4 Tips for Warm Weather Hiking

It's getting warmer in Las Vegas. Warm weather can zap your energy and that's when you can make a mistake and get hurt. Here are my tips for staying cool when hiking in warmer weather.

1. Bring lots of water and drink it! Dehydration can zap your thinking faster than 10 shots of moonshine!  Seriously, if you are dehydrated your ability to make good decisions are gone along with your balance and coordination.

How much water? It depends on how long the hike is and how hot it is. 

Tips: Put ice in your bladder, water container etc. the morning of your hike. Your water will stay cold and you will drink more.

If it's a up and back hike, you can cache water on the ascent and pick it up on the descent and drink.

Most fruit contains lots of water.

2. Black is for nightclubs, not hiking. Black or dark color clothing retains heat and that's the last thing you want when it's hot. Wear light color clothing.

Tip: Wear cotton is has a cooling effect.

3. Do hikes that have shade. You can't control the sun, but you can do hikes that have a lot of shade. This will keep you significantly cooler.

Tip: Kraft Mtn, West route, Oak Creek Overlook,  and Las Vegas Overlook aka The Muffin Boulders are hikes that have early morning shade. These hikes are in Red Rock Canyon.

4. Get an early start.  It's much cooler in the morning than the afternoon. The hottest part of the day is around 5 pm.

Tip: Red Rock Canyon opens at 6 am year round.