
Remi goes over his favorite options for filtering water in the backcountry and staying hydrated.
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Chris Denham
Foreign.
Remy Warren
I'm Remy Warren and I've lived my life in the wild as a professional guide and hunter. I've spent thousands of days perfecting my craft. I want to give that knowledge to you. In this podcast we relive some of my past adventures as I give you practical hunting tips to make you more successful. Whether you're just getting started or a lifelong hunter, this podcast will bring you along on the hunt and teach you how to live wild. This podcast is brought to you by Mountain Tough and Yeti. A lot of the tactics I talk about here require you to be in top physical shape. So I partnered with Mountain Tough to help get you ready for the mountain with their science based Hunter specific training app. You'll get in shape and mentally tough able to tackle any hunt. Because we really believe this will help you be more successful As a listener to this podcast, we're giving you six free weeks to get you started. Just use code LIVEWILD well everyone, welcome back to the LiveWild podcast. This week is going to be all about hydration and preventing dehydration. I'm joined by my good friends Chris Denham from Western Hunter and Kevin Guillen of Wilderness Athlete. We're going to discuss water in the backcountry and we're going to cover options for purification as well as look at ways to boost your hydration needs with electrolytes. But first, I'm going to share the story with these guys about some bad water I had last season. Foreign Chris thank you guys so much. You know, we've had you on the podcast before. It's been a little while and it's always a good time to get to to chat with you guys. This week I figured we'd talk about a little bit about hydration, but also due to a recent backcountry experience of mine, might as well talk a little bit about purification because I'm in the I'm in the market for something new possibly see what you guys have been running. So last on my sheep hunt in Alaska, I generally so here's what I carry. A steripen is what I've been using for quite a while and a lot of places I actually won't even filter my water most of the time. It's like if it's piping out of a mountain or coming out of a spring, I feel like I'm pretty good about that. Generally pretty good about not getting anything weird. So I wasn't really filtering any of the water unless it's something where it's stagnant water. And I know I'm going to need to filter it. There wasn't as much, you know, you think about sheep hunting. You've been on sheep hunt up there, Chris? Well, I don't know what your experience was. Everywhere I've sheep hunted in Alaska, there's water everywhere, right? Yeah, yeah. This water the driest I've ever seen. Like, the springs were dry and it was a really wet week after that. But I think it was just like drought up until that point. So everywhere we thought there were springs, there was no water. And so we're kind of running low on water or in a way. Like I. Yeah, just like we're melting snow and getting some water that way. A lot of the snow had that. Was it watermelon fungus? Have you seen that? Oof. No, it's like that. It's like pink snow. Like don't, don't drink pink snow kind of thing because that'll make you really sick. And then we're getting. There was. We'd find springs and we. I'd drink that. But we spotted some sheep way across the valley. I don't know, like on day two, maybe nine miles away, we decided or this was day one, we were actually in there scouting ahead of time. We're going to go over there, we're going to just make a big push, get over there. We drop down, fill up in the river. I think we filtered that because it was in a river. And then we're walking as we're going up, we're like, well, we don't know if we're going to find water where those sheep are. We better stop this last spot and fill up. And it was this little beaver pond and it was dirty and so I just had the steripen. But there's a lot of stuff floating around. One of the other guys had one of those. It was either Catadine or Sawyer. The squeeze filters. And it's got. I don't know if you've seen them, but they've got like a bunch. It looks like a bunch of spaghetti stacked in there. And so everyone was squeezing their water and I was last to do it. And by that point it had plugged up pretty hard. So I'm squeezing pretty hard and the top popped off and I got the bad water in my water. So I'm like, well, forget about it. I'm just gonna sterry pen it. We'll be fine. So I'm like going up the mountain, getting super thirsty. I stereo penned the water and the water tastes like dead Sam, it's just like, you can't drink it.
Kevin Guillen
It's disgusting.
Remy Warren
Yeah. And so I put. I sterry penned it. I put in two. I think I did. Like, I was really trying to ration my energy and focus, hydrate and recovers. And I had to do. I had to make a superman to even drink this water. Like, it made you want to throw it up. It was so gross, tasting.
E
How much of it did you drink?
Remy Warren
Oh, I drank to a liter of it. Yeah, I drink a lot or two liters of it.
Kevin Guillen
Whatever.
Remy Warren
That was like the only water, like. And. And I. We were completely out of water when we got to our camp spot and it just happened to be like this giant rock. It was like a perfect camp spot. A storm was coming in. There's this beautiful, like glacier fed creek right next to it. And I mean, just chugging water after that because it was just so dehydrated and. Yeah, so I drank all that fish water. It was. Oh, just thinking about it.
E
Yeah.
Remy Warren
Yeah. And when I got home, you know, I don't know how long it takes for those things to, you know, make its way through your system, but it's normally like a week or so about whatever it was. A week later, I got so sick. Like, I lost. I think it was £15 in two days, something like that. Like, I thought I was gonna die. I couldn't even make it to the hospital. I actually had a doctor come to my house, give me an IV with the. What's the stuff that keeps you from throwing up and all that stuff. And like. Yeah, you know, rehydrated. It was bad. I don't know. You know, by the time they do the tests and all that stuff to figure out exactly what it is, they've already killed it, so it didn't even matter. They just, you know, pump you of the drugs for whatever it could be. And man, it was so bad. I. I've never been that sick. Like, it was. It was just terrible. So fast forward to figuring. I. So it was like mid. Oh, in October. And when I used the stereo pen that time, I was like, it's just not right. There's just something not right about it. And I found out in October. So I gotten sick and then done a bunch of hunts in September and then made it till about mid October. And somebody had the exact same stereo pin and I realized mine wasn't working.
Kevin Guillen
Oh.
Remy Warren
So, yeah, it had just gone bad. Like the light didn't light up anymore, but I was like, well, the UV light, you can't see the ultraviolet light, right? So it doesn't matter. The light's just a placebo effect. Well, that light wasn't working. But also I found out it the UV light itself wasn't working. So then it made sense why I got so sick. I just drank that straight up pond water without any kind of sterilization or filtration. And yeah, that was, that's not good. Yeah, it was bad. So needless to say, I'm in the market for something new and figured out I'll talk to you guys about what you're using because there's always latest and greatest. Man, I think I feel like water filtration systems, there's. It's one of those things I always say this, like headlamps and water filtration. I haven't found the perfect one yet. So if you have better ideas than what I've got, let me know. But I don't know what do you, what are you guys running right now?
E
The latest one that I've used is, I think the same one that Chris.
Chris Denham
Has used recently was that Lifestraw. It's collapsible squeeze bottle. Like I think Cat 9 makes one very similar. A lot of companies are making one similar.
E
And it's, it's just a one liter.
Chris Denham
Bottle that you can fill up with.
E
Dirty water and then you can drink straight.
Chris Denham
It's got a cap and then attached.
E
To that cap is a pretty robust filter. So you can drink straight from that filter, straight from that. And so it filters the water straight through that. Or the way I used it was.
Chris Denham
Basically just to transfer that into like.
E
A 3 liter bladder.
Chris Denham
So it would take some time, but just for convenience and size. I picked that up before we did our Grand Canyon hike this year. And it's, it was, it was appealing.
E
To me because it's lightweight, small, it compresses really small. It's a collapsible like rubber bottle. But that's the only time I'd use it. And I think from my experience, the thing that I noticed was like pretty.
Chris Denham
Rapidly that filter clogs up even, even with water that was coming out of spigots in the Grand Canyon which were.
E
Reported to need to be filtered.
Chris Denham
So we were taking some stream water. We were even taking water that was coming out of the, the spigots, but.
E
It wasn't potable at that point. So they were saying filter all of it. And so even water that was relatively clean compared to like the, you know, stuff you just found, it would still.
Chris Denham
Gum up that filter pretty good.
E
So it was like, I think the.
Chris Denham
Recommendation was to back filter it, like.
E
Back plunge it every time you filtered.
Chris Denham
Like a whole liter was.
E
Then take another liter of water and back flush it just to clear that filter out. Which just, I don't know, took time. But you know, so I've used that recently and then the one that I've.
Chris Denham
Used forever, just the Katadyne Hiker Pro. It's just that pump filter, which is just kind of the tried and true one for me. It just take, it just took up too much space. So I didn't take it on that trip. But I kind of wish I had just because it would have, it would have been faster.
E
I think overall.
Remy Warren
Yeah, it's the time thing for me is like you need a lot of water and then some of these filters just take so dang long or such a pain to use or you know, take up so much space so heavy that I, you know, that's why I always use the UV type filters because I could just keep it in my pocket. It's right there. It's pretty fast. It's a minute. I've guided a lot of guys that are using the ones where you squeeze it and you drink it, but then you can't mix anything in with your. You have no clean water. So then they're getting, they're like, you know, dry eating their, their electrolytes. And I'm like, that's not for me. I mean, no, they're huffing electrolytes and like squeezing their water. It just seems like a. I don't know, it just seemed like such a pain to me that. But yeah, squeezing it into another bottle, that's what we're doing. We just, you know, unfortunately I think it wasn't my filter and so I would. No one was in. The guy that had that one was. It was new. And I don't think anybody paid attention to that. Like you said the back, like how to clean the filter because it did gum up super fast. And then. Yeah, and you're just putting so much pressure to push the water through. They just blew the top off of it. In which case then it's doesn't even work.
Chris Denham
Yeah, I think there's always that trade off. It's like, do you want speed or.
E
Do you want more versatility?
Chris Denham
And I opted with the speed in that case.
E
And I also did not back flush that filter.
Chris Denham
So it just took forever actually at some point to squeeze a liter of.
E
Water through that thing. But it was, you know, for the right application.
Chris Denham
I think it was pretty sweet, you.
E
Know, and I think it's cool. There's, I mean, so many more filters.
Chris Denham
Systems out now than there was maybe even five, three, five years ago. Like, it seems like there's all sorts of ones that are built into your bladder. Built into, you know, Nalgene bottle stuff like. Chris, weren't you saying there was just.
E
One you saw for an algine bottle?
Yeah, that. What do we call that? Swig? Yeah, swig rig.
Remy Warren
Swig rig. The hard side.
E
Yeah, swig. Yeah, he's out of, out of Montana. And it's pretty cool because it could, it's, it's got a burp system so that as you're drinking. That's always the problem with hard side analogies. You can't just stick a straw in there and expect it to work. But it's got a burp system. So as you're sucking water out, it's got a way for air to get in there so you're able to draw through it pretty quick. He also makes them for smart water bottles, which I think is really smart because. Oh yeah, smart water bottles are just super handy. They're, they're, they're super. They're obviously incredibly light. I love the skinny ones because they fit inside pockets really well. And, and I've definitely had to change from hydration or from filtration systems to pure hydration. But I've kind of like in the last two years gotten almost exclusively away from, from soft bladders because I get so tired of not knowing how much water I have in my pack. And you know, I'm always trying to. I want to make sure I drink it all before I get to the next spot. But I'm always nervous because I don't know how much is in there. And I get someplace. I'm already dehydrated. I feel like I'm dehydrated. I pull my bladder out and there's still a liter and a half in there. I should have been drinking that all day. And so I've gone more and more to, to Nalgene hard side bottles where you can just pull it out and look at it and not have to half empty your pack. You know, sometimes with those with bladders, a lot of times you have to almost empty your pack in order to get it out to see what you got. But anyways, that's what I love about that guy system because it's a bit swig rig. It's just it. I, I just picked him up attack last weekend, so I haven't Had a chance to actually use him yet. But everything about it looks super. Just looks bulletproof, right? I really like what I see.
Remy Warren
Yeah, that's what. I actually stopped using the soft bladders a long time ago, mostly because I'd have them leak and then you'd get your stuff wet. And I had them, like, put me in a real bad situation on a late season hunt. So I was like, no longer will I use those. I just use like the yeti yonder bottles now. And I just have one on my hip belt. So that's the one that, I mean, if you're talking about, we're kind of transitioning from filtration to hydration. Because the thing about hydration is I would have. I don't know how many hunts I would go on, and I would essentially be dehydrated at the end of every day because I would have water and I wouldn't drink it. It would be in my backpack and I wasn't drinking it. So then I started with the hose thing like everybody else when those came out camelbacks or whatever. And then I was drinking water. But then, like you said, I was drinking too much water or I didn't or not enough or it would freeze or it would leak or it would have problems. So then I was like, okay, it's water bottles for me, and I keep one on my hip. I keep a ration in my pack that I would swap out with the one on my hip. And then I have like a essentially emergency water or some smaller bottle. Often depending on the hunt, that would be maybe even one that I mix my drink mix in or something like that that is separate from the other two. So I don't. So I know that I've at least got like, okay, this is. This is for getting out of here. And that's the way that I've kind of rationed my water. Re.
E
Well, because you think about it, I've been working on this theory for a couple years. It's one of the reasons why I got rid of the hydration bladder concept, is that, you know, in the course of human history, when hunters were out hunting, you got water when you hit a water source and you stuck your face in there and you drank until you couldn't drink anymore. And then you got up and you went hunting again.
Yeah.
And then you didn't drink again until you got to the next water source. I mean, it wasn't even till 10, probably 15 years ago when the camelback got invented that we had this ability to suck on water 24, seven, if you actually wanted to. And, and almost like the concept of the Paleo diet. I'm like, I wonder if that's not the way the human body is supposed to hydrate. We're supposed to gorge on water, then move on, gorge on water, move on instead of this relentless sipping. Because it makes sense. I mean evolution just doesn't change that fast. The human body doesn't accommodate, accommodate new ideas as fast as we have with the camelback. And I started doing that in the Grand Canyon because back to Kevin's story there is. We hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim and it's 47 and a half miles, it's non stop, it's one day. And I used to get, I was getting nauseated, really nauseated and I finally started read up on hyponatremia, which is essentially too much water and where your electrolyte levels get too low because you're diluting with water constantly. And so I tried, you know, doing away with the bladder and just, you know, gulping and with hydro recover obviously at most at every water source. I haven't been nauseated doing that, that hike in about four or five years now but. And the only change I really made was not sipping water constantly. You know, your mouth gets a little dry, you think you need a drink, you don't actually need a drink, you want to drink. And so anyways, just a theory I've been working on and so far I feel like I'm, I'm feel like I'm getting some answers anyways, that's actually a.
Remy Warren
Really good point because a lot of people fear of dehydration but they don't think that you can actually have too much water. And that's the one thing like I've always been really good about. I kind of do that cameling up system where I get to water, I chug my water, then I save water for emergency situations and I get to water, I chug my water and I feel, you know, like I drink very sporadically but I try to drink as much as I think I need at those moments when I've got access to water in those, I mean as you know in the desert situations like hunting a lot in Nevada, you have to just carry all your water, you aren't going to run into water. So then you've got a ration and you got to do it a little bit different. And most of the time you're erring on the side of dehydration. But in places where you have access to Water and you can continually drink. Yeah, get. Getting too much water can be just as dangerous or if not more dangerous than not enough water. And I don't think people realize that. I actually have an uncle of mine that was running the Western states 100, and when he got to the finish line, he just went out and went into a coma. And he had water on the brain, which I think is essentially too much water and not enough electrolytes. And so your body just shuts down because it doesn't have what it needs for the body to function.
Chris Denham
Yeah, yeah. The hyper thing is real.
E
And not to, not to like counter what you guys are saying, but just to give a little more variety to that discussion. So like, we know that like, so we do a lot of stuff on another side of our company called Working Athlete, where we have our hydrant recover in the field with guys that are working in like the 110 degree weather all day. And the general, like one general school of thought based on some studies that have been done is like, as a rough measurement for how often and how much water you ought to be drinking.
Chris Denham
Is to take your weight, divide that.
E
By 30, and you should be drinking.
Chris Denham
That amount of water every 15 to 20 minutes.
E
Now that's a pretty like, you gotta understand that's a protocol that's put in place by like companies that are trying to mitigate liability. They're trying to keep people from making dehydration mistakes. Dehydration makes you, you know, lose lapse in judgment, reaction time slows. It really impairs a lot of cognitive function and stuff. So there's more safety built into that. But I think what it comes down to is really like the difference in how much sweat you produce. They're like, from individual to individual. Some people lose 10 times as much water as the next guy doing the same activity in the same environment. So I think it's important to like, if you're the type of guy, like, I'm just gonna call him out here, like Ben for example, or Peter for that matter, both those guys climbing up the stairs are sweating and they know about themselves. And so like, we'll go play around a golf in 100 degree weather or something like that. They just have to drink a lot more water in order to replenish that water in their system. So it's a balance. Hydration is definitely not like a one size fits all approach. And so like, I mean, Remy, your approach of cameling and all that, that's been developed over years of doing that and knowing what Kind of works for you and seeing how that impacts the way you feel. But unfortunately it feels like the people that most often get in trouble in these situations in the backcountry, just hiking, training, whatever, are people who just don't have a whole lot of experience under their belt with balancing electrolytes, fluid intake in the heat, extended periods of exercise, and then you end up playing the catch up game. And that's where guys get into real trouble is you know your electrolytes are depleted, you know that ratio in your, in your blood is off or your fluid is completely depleted and you know you're five, ten miles in, your muscles are cramping, you know you're lethargic, your brain's kind of slow. So you know, it's. I think the PSA out there is kind of like take all the information you can find. Obviously electrolytes need to be a part of your equation, not just water. That's not enough, but see what works for you. If you're a heavy salt sweater, then electrolytes or something heavy salt replacing in your system is probably more needed than the next guy.
Remy Warren
Oh, for sure. And I think, you know, I've been on that spectrum of knowing how well hydration and especially electrolytes and other things replenish what you've lost by just taking it to the limits and, and being completely out of it and then sitting down, having a hydrate and recover or something like that and going, oh, the cramping of my legs is going away. Oh, okay, that's what it was. Oh. Or you just feel like, I feel so tired and really you maybe haven't done anymore, but like hiking on a hot day, you feel way more tired than you do hiking on a cold day. It's just because your body is, is dehydrating faster, you're losing that salt, you're losing all the stuff that you need for those functions and it makes you feel lethargic, it makes you feel tired, it makes it more difficult. I've got two hunts coming up where it's probably going to be 100 to 120 degrees. It's going to be hot and it's going to be. I got two early season hunts that are going to be real hot and that's one of the things that I probably consider more than anything. You know, a few weeks back we actually talked about like fuel on a backcountry hunt and what to eat. But I think the, one of the bigger parts of the equation is, is what to drink, how to replenish those electrolytes because it is you. You know, you can get that stuff from food, but when you're in a backcountry situation, you can't fully recuperate with just getting it from food sources in your day to day life. You know, you get it from a lot of food, but when you're burning and hunting and hunting hard, you need something to kind of replenish what you're losing. So you maintain that energy, maintain that, yeah, whatever. Don't cramp, don't. You don't start to shut down. You see it all the time of guys just, you know, cramping up, shutting down, getting tired, getting irritable, sit down, have some water, have some electrolytes.
E
And it doesn't take much. It's only about 2% of, of water.
Chris Denham
Loss in your body where you start to like see cognitive decline.
E
So like reaction time, mental focus, mood, you know, things like that start to come into play. And then around 5% of total water loss in your body, you're seeing like more severe things like nervous system being impacted, musculoskeletal stuff. So you know, muscle cramping and actual like muscle and body shutdown. So it doesn't take a lot. And I think that's kind of where the I, you know, salt is a huge part of it. Like I remember it was probably about four, four years ago. I think it was the first time I'd ever used a salt pill. I think you gave it to me, Chris, when we were doing the Grand Canyon the year prior. I just, and it was like two years prior to that. Every year I get to the same, same point. While climbing up the north rim, I would start cramping. My calves would cramp, my hamstrings would cramp. Like every time I was taking a step I would just get this wicked. And I think part of it was the altitude there, but the other part of it was like I was drinking a ton of water. I had a full bladder, a ton of water, I was eating plenty. But I wasn't really replenishing my sodium as much as I could. I was drinking hydrate and recover every so often. But you're actually only able to bring in so much sodium through a liquid like that. Like your ability to hold that much liquid volume in your stomach is only so much. And what sodium means you have when you're moving non stop for that amount of time was much higher than that. So that's when I started using sodium pills, like salt pills. Taking it like every hour on the hour. When I was moving at that type of duration. And I haven't had a muscle cramp in there ever since I started doing that. And to me that was just like, yes, salt was like a huge thing. It was definitely like the thing that I was losing that I wasn't replenishing fast enough. So, you know, it's just those things that you kind of just learn about the way your body operates uniquely to you and what you're doing that you, you can't learn in a textbook. But I think there's just tons of great information about there to like to listen to. But then you got to kind of try it, you got to practice it. You got to see what, you know, what affects you.
Remy Warren
Yeah, definitely. I think one of the things too is everybody, everybody, every person's a little bit different. But the thing about hydration and recovering from that kind of stuff, I feel like it happens a lot faster than, than other things, like knowing what's working. Do you guys kind of agree? I mean, I feel like it, it. You kind of start to figure it out based on, oh, I feel better and you feel better. And I mean, not instantly, but relatively short amount of time. Like, it's not like something where you're like, oh, what, what foods make my body work better and you kind of like go on a trip and then start eating these certain things. I mean, I feel like that takes a little bit longer. But when it comes to hydration stuff, you kind of know pretty quick. Once you start to feel depleted, what really helps because you, you feel it. The effects. I think a lot faster than some other things that you could do.
E
Yeah, for sure. I think interesting example to me and it's like one of my favorite examples or stories of, of wilderness athletes hydrant recover is. My wife and I were hiking the Grand Canyon and it was two weeks before where I was going to do the rim to room to rim. So we went down, down the South Kaibab Trail to the, to the river and then back up. And so, you know, half. And he was coming up. There's one space right before Indian Gardens where there's this rock wall along the trail. It's about, I don't know, 150 yards long. And we stopped there. It was shady. It was pretty afternoon. We stopped it. Just take a break, eat a bar, have some something to drink. And I see this guy coming up the trail who's obviously a rim to Rim Rimmer. He's got that look in his eyes like he's just grinding up the south. He's been. He's exhausted, but dude looks double tough. You know, he looks like, you know, he's. He's legit. He comes kind of cruising up the trail, and he literally plops down right next to me. There's 150 yards of place for him to sit, and he sits, like, two feet from me. I'm like, okay, this is weird. And. And I. So I asked him, I said, you doing room to rim? And he said, yep. And I said, how you doing? He just shakes his head, and he's just like, not good. And he used a man. He goes, I don't think I can make it. Well, you don't really have a choice here. You. You have to hike out of here. It's not like nobody's going to come get you. You know, you got to do this. And. And so I pulled out a packet of hydrating cover. I said, you want to try this? He's like, sure. I'm like, would you take something from some random stranger on a trail who.
Remy Warren
Just hand you a package?
E
Unkn, you know? So I mixed it up for him in his water bottle and gave it to him. And he's like, ah, that tastes really good. And. And, you know, he. So the car and I left, and he sat there for a little while and finished it, and we made it to Indian Gardens, which is the next water stop, which only, like, another mile up. So we're sitting there filling up our water bottles, and he comes by and starts watering up, and he's, man, that was really good. And then he left before we did, and we never saw him again. He made it out before we did. Well, we were at the Grand Canyon village the next day and happened to run into the guy in the lobby, and he's like, man, I don't know what that stuff was, but it, like, saved my life, you know? He said, that's exactly what I needed. And he said, I just cruised out, and I don't know where. You know what? I didn't get his backstory as far as what he'd been doing to that point, but whatever it was, his body needed that desperately at that point. You know, something that tasted good and had the balance he was looking for. And because this day. This day, this guy did ultras all the time. He's doing 50, 100 milers. You think he would be dialed. But the Grand Canyon takes you to that place that is a little bit different than any other place. And that's kind of the second part of the story is you've gotta. You do have to challenge yourself and do things that are a little extreme because what we do when we're hunting, when you, when you're three miles deep, it doesn't matter. You could be a mile deep and you just drop. You just got an elk on the ground. You've got a crapload of work in front of you, and it's not the kind of work you ever going to do in the gym. You're never going to actually work that hard in the gym. So you, at some point, you got to go do something that really pushes yourself so that you can learn. Back to your point, Remy. It's like, how does my body react? Not what I read on the Internet there. Nobody else's examples, you know, because usually your examples come from these extreme athletes. You know, it's not the average guy. So got to figure out what works for you. And when you're feeling a certain way back to that point too, that's a. How you feel, what your body's telling you, you know, whatever that language is, you got to learn to speak that language and figure out what your body's trying to tell you at this point and what you need.
Remy Warren
Yeah, I mean, that's because we get a lot of guys that are. Listen to this podcast, and there's a lot of guys that do it a lot. And then there's a lot of guys that are like, I'm doing this for the first time and telling those guys how to prepare because they're the ones that really need the information the most. But also, it's kind. It's not really a cop out being like, you got to figure out what works for you, because you really do have to figure out what works for you. It's like, okay, here's your options. Here's what we know is kind of the best solution for most cases. And then how often you drink it, how you intake water, how you utilize electrolytes and vitamins, and how your body goes through salts and other things that can be tweaked. And the more you do it, the more you know, so you can kind of carry less and. And get away with more. One of the things that I like, I. I actually will, you know, in my rationing there. There's certain things that I bring. I. I think, you know, drink mix is a big one. I've talked about it a lot because I just know that I know how well it works for my body and I know that the amount of extra performance I can get so, you know, hydrate and recover. And then when I start feeling tired, the energy and focus and then I've been doing like, like, let's say it's a 10 day, a 10 day back country hunt I'll throw in. Like for me, I don't really sweat that much, to be honest. Like in a weird way, I just don't. I mean it's just how I've always been. So I think I, I get away with less salt. But I've been throwing in the rescue hydration in with and it is like you said, Kevin, when you need the salt, that extra salt content, dude, it saves your bacon on those really hard. When I'm really sweating hard, because there are those like I, if I don't sweat that much, but then there are times where I'm sweating a lot and then your body's not used to it, you go, okay, I need, I need to replenish that. Yeah, because there, there is having that extra like sodium booster makes a big difference in a lot of situations.
E
Yeah, 100%. I mean, like to your point earlier when you were saying like hydration, it's like the most rapid rejuvenation that you can feel. I've noticed that the most with rescue hydration. And I think an example of that is like if you've ever been hungover, like really hungover, and then you drink something like a hydrate and recover, or if you mix like our rescue in there with it, it's literally minutes before you feel a world of difference. And it's both because there's a physical and a mental component to that type of dehydration. There's cognitive impairment and physical impairment. And so you just have that ability to rejuvenate those systems really rapidly when you're drinking something. But yeah, we developed rescue hydration. Gosh, was it like two years ago? Three? I think we were testing about three years ago because I remember the first time I had samples of it was in the Grand Canyon a few years ago. And I was never more of a believer in something like that. It essentially just for people listening, it's an additional powder you add to hydrate and recover. It doubles your electrolytes, your sodium, your potassium. It also adds some other things in there, like aloe vera gel powder, which is really helpful for if you're severely dehydrated. We intended this to be used for.
Chris Denham
When you're facing severe dehydration, heat stroke.
E
Heat illness, you're in a bad, bad way or you're preventing that and you want to get out of a situation. Aloe vera gel powder is very soothing to the stomach.
Chris Denham
It's pretty common when people get severely.
E
Dehydrated or heat stroke that they get nauseous and they can't hold any water down, they want to start vomiting, and that just compounds the issue. Aloe vera gel powder definitely helps kind of curb nausea. Astaxanthin is in there as well, which is a really, really potent antioxidant for me. And for, for most people, what astaxanthin does is. Helps you and it sounds goofy. It just helps you more be more resistant to heat stress. Honestly, you just feel. It's a very like, immediate feeling of like, okay, your kind of battery is just recharged. I remember the first time I used it, we were in the long stretch back in the Grand Canyon at the bottom. So it was at the hottest point in the day. I don't know, somewhere in the 80s or whatever. But in direct sun and after drinking one of these things, I just felt like my gas tank was completely full. I use it now pretty frequently, and so does my wife Courtney, pretty often when you feel like you're dehydrated, you're trying to catch up, or I'll use it when I'll add it to a hydrate, recover when I know I'm going to do something really tough. I know I'm about to lose a lot of liquids and I want some extra support, you know, like a really long workout or a long hike or run or something like that in the heat. I think it definitely helps to kind of pre. Preload yourself with that amount of sodium, that amount of potassium. It's a pretty awesome additive to hydrogen recovery.
Remy Warren
Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, and that's the one thing I like talking about you guys, because you guys know the science behind everything and what, what helps. I just ripped the top off for the most part and base things, you know, that's what you're, that's what you're supposed to do.
E
And that's. Yeah, just trust it and I promise it'll work.
Remy Warren
Yeah. But I mean, it's so cool because now we have the technology and the ability to people be like, well, 200 years ago we didn't use this stuff. It's like, yeah, but also the, the, the way that we can push ourselves in the comfort level that we can, like, stay in the game and hunt harder and longer and, and just be more in it. And maybe it sucks, but it just sucks a little bit less. Like, that's always nice, right?
Chris Denham
Yeah.
Remy Warren
Like, I don't know, I think of every. I don't know. Well, that last cheap one that I was talking about, we just, it was just a grind. Like, we didn't find legal rams. We were doing a lot of hiking, it was super wet. You know, we just like hit bad weather and it just sucked. I mean, everything about it sucked. But, like, the fueling properly drinking, you know, having a little bit of like, replenishing those electrodes, like just feeling overall good while feeling shitty is like the best feeling ever. Sometimes for me, it's like, again, it feels horrible, but I feel better. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if that makes sense. Like, feeling good while feeling shitty is, is what I strive for in life.
Chris Denham
I think, you know how shitty you could feel and that's, that's, you know, so it's like, you know what, that's.
E
Really all supplements are, and they're tools.
Chris Denham
They're just giving you a little supplemental edge on life. They're definitely not gonna, like, you know, replace the, the foundation of like a good diet and being physically ready and all that. But it definitely, when it sucks, it's.
E
Just going to suck a little less.
Chris Denham
Or when you need to push and dig deep, you're going to find maybe.
E
A little bit more in there. But yeah, to your point, that's what's.
Chris Denham
Really awesome about this day and age is we know more than ever about our health science. What ingredients, what technologies are available to us that can kind of give us a little edge. And we're still learning constantly, especially with hydration. Hydration science is, you know, something that's actually evolving pretty rapidly in the last, like 50 years. We didn't, we. The assumptions we made about hydration 50 years ago are like, laughable now about, you know, sodium and the types of things that we needed. And knowing now, we just know so much more. We need more than just sodium. There's more electrolytes that are super critical. There's quicker ways to deliver it to your blood stream. There's very harmful ways to deliver to your bloodstream with overly sugared things. So, you know, it's all about just feeling a little less shitty.
E
That's really what it is.
Remy Warren
Yeah. Finding that right balance is always, is always nice. You know, I wanted to talk about too, so I did get to do a little bit of a look behind the curtain because I got to work with you guys developing hydrate, recover and energy and focus, two new flavors that I'm excited about. You know, I've, I've used your Guys's stuff for. As we've talked about this before for. But as long as I can remember, you know, I mean, as long as you guys have been around for the most part, and I work with you guys because it's something that I believe in and have used for a very long time. You know, when I started guiding, I would go 123 consecutive days in the field hunting. And I know a lot of people love hunting, but that's a lot of days hunting, like, with no breaks. And, like, that was what I felt like got me through a lot of long, hard days and how I could kind of just keep pushing and excelling, pushing and excelling and just staying in it and doing the best for my clients or whoever I was guiding or for my own personal hunts. And so now we've got. I got to work with you guys a little bit on the formula, not necessarily a formulation process, but just kind of creating a few new flavors. And that was pretty interesting because when you get. That's the thing I love about working with any company is the behind the scenes of what goes into what somebody has. Because, like I said, when you rip the top and pour it in your water bottle, that's all you're doing. You don't understand what was like in the behind the scenes portion of. Okay, well, it, you know, you guys have, I think, a really good formula of what needs to be in it. But then even just the formulation of the flavor profile, that was really interesting to me because we went through a lot of iterations of, like, I, I. You said, what would you like if you could have? When I was like, the first one I said was a huckleberry. Like a huckleberry lemonade flavor. That's love huckleberry. Love lemonade. Like, that just always sounds good on a hot day on the mountain. And then, you know, we went through quite a few testing phases of being like, okay, that tastes way too much like vitamins. I know it's got a lot of vitamins in there, but it tastes like vitamins. Like, that's. How do you make vitamins not taste like vitamins? That's the secret, right? And then we did our prickly pear orange.
Chris Denham
Yeah.
Remy Warren
And then it's funny because you'd start with a. We start with a certain flavor, and we're like, there was one where it was good, but at the end, you'd be like, it kind of tastes like milk, right?
E
Yeah, like cereal, like cereal milk.
Remy Warren
Yeah, it tastes like, like the end of like, like eating Fruit Loops and the Milk. Fruit loop milk. Really? And you're like, it's good at first, but, like, man, when you're working hard, it was disgusting, you know, or whatever.
Kevin Guillen
Yeah.
Remy Warren
But, like, it's like. So we tweaked it, and then we're like, okay, now we're getting, like, these. These really good flavors that. Yeah, okay, Works for that. Plus, you got to want to drink it. You have to. It has to taste good. You want to, you know, feel good afterwards when you're working hard. And so going through that process with you guys of that new formulation was really. It was really fun. It was cool to get this.
E
Yeah.
Remy Warren
I always looked forward to getting a packet in the mail of like, oh, new test version three. Okay, let's do it.
E
Yeah, it was a ton of fun. It took us almost like a year, right? It was about a year.
Remy Warren
Yeah. And I think that's kind of a.
E
Unique thing, that it was super fun for us.
Chris Denham
We've never done a project like that with anybody. We don't do, like, the custom flavor for, you know, every few weeks.
E
We've never done that.
Chris Denham
And so it was fun to kind of take. Obviously, you've been with William Safley for longer than. Longer than shit, most of the people in this building, so it was. It just made so much sense.
E
But it was also cool to kind.
Chris Denham
Of see what the experience would be like when it's people outside of our company testing it and, like, flavoring it. Because, like, I've done all the taste testing with folks here in the office.
E
For years, and, you know, we never really have, like, bad flavors, but it's.
Chris Denham
Awesome just to have somebody else's opinion on it too. You know, we don't use artificial flavors. So our formulation, our formulator, he's brilliant. And when it comes to flavoring, it sounds simplistic. And I think that's where, like, the.
E
General public, the consumer just, you know, you just don't know.
Chris Denham
Like, you don't know how much goes into it.
E
But when you're using natural flavor extracts and you've already got a pretty robust.
Chris Denham
Line of flavors in your. In your product line, trying to make something different and then make it good, and then also not using artificial flavors so it tastes like bubblegum or cotton candy, is pretty challenging. You know, there's a lot of, you know, behind the scenes tweaking with different flavor extracts, and they always do such a great job. And the ones we landed on for your flavors are just. Yeah, they're. They're gonna be extremely popular, without a doubt.
Remy Warren
Yeah, I'm excited. I think they're. They should be launching pretty soon, if not.
Chris Denham
Yeah.
Remy Warren
Now, I guess.
Chris Denham
Yeah.
Remy Warren
This podcast will be kind of when they hit, there'll be tubs first, and then there'll be the single serves pretty shortly after. So I'm excited about that. You know, I guess, I mean, might as well talk about it because, you know, people. It's like we're prepping for hunting season. You guys can find them on the Wilderness Athlete website or you can go to my website, Remy Warren.com I will lead you. I will lead you to the promised land, the land of energy and focus. Wilderness Athlete. Hydrate, Recover. Honey. You know, huckleberry lemonade. It's good, man. I'm. I'm pretty excited about it because it's a. It's definitely a flavor that I've been enjoying, and getting to test and develop with you guys has been a lot of fun. So it's cool that that's. That's coming out for guys listening. You guys can go check that out. Just in time. Well, like, early season and stuff like that.
E
So what we were talking about earlier, too, is, like, it'll be here in time for, you know, you to really.
Chris Denham
Like, when you're doing your preseason training, whether it's like weighted hikes or runs or just the gym to try it. Like, if you've never tried hydrate and recover before, put yourselves at the paces and really push it and just see how you feel with it and, you know, pay attention to how you're performing without it.
E
Hydrate Recover is a really great formula. You can drink it before, during, or after.
Chris Denham
There's really no wrong time to drink it. It just depends on how you're going into a workout or how you're coming.
E
Out of it, really. But, you know, I think the best.
Chris Denham
Thing that guys can do leading into a long hunting season is really getting used to all the things they're going to be eating and drinking to see how it, you know, affects them. And hydrant recovery is, like, huge.
Remy Warren
Yeah, that's a. I think that that's a great tip for guys that aren't, you know, doing it all the time is try at home, don't try on the mountain. Try. Like, if you don't like it at home, you aren't gonna like it on the mountain. I can nearly promise you that. Like, yeah, I guess there's a couple things that, I mean, now I wouldn't eat at home that I eat on the. The mountain, but, you know, there's not that Many things that it's like if it doesn't work for you now when you're training or prepping or going on a scouting trip or it's not going to work on your five, ten day backcountry hunt, you know.
Chris Denham
Yeah.
Remy Warren
Find something that does. I don't know. That's always one of the big things.
E
And it changes. I noticed it changes over the years too. It's like one of the beautiful. The nice things about us doing the rim to rim every year is we do it at the same time and we do the same hike. And it's crazy to look at how my kit has changed over the years. And I don't really feel like it's like I'm improving it, it's my taste are changing a little bit. It's just we realize that right now. Like I remember one year it was, it was the peanut butter with bacon and honey sandwiches that was like I would, I, I made like three of them and I wish I had 10 of them now this year. That was like, no, no, I have no interest in that anymore. I don't know why, but it just, it constantly changes. So. Yeah, that especially, you know, down here. We going into hunting season is hard for us because it's going to be 111 here today and it's going to be, you know, it's, it's, you know, it's, it's kind of miserable hot. Even sunrise, it's, you know, it's 80 degrees. So it's really hard to go out and do a three hour, you know, a two or three hour training hike when it's that hot. I mean it's just, it's. Humans weren't really bad. I don't think humans were actually meant to live here until air conditioning got invented.
Remy Warren
So yeah, that kind of heat, it zaps your energy like you can't believe. Like last year I had that desert sheep tag and it was a later season but I went out, I guess it'd be right now. Yeah, it was actually this week last year, a year ago this week scouting and I was gonna put trail cameras out and then I didn't really find any waters that I liked and there's a lake there. So I'm like, I don't know about this and thought it was so hot and shitty hiking. It was like the hardest. I probably only hiked 10 miles. I mean I hiked three miles in, three miles out on one and then, you know, a couple miles to another one. It's probably 10 mile day and that was the hardest. They're like, some of those miles were as flat and just absolutely some of the hardest hiking I've ever had to do in that heat. Like, you just hike in flat in that kind of heat, and it is punishing.
Kevin Guillen
It's so hard.
Remy Warren
Like, people. It's just, you know, and I was. I was just. I had a lot of water. I had a lot of electrolytes. I was just. I was just constantly taking. That was the only thing that kept my. And you just. You get kind of angry and cranky. You're just like, I'm done with this. This is so stupid. I was like, I'm not coming back here. I didn't put any trail cameras because I'm like, I'm not coming back here. And the last day of July to come get these things. I'm just. It's fine. I'll go find a sheep and kill it. I don't need to. I don't need to set these trail cameras out. I'm like, oh, man, I've got a couple of hot hunts coming up. I'm like, yep, I'm going to be prepared for it. What do you, what, what do you have on the docket, Chris, for this season?
E
You know, honestly, the draw gods were, like, angry with me this year. And the only tag, the tags I drew, I mean, I do have an Oregon deer tag this year, and I did big credit card hits happened with yesterday or day before here in Arizona. So I know that Mark and I both got hits for deer. But the reality is I had the hunt I applied for. I had three more points and I needed to actually draw it. So I was, you know, so I got. I've got an Arizona deer hunt. Should have a Wyoming deer hunt. And. And then New Mexico, we're going to go back to hunt elk in New Mexico. But there's. We only have one tag this year, so Mark's gonna hunt. But I'm still going because I'll go to New Mexico elk hunting. Even if I don't have a tag, I'm still going to be there. I'm just gotta. I can't not be there.
Remy Warren
Yeah, but that's awesome.
E
Yeah, that's. That's it for me this year. I did not draw. No. Yeah, that's it. It's gonna be a. It's a little slim. You know, of course, being an Arizona resident, I still have January. You know, the January archery hunts.
Yeah.
And this year is the year I've said, you know what? I am cutting way back on my show season schedule. And I'm gonna hunt three weeks in January if I can, because I've actually never been able to do that as an adult because I've been in this industry since I was, you know, 25. And, and January is just show season, so I've never got to really hunt hard in January. I mean, I've hunted like five, six, seven days, but never been able to say, you know, what, three weeks I'm doing it. And so I'm actually pretty excited about that.
Remy Warren
Oh, that'd be awesome. Yeah, that's really cool. Right on. Well, cool guys. Well, thank you guys so much for jumping in. Any last thoughts from anyone?
E
No, no.
Chris Denham
The only thing I was going to.
E
Add about the heat thing just because.
Chris Denham
You know, we're here in Arizona and it's just a hot as hell right now.
E
Like the best thing you can do is like, if you're hunting somewhere that's.
Chris Denham
Going to be hot, go get in the heat. Like, go spend some time in the heat. Like increase your heat exposure and try not to stay inside in the air conditioning all the time because like, even I find like the more I stay inside with the AC on, the bigger shock it is to my system and how I feel when I do go outside. And you know, we work out in.
E
The CrossFit gym all summer long where.
Chris Denham
It can sometimes be like a high 90s and it sucks, but you slowly, your body gets used to that kind of stress. It adapts to that stress and then it just doesn't throw you for such a loop when you, you know, when you, when you actually have to hunt.
E
In that or just you don't really.
Chris Denham
Have a choice but to be in that. So, you know, just get out there and expose yourself to it. But you know, I guess that kind of goes for everything, the hydration game and everything. Just go do it.
Remy Warren
Yeah, that's a great point. It's like whatever you're doing, whatever you might encounter, if you can do it ahead of time, you're gonna be a lot better off. And, and I actually feel fortunate because I do a lot of early season hunts and I always do pretty well on them for the most part with the heat, probably because I'm, I'm around it. But then I have guys that will go with me and they aren't used to it and is a major shock to the system. Like you don't. That that's. It can be, it can be rough. So.
Chris Denham
Yeah.
Remy Warren
Well, thank you guys so much for, for jumping on with me. I know, you know Every time we get together and get to talk about these things, it's a benefit for somebody. A lot of the listeners really enjoyed the last one we did, so thank you guys so much. And then as a reminder, you know, for those of you listening, you can use code livewild, get a discount on some Wilderness Athlete products if you want to try anything. And my new flavors will be available shortly. So find those little huckleberry lemonade for your hunt this season. Not a bad idea.
E
Can't wait.
Remy Warren
Catch you guys later.
E
Good go. Ready for everyone.
Kevin Guillen
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that podcast. It's always awesome to be able to sit down with Kevin and Chris and just talk about hunting, especially when it comes to things like hydration and fueling your body because they, they have so much of that knowledge. And it was just awesome to be able to be a part of that experience building those new flavors. So we've got, they're actually available now. So I've got my huckleberry lemonade and my prickly pear orange available now. You can get it on the Wilderness Athlete website or you can find it on my website, RemyWarren.com and as always on the Wilderness Athlete website, you guys can use code LIVEWILD, get 20% off if you're so inclined. So if anybody's going to be at the wild sheep show, just as a reminder, so this week, today I'm actually at the Wild sheep show in Reno, Nevada. Got my booth there. So find our booth. I've got tubs and packets available for sale. Also going to be giving out samples of that. There's been a little bit of a time change to my seminar. So if you guys are planning on coming to that, it's going to be now after Mountain Tough gives away the sheep hunt on Friday. So It'll be at 2:30 now a little bit of a time change just because things got moved around. So if you're in that Mountain Tough event trying to win a sheep hunt, my seminar is going to be after that now at 2:30. So looking forward to seeing you guys there for a little bit of a live Q and A. And then there will also be just so many great, you know, especially when it comes to mountain hunting. So many great companies and some awesome gear. If you guys are able to attend, attend. If not, you know, you can always check a lot of this stuff out online on my website. One of the ones that you know is always a fan favorite at the sheep shows, Stone Glacier, awesome company. You know, great supporter of this podcast. One of the Things they have this year that's a little bit new, is there? Well, they took their Sky Archer 6400 which is, I mean it's, it's one of their best packs. Probably just a fan favorite. One of my favorites. It's awesome for bow hunting, early season hunting, backcountry hunting, kind of fits everything. It's nice too because the front portion you can strap your bow to when you're. When you're hiking in. And they did a couple key tweaks to it. They've just kind of upgraded it, improved its versa versa versatility a little bit. So now you can kind of have this quick access to some storage points while just keeping it very minimalist as well. There's also like a big side pocket that you can access. Tripod, water, whatever, extra layers. And it's placed where they've got. It's got a long zipper on the side now so you don't have to remove the bow to access that pocket which is, which is awesome. Like that pack is definitely a go to pack. It's great for pretty much any hunt. I mean I've taken that hunt, that bag, the 6400 Sky Archer on doll sheep hunts, I've taken it on. I mean I've hunted everything with it. It's a great pack. So that's one to look at or be on the lookout for. As always, you guys can also use code livewild on anything at Stone Glacier website and get free shipping on that. So you can either find it in my store or on their website and you can use code livewild to get free shipping on everything. Stone Glacier. Looking forward to seeing you guys at Sheepshow. For those of you that are going to make it and for those that can't, you know, you can always check out some of this stuff online. You know, there's always going to be. Maybe I'll try to find some cool gear, some new gear. There's always the nice thing about going to some of these shows is the fact that you just get to put your hands on some awesome gear. And then also we're going to be at Western Hunt Expo. We'll have all this Wilderness Athlete product. We'll have some Stone Glacier gear. We'll have a lot of the other hard goods. Oh, just as a reminder too, something new that we've got. We've got our live wild day six arrows in the store now as well as day six broadheads.
Remy Warren
We've had the broadheads for a while.
Kevin Guillen
But we've got some the Day six arrows with some live wild wraps. That's all new stuff. So you haven't checked out the store.
Remy Warren
In a little while.
Kevin Guillen
Go check it out. Also dropped a new little hunt video. My buddy Mike got a Boone and Crockett desert ram. So, you know, for those of us going to sheep show or thinking about sheep hunting, this week is just one of those weeks where it's on the top of the mind. It's always fun to watch a sheep hunt. So check that out on my YouTube channel. If you guys aren't subscribed, subscribe to the channel, man. It's, it's getting, you know, getting a lot of videos put out. Finally got into a groove. I mean, I have so many, I've got so many films I've just never even edited because I just didn't have time and, and you know, I don't know why. So I think I might even re release some old solo hunter episodes on there. But I have like a bunch of new stuff coming out. Some incredible short films. Elk hunt coming up, Utah deer hunt, Muzzleloader, deer hunt. Just some really cool stuff coming out. And then I try to release a new video every Monday. So if you aren't subscribed, subscribe, you know, set, you know, if you want to set notifications so you get reminded of some of the new things dropping, try to try to make some good stuff and if there's other things you guys want to see, because the other thing too is like I always try to put emphasis on what do people want to watch. So if there's something you guys want to see, let me know because I probably have that kind. I mean, I've got a couple mountain goat hunts that I've never even edited. Just stuff, you know, hunting with family and other things that it's just fun where I, I've videoed it and then we have it and never did anything with it or never showed anyone, which is fine. But now I've got a little bit more time and some help to be able to edit some of these and get them out. So some cool stuff. Elk hunts, shoot.
Remy Warren
What else?
Kevin Guillen
Oh yeah, there's. There's some cool stuff and then just a lot of new stuff as well. So if you guys are interested, check out my YouTube channel. I'm just gonna say, as always, thank you guys so much for the support over the years. You know, subscribing to the podcast, leaving comments and ratings, you know, doing whatever. Everything you guys do, it just, it means a lot. And then when we go to these shows too. You know, showing up, saying hi. Because it's also awesome to. To say hey and put a face to a name or whatever and. And hear your guys stories as well. So thank you guys so much for that. And I'm just gonna say, until next week, stay hydrated. We'll catch you guys later.
Detailed Summary of Ep. 165 | Water Filtration and Mountain Hunting Hydration
Live Wild with Remi Warren delves deep into the critical aspects of hydration and water purification for mountain hunting. In Episode 165, released on January 16, 2025, host Remi Warren is joined by Chris Denham from Western Hunter and Kevin Guillen of Wilderness Athlete. The trio shares invaluable insights drawn from their extensive outdoor experiences, emphasizing the importance of proper hydration and effective water filtration in the backcountry.
Remi Warren opens the episode by highlighting his recent backcountry experience that underscored the significance of reliable water filtration systems. He sets the stage for an in-depth discussion on water purification methods and strategies to maintain optimal hydration during mountain hunts.
Notable Quote:
“This week I figured we'd talk about a little bit about hydration, but also due to a recent backcountry experience of mine, might as well talk a little bit about purification because I'm in the market for something new...”
— [00:00] Remi Warren
Remi recounts a challenging sheep hunt in Alaska where he relied on a SteriPEN for water purification. Due to malfunctioning equipment, he consumed contaminated water from a beaver pond, leading to severe illness.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
“So I was squeezing pretty hard and the top popped off and I got the bad water in my water. So I'm like, forget about it. I'm just gonna SteriPEN it. We'll be fine.”
— [04:18] Remi Warren
“I just drank that straight up pond water without any kind of sterilization or filtration. And yeah, that was, that's not good.”
— [05:15] Remi Warren
The conversation shifts to a comparative analysis of different water filtration systems, emphasizing their pros and cons based on field experiences.
Discussed Filtration Systems:
SteriPEN UV Filters: Portable and quick but reliant on battery functionality.
Remi’s Preference: Continues to favor UV filters for their convenience and speed.
Squeeze Filters (Catadine, Sawyer): These filters, though effective, tend to clog easily and require regular maintenance like back-flushing to prevent blockages.
Challenges: “The filter clogs up super fast... It just took forever to squeeze a liter of water through that thing.”
— [09:08] Remi Warren
Lifestraw and Katadyne Hiker Pro: Lightweight and compact but may lack the capacity for large water volumes quickly.
Chris’s Insight: “It's got a cap and then attached to that cap is a pretty robust filter. So you can drink straight from that filter.”
— [08:18] Chris Denham
Swig Rig by Stone Glacier: Integrates into bottles with efficient burping systems for easier water intake during strenuous activities.
Remi’s Experience: Finds Swig Rig effective but acknowledges that personal adaptation is key.
Notable Quotes:
“Hydration is definitely not like a one size fits all approach.”
— [19:14] Kevin Guillen
Remi discusses his shift from using soft hydration bladders to hard-sided water bottles like Yeti Yonder. This transition addresses issues like pack management, preventing leaks, and ensuring easy monitoring of water supply.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“I have one on my hip belt. So that's the one that, I mean, if you're talking about, we're kind of transitioning from filtration to hydration.”
— [13:44] Remi Warren
Kevin introduces a theory contrasting the modern habit of continuous sipping with the traditional practice of gorging water at water sources, suggesting the latter may align more closely with human physiological needs.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
“It's like, how does my body react? Not what I read on the Internet there. Nobody else's examples.”
— [17:17] Remi Warren
“Hydration is definitely not like a one size fits all approach.”
— [19:14] Kevin Guillen
The hosts emphasize that hydration needs vary based on individual physiology, activity level, and environmental conditions. Personalized hydration strategies are essential for optimal performance and safety.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
“Hydration is definitely not like a one size fits all approach.”
— [19:14] Kevin Guillen
“Electrolytes need to be a part of your equation, not just water.”
— [19:09] Chris Denham
Kevin introduces Rescue Hydration by Wilderness Athlete, a product designed to enhance traditional hydration powders with additional electrolytes and soothing agents like aloe vera gel powder.
Key Points:
Rescue Hydration Features:
Collaboration with Remi: Remi contributed to developing new flavors, ensuring the product is both effective and palatable.
Notable Quotes:
“Astaxanthin is in there as well, which is a really, really potent antioxidant for me.”
— [33:35] Kevin Guillen
“It's gotta taste good. You want to, you know, feel good afterwards when you're working hard.”
— [40:09] Remi Warren
The panel offers actionable tips for hunters to optimize hydration and ensure safety during hunts:
Notable Quotes:
“Find something that does. I don't know. That's always one of the big things.”
— [45:00] Remi Warren
“Just go do it.”
— [50:29] Chris Denham
Remi and his guests discuss their plans for upcoming hunts and recommend essential gear to ensure readiness for varying conditions.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
“Yeah, that pack is definitely a go to pack. It's great for pretty much any hunt.”
— [55:27] Remi Warren
“What really helps because you, you feel it. You feel the effects.”
— [25:43] Remi Warren
In concluding the episode, Remi reiterates the importance of personalized hydration strategies and encourages hunters to experiment during training to find what best suits their needs. He also promotes the newly developed flavors of Rescue Hydration, emphasizing their effectiveness and improved taste profiles.
Notable Quotes:
“If you don't like it at home, you aren't gonna like it on the mountain.”
— [45:04] Remi Warren
“It's all about just feeling a little less shitty.”
— [37:02] Chris Denham
Episode 165 serves as an essential guide for mountain hunters, offering a comprehensive overview of hydration and water purification strategies. Through personal anecdotes, expert insights, and product innovations, Remi Warren and his guests equip listeners with the knowledge to enhance their hunting experiences while ensuring safety and performance in challenging environments.
Additional Resources:
Remember: Use the promo code LIVEWILD to receive discounts on select Wilderness Athlete products.