher and my dumb rear now has to mow two weeks of growth


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## Ted Jenkins (Aug 5, 2022)

Mad Professor said:


> I make my own hydration mixture:
> 
> 1 tsp lite salt (KCl)
> 
> ...


I get several LBS of banana and let them ripen a bit puree them with Tang. I add plenty of water to the mixture and freeze. Wrap the jugs with a sweat shirt and take them where I go. I avoid eating lunch but drink the smoothie instead. If I am climbing I hoist a jug up to me because it takes forever for me to go up and down a tree. Thanks


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## Zale (Aug 5, 2022)

Nuun tablets and wear a Camelbak


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## Zale (Aug 5, 2022)

Oh yeah, I'm back in the trees.


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## farmwood (Aug 8, 2022)

Wrangler makes wicking work shirts that have worked well enough for me. The heat must be in other parts of the country, but Indiana had a lower than average amount of days in the 90s for July. August isn't starting out too bad, rest of this week is said to be in the 70s. Currently, the humidity will kill anything, it's bad enough the camper is barely tolerable in the shade without A/C. As for working outside, I just drink plenty of Gatorade for hydration along with water while at work. If you have problems with fruit flavors tearing up your stomach, Gatorade now has a glacier ice flavor, or something along those lines, that I drink due to being almost non-acidic. If it weren't for the acidity causing stomach issues, I'd just make up a watered down version of switchel (haymaker's punch) and drink that!


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## Bill G (Aug 9, 2022)

farmwood said:


> ............. The heat must be in other parts of the country, but Indiana had a lower than average amount of days in the 90s for July. August isn't starting out too bad, rest of this week is said to be in the 70s.....



Same here along the Iowa/Illinois border. We have ZERO to complain about in regards to heat.


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## capetrees (Aug 9, 2022)

630 am and it's already 75


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