How much SALT do you take on a trip?

[Erica]

I want to have salt on hand to season food, of course. This time, due to a plethora of freeze-dried meals hanging out from canceled pandemic trips, I am wondering, how much salt needs to be added to freeze-dried meals? Are they bland? Keeping in mind, we may need more salt based on daily salt loss due to exertion/sweat.

But, I also bring salt as a first aid item. Should one get seriously overheated like I did one summer in the 10,000 Islands, a 9% saline solution is good to drink to replace at least the salt that has been lost. Possibly people who trip mostly up north don't think about this so much.

Also, on one trip many, many years ago, I got an infected finger. I soaked it in hot salt water twice daily to cure the infection.

So, as I am packing, I tend to add an electrolyte solution to the first aid kit (several packets) and extra salt in case those aren't enough and salt for wound care. As I am packing, I tend to add more and more salt and probably more than I need.

How much do you take?

 

[snapper]

None. But now, after reading your post, that might change. From a food/drink perspective, I stock up on cashews for snacking and add various mixes to my water. Most days that is all I seem to need; although I will admit to having a seriously bad cramp one time while driving home from a trip. I had to pull off the road and really stretch it out. Since I drive standard, it did give me cause for concern.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Alan Gage]

Not a lot. My food contains no salt so I have to add as much I want as I cook. I bring a couple small plastic bottles, similar in shape and function to mini shampoo bottles. These are good for over a month. Shorter trips I bring less.

I'm quite aware of dehydration as I seem to be quite prone to it. Anymore I'm really good at keeping hydrated and recognizing my early warning signs (light headache, muscle cramps, saliva feels different).

Interesting ideas on other uses for salt, I'd never considered them.

Alan

 

[yellowcanoe]

Most commercial freeze dried foods have a whole day of sodium packed into one meal.. Sodium lack is never a problem. OTOH a 9 percent salt solution will kill you.. Don't do it. In my medic days in the field and ER we ran 0.9 percent normal ( meaning balanced with the bodys sodium) saline into hypovolemic patients.
Too much salt will dehydrate you.

Cramps are usually caused by too much loss of water, not salt. And yes in the far North or in burn areas with sunlight reflecting off rock , water loss is intense. After all you are more under the direct sun for a longer period of time than in Florida. So yes we do think about dehydration. Carry a little bottle of salt and monitor your pee. It should run copius and clear. Not yellow and every six yours.. Every two hours at most. On work trips in Wabakimi we drank a gallon of water a day. Any less and we would get cramps.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I've never taken any salt. Since I use commercial freeze dried meals and packaged power bars and snacks, I've always felt that I have more than enough sodium in my food. I did get dehydrated twice in hot weather, including my last week-long solo trip, so I'm now thinking of taking powdered Gatorade packets with me. At least they would add some flavor to the warm water I end up drinking in hot weather.

 

[billconner]

I usually have a half dozen or dizen packets I picked up at Panera or another. Pepper ditto. Usually carry fresh eggs.

 

[Erica]

yellowcanoe was right about the percent salt solution. It is 0.9% and I typed too quickly.

Electrolyte solutions (actually any liquid with stuff in it besides caffeine) are absorbed into the body more quickly than straight pure water. If someone is dehydrated, these solutions are preferable to pure water. I take a few packs of pedialyte in the first aid kit. Don’t get fooled by the kids drink that pedialyte also sells in grocery stores,:

HOWEVER, PEOPLE WITH HEART DISEASE OR KIDNEY DISEASE NEED TO ASK THEIR DOCTOR ABOUT APPROPRIATE REHYDRATION LIQUIDS.

Caffeine in sodas, coffee, tea, hot chocolate should be avoided because caffeine is a diuretic (makes you pee more.)

People also become dehydrated if they develop severe vomiting or diarrhea or have severe burns. High fever also.

These are important considerations on long, remote trips. Not if evacuation is easy and quick.

The book I use, recommended by my back packing ER doc brother is: Medicine for Mountaineering and other wilderness activities, published by the Mountaineers Books.

 

[yknpdlr]

When my team (7 voyageur canoe paddlers) and I raced the Yukon River 1000 mile canoe race (twice), I home dehydrated all main meals (breakfasts and dinners) for the entire team. We used no prepackaged freeze-dried meals at all, so no salt came from them. Individually purchased mid-day snacks tended to be the usual nuts and dry/fresh fruits, candy bars, etc. The meal recipe components were assembled the same as I would eat for standard at home meals. I included a normal amount of salt in each recipe, the same as for reasonable seasoning that I or my wife would put into regular recipes for home consumption.

We completed the race in six days both times we raced. Gallons of drinking water was de-silted and chemically purified (not filtered) each night for the next day. Each brought a couple of bottles of gatoraid on board, all consumed within the first couple of days (empty gatoraid bottles are very useful for other purposes during limited stop races). We paddled the maximum rules allowed 18 hours each day without stopping most days. We raced and sweated and dipped our hats in the river to keep cool on hot days, crossing the Arctic Circle on a 90F degree day. To my knowledge, no one on my race team complained about food; none had any issues with cramping, nutrition, gastro, or other issues from start to finish.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Water is sufficient unless you let heat stroke develop and then evac should also be considered
The key is water yourself consistently over the day That gallon I mentioned was drunk over 10 hours

 

[Tsuga8]

I usually don't bring salt, but pack some salty snacks. And my dinners often involve something packaged (ie ample sodium). On the trips I'm cooking from scratch I might pack a little. I like jerky for really hot days - light weight (in the pack and the belly) and plenty of salt for rehydration. I find that I can house a lot of water when it's hot, and as long as I nibble some jerky or granola bars along the way I haven't experienced hyponatremia (low electrolytes).

For rehydration salts, I believe the recipe taught in Wilderness First Aid/Responder is one tsp salt, 8 tsp sugar and 1 liter/nalgene of water, which I imagine gets you to that 0.9percent listed above? I've never needed this, relying on snacks as above, and thus don't carry salt or sugar with rehydration in mind. For a longer trip, soaking wounds sounds good - I usually opt for neosporin but I'm usually only out a few nights.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

As far a freeze-dried meals go, the Mountain House meals we use never needed any additional salt but we have added Sriracha powder which is now available and more convenient than the sauce if the meal seemed somewhat bland.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I realized I always have salted nuts or a granola thing along.. If I am eating Hawk Vittles ( which are excellent) I find them bland without shaking a little salt on.. https://www.hawkvittles.com/ALL-Products_c_18.html

 

[jdeerfoot]

I always take along small film canister salt/pepper shakers. I was a nail biter as a kid and my mother taught me to soak my occasional infected fingers in very hot lightly salted water and it worked well (just like Erica pointed out.) Also, salt is handy in convincing leeches to let go.

 

[Robin]

I always take along small film canister salt/pepper shakers.

Me too.

 

[scoutergriz]

I don't use salt for hydration, I bring Pedialyte powder because you sweat out 2 other critical minerals for hydration- potassium and magnesium, potassium helps with absorption inside your cells (sodium only increases serum hydration) as well as help with muscle contraction and support lower blood pressure. Magnesium is essential for proper neural function and increases energy levels, it also is far more effective in preventing cramps.

 

[clemency]

Nuun makes good hydration/electrolyte products in tablet form for dissolving in water.

 

[stripperguy]

I bring no salt, no seasonings at all.
I dry all of my meals at home, including dried fruits.
My meals are quick and simple (Haha, like me! seems to be a trend ...)
As far as hydration, I do have to be careful, if I find I'm getting a toe cramp, I know I'm not hydrated enough.
Most of my trips are shorter in duration, so salt solution to cure an infection? Not enough time for an infection to incapacitate me. I have been tripping solo for quite a few years now, and I'm more careful with knives, saws, hatchets, so the likelihood of a back country injury that leads to a debilitating infection is slim. Besides, I'm in the ADK's, never really that far from civilization!
Of course, now that I've said (typed) that out loud...

 

[Smokey]

Me too.

Ditto

 

[ppine]

Camping and river trips usually involve some prepared foods. They have lots of salt in them. In really hot weather it is good to have some salt for people. I bring a small salt shaker.

 

[tketcham]

How much SALT do you take on a trip?

None, if the food I bring already has some salt in it. And no electrolytes or sports drinks. Added: I guess I do have a small container of salt that usually ends up with my cooking gear.

I don't worry about replacing sodium (and other electrolytes) during/after exercising and sweating as long as I drink plenty of water and eat a balance of solid foods that contain the needed electrolytes. I used to work on fire crews during the summer as part of my job and that can require 12 hours or more of hard work on steep terrain in hot temperatures wearing heavy boots, long sleeved shirts and long pants, and carrying a field pack. You can't help but sweat a lot. What I saw was that more people were getting sick from ingesting too much salt and/or electrolytes than from not getting enough. Adding some flavoring to water helps to keep it palatable when it loses it's cool.