It’s an unseasonably warm fall in NH, which made for a quick turning of the leaves, a lot more tourists/leaf peepers and some fantastic opportunities for hiking. It’s also a time to pay extra attention to our health and maybe take a few extra measures to keep ourselves from getting sick. A couple extra good washing of the hands (20 full seconds with warm water) every day, a little elderberry in the morning tea and a closer look at your hiking bladder and water bottles. I do the best I can with my bladders by only using water in them and putting them in the chest freezer after they’ve dried from a hike/run. The bigger concerns for me come from my bottles though. I’ve grown fond of a particular brand of “squirt” type water bottle with a valve to it. This means more parts and small spaces. I also use these bottle as my electrolyte bottle. Talk about a haven for bacteria and that’ll get you sicker, quicker than not washing your hands in a preschool. Every couple of trips out I’ll take an extra measure and do a deep clean by taking them apart and using denture cleaning tabs to get into the small spaces. After that process I’ll clean the small spaces out with a cotton swab to get the gunk out. It’s a small amount of money and effort to keep you healthy and safe.
