Just finished a good read in Summer issue of BWJ on beating the heat. While everyone seems to have similar strategy, there are a couple of things I do that I might have missed in the article.

I always get a haircut prior to trip as I find shorter hair cooler and easier to manage. I also fill and freeze two 1 qt nalgenes so that I have cold drinks the first day, which is typically a hard travel day while the body is making the adjustment to the heat.

Anyone have other tips? 8-)

Good advice OS

I try and focus on the main areas of excess heat. The one area I can do something about is the armpits. I will either go with Sleeveless shirts or tanks which is my usual work attire. It is amazing how much difference it makes.

But of course tanks in skeeter country and being burnt to a crisp isn't always a proper course of action. Enter in rail riders clothing. Much of their stuff has ventilation galore. The Eco mesh shirts have a strip of full length mesh on both arms right up to the armpits. Perfect for letting out excess heat.

For the other  area which gets bakified I merely strip off down to the base layer.

And of course choice of hats has a lot to do with keeping your cool. I'm a big fan of the Sunrunner Lid. Light material with snap on neck protection.  Simply primo.

I am always in long pants, long sleeves and heavy thick socks so I do not have to even think about the bugs. I also wet foot so if I am getting hot I just wade out and soak down. It makes for a cool walk back across the portage as the evaporation process works wonderfully on the light cotton fabrics.

Many of the writers suggested leaving the fly off of the tent. I check my weather radio before retiring to make sure nothing is brewing. As you know, when it is hottest and muggiest, frequently it portends a brewing storm. But, if it seems OK, I will put the fly half on, leaving the upwind side exposed. The other half can be left loose or tied to trees on the upwind side. This acts like a funnel to direct any light breeze on me. If rain does come, since half the fly is on, it only takes a couple of minutes to attach the remaining side. 8-)

I try to erect my tent so it will shaded from the setting sun. After a string of long, hard and hot days I will lay out in the water before going to bed in an attempt to cool a  body that is working overtime to recover.

Bandana - dipped in the lake and tied around the neck helps a lot - repeat when it dries out.  so does dipping your hat in the lake for evaporative cooling.  Occasionally, I'll even drop a hatful down my back - amazing how cold that feels on a hot day.

I take a terry cloth towel, small hand size, and will soak it at beginning of portage and drape around my neck.  Helps a lot to keep you cool as you walk the portage.

I wear a "doo-rag" I made out of Bug-Off brand handkerchief under my nylon/mesh baseball style fishing cap. If the sun isn't an issue, I just wear the doo-rag paddling and on portages.

  (You need to Login or Register

Protects ears/neck from sun/bug bites and can be dipped in lake to get a cooling effect.

I don't like to drink warm water but you have to stay hydrated so I use this simple trick.
If you using a standard size water bottle, take a old cotton tube sock and cut off the toe end.

Sleeve the bottle with sock and keep the sock wet and store bottle while paddling out of the direct sunlight.
The evaporation will cool your drink.
If you have bigger water containers, I have a couple of 1-2 litter Naglene Canteens and use a canvas bank coin sack secured with a Bungee/Bob around neck and do the same as I would with tube sock.

  (You need to Login or Register

This evaporation method allowed me to keep a LT I caught and cleaned on Jean lk, cool/fresh all the way down to Sturgeon lk and then to Scripture Island campsite on a day that was in the high 80's. Just keep the sock/bag wet and out of direct sun and your good to go.

I wear a -33 brand mid-weight merino wool t-shirt, white to reflect light and heat. If it gets really warm I just soak it in the lake, wring it out and put it back on- much more comfortable wet/damp than cotton or synthetics. If you get sweated up on the portage it dries quickly as well. At the end of the day, rinse in the lake and hang to dry. Also a very wide brimmed off white hat that can also be dunked for extra cooling. Stop for quick swims. Wear shorts. Sleep with the fly off, clips connected at the head and foot of the tent- fly bunched along it's length, if I wake to rain coming through the mesh it's just a matter of seconds to shelter the sleep chamber.

I use ST's evaporation trick on my entire food pack (the one with cheese, salami, etc) by soaking the hand towel, or one somewhat larger, and keeping the pack in the deepest shade I can find and draping the wet towel over it. 

Rain or not, if the fly is left off don't you all wake up soaked from the dew?

It's bad enough waking up in the middle of the night getting pelted and having to scramble just to drop the tied up portion of the fly. Having said that I probably wouldn't purchase a tent where I couldn't roll up one side and get ventilation.

If an unexpected rain moves in, I usually hear it out on the lake, and have a few minutes to drop the fly.
Another approach is to hang the fly a little higher using nearby trees and ropes.

As for dew, it's never been a big issue . Just sun the bag next day.

I almost always pitch a tarp over my tent, but not down close to it (above the tent roof 2-3 feet).  It keeps the tent in the shade and dry if there is a sudden rain storm.  If I think it will rain eventually or overnight I tie rope to various rocks/branches where it will need to be if I do have to snug the tarp down to stay dry.  Then if I have to get up in the dark it is a quick project to re-tie the tarp for a storm.

mastertangler wrote on Jun 28^th, 2014 at 3:34pm:

It's bad enough waking up in the middle of the night getting pelted and having to scramble just to drop the tied up portion of the fly. Having said that I probably wouldn't purchase a tent where I couldn't roll up one side and get ventilation.

The pleasure of sleeping with just the mesh between you and the sky is worth the occasional inconvenience of the rain scramble. Dew is rarely an issue. Obviously if it's threatening rain the fly goes up.