If you’re wondering what the weather will be like on a summer hiking trip in Zion National Park or Bryce Canyon National Park, the Utah Visitor’s Bureau sums it up nicely: Generally speaking, Utah is best experienced with an extra bottle of water and some sunscreen.

With daytime temperatures peaking at 102F in July and August, it is essential that hikers heading to Utah’s National Parks for a day of adventure pay careful attention to their water and food intake.

“Hiking, like any other activity, can wear you out. It’s important to be proactive about maintaining your health and hydration during your hike. It’s important to bring water with you whenever you go hiking, ” says avid hiker and runner Elaine Brewer.

“One issue with carrying water is that it weighs a lot. When mapping out your route, note any water that comes close to the trail and is potable. Sometimes, it’s easier to bring a water filter and pump water from a local stream than carry extra water with you, as long as you’re sure a safe water source is available,” advises Brewer. 

The National Parks Service publishes a list of Water Source Conditions on their website for both Zion and Bryce Canyon, noting which sources are dry, trickling or flowing. Remember to always purify the water from any natural source and to confirm with the Park’s Visitor Center upon your arrival that water is indeed available at the sites listed online (they’ll have the most up-to-date information). While it’s a must for self-guided hikers to carry their own water, it’s important to know that even on guided hikes, you will be required to carry your day’s supply of water. 

“Another issue with water is that if it’s over consumed, you can wash out essential electrolytes, especially when you are exerting yourself. I am one of those who washes my electrolytes out very easily,” says Brewer. Tell tale signs that your electrolyte levels are dropping include fatigue, headaches and eventually stomach pain.  To avoid this, carry a bladder of water and a small bottle of concentrated electrolyte drink, like Gatorade. “I drink from the bladder every few minutes and drink from the small bottle of Gatorade every half an hour to maintain my electrolyte balance,” says Brewer.

Eating well while hiking goes hand-in-hand with proper hydration. Brewer admits that regular snacking on the trail is something that slips her mind, especially if the trails are technical and she is focusing on not tripping. “If you are the type of person that won’t stop for a meal break, make it a point to snack every two hours, even when you’re still on the move. I set my watch or phone alarm to go off every couple of hours or so to remind myself to grab something to eat,” says Brewer.

Tasty and protein-packed trail snack choices include oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies, commercially prepared energy bars, peanut butter sandwiches, quick cooking rice or tuna. Brewer tends to save fruit for the end of the day, to avoid a sugar crash. On-the-go quick energy carbohydrate snacks like Honey Stinger chews or plant-based Energy Bits should be used alternately with higher protein foods.

A little preparation goes a long way to ensuring your comfort, health and safety when planning a hiking trip in Utah’s national parks. Pure Adventures offers a supported cycling and hiking tour in Utah but for a list of all the hiking, biking, mountain biking, and camping tours in Utah visit the Utah adventures page.

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Six Expert Tips for Perfect Fitting Hiking Boots

The most important hiking gear you will ever buy is a pair well fitting boots. Proper fitting boots will ensure that your feet will remain blister free so that you enjoy your hiking adventures, whether you’re taking on the trails around your home, or on one of our self-guided hiking tours in Europe, Japan, or the USA . After you’ve bought your boots, lacing techniques and dry feet ensure your feet stay healthy for the duration of your hike. Elaine Brewer, long time runner and boot fit expert, shares her tips for happy and healthy feet.

Surprising Boot Fit Tricks

Bring the socks you would wear out on the trails into the store and try on the boots with them. Despite how you may have bought or tried to fit your hiking boots in the past, don’t try to feel how much space is between your toes and the front of the boot (“now wiggle your toes…” –  it doesn’t work well. Instead, with laces untied, stand up and tap your toe on the ground a few times. Still standing, feel behind your heel. You should be able to fit two fingers comfortably between your heel and the back of the boot. When you lace up, walk around. There should be the slightest of lift on your heels. This is good and actually reduces blisters because you have room for your feet to swell (and they will swell!). Make sure there are no big gaps or tight squeezes between your foot and the boot. Walk around the store for awhile to get a really good feel. Head over to their pack department – if you can – and try on a weighted pack with your boots to feel the difference in weight.

Lace Up (and sometimes down)

Think Goldie Locks here – not too tight, not too loose…just right. Brewer tends to change up by lacing pressure as she goes from the toe of the boot to the ankle. If you do this, secure the pressure difference by tying a surgeon’s knot. This puts friction on the lace without putting an actual knot in it so that the lace doesn’t slip. She also tends not to tie the finishing knot at the very top of her boot since this causes a lot of pressure on the ankle and lower shin – which can cause host spots and blistering. Instead, she advises that hikers weave their laces from the top downwards. She actually ties her knots a level below what most hikers do.

Loosen Up (your laces that is)

Your feet swell the longer you are hiking. Every couple of hours, untie your boots and loosen the laces as needed. Do you end up with purple toenails that fall out after a big hike? You’re not alone! If you’re going downhill a lot and bumping your toes, try changing up the lacing pressure: put more pressure on the front of your boot, tie it off with a surgeon’s knot, and then loosen the rest of the way up. Your toes and their nails will thank you.

Keep ’em Dry

On really long or strenuous hikes, Brewer covers her feet with Body Glide before putting on her socks. Alternatively, you can use a foot powder. By putting baby powder on your feet before you put on socks, the powder can help suck up any moisture – moisture being a catalyst for blisters forming. On overnight trips, Brewer advises putting newspaper in your boots overnight – the newspaper helps dry them out.

Keep ’em Clean

Change your socks every day. Even if they look clean, there will be dirt in the fibers that can irritate your feet. You’ll appreciate clean socks even more if the socks you wore the previous day are still wet. Brewer recommends wool socks. When wet, wool socks will wick away moisture so your feet are relatively dry, compared to wearing cotton or synthetic socks.

With these six expert tips for perfect-fitting hiking boots, you are sure to keep your toes and feet happy as you embark on your next hiking adventure. If you would like some suggestions on some of the best places to go hiking, drop us a line and we can help you out. Our experts have been hiking all over the world and can put together the hiking trip of your dreams! Contact us to learn more!

Read about hiking in magical Madeira!

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Utah’s Zion National Park is rich in history, a land once dominated by dinosaurs and inhabited by ancient natives and pioneers. The peaks and valleys themselves were carved by glaciers, leaving behind fascinating arches and rock formations, which means Zion National Park can offer hikers and mountain bikers adventures that are every bit as challenging as the are scenic. The 2014 Pure Adventures tours in Utah tackle some of the best trails in the park, covering more than 20 miles throughout Zion’s breathtaking canyons. But Zion is famous for more than just their trails – here’s 6 amazing things about Pure Adventures’ newest destination.

1. Nearly 1,000 plant species

There are more than 900 species of plants in Zion National Park.  Changing elevations, temperature ranges, and varying amounts of sun and water create diverse habitats within the park.

2. Super-adaptive mammals

There are 68 different species of mammals in Zion National Park, ranging from tiny nocturnal rodents to the massive bighorn sheep. The diversity in wildlife is all due to the wide range in habitats, with the elevation and micro-climates impacting how each animal has adapted to the environment.

3. Kolab is cool

At nearly 288 feet long, the Kolob Arch located within in Zion National Park’s back-country is one of the world’s longest.

4. Observation Point

It’s a difficult 8 mile hike to Observation Point, the highest elevation in Zion National Park. At 6,521 feet, Observation Point offers stunning views of the canyon below. It’s a must-see for fit hikers visiting Utah.

5. Dinosaur delights

Zion’s fascinating history began millions of years ago, as evident in the fossils and dinosaur bones found throughout the park. Zion National Park’s museum collection boast Grallator tracks, bones, teeth, petrified wood and fossils. The most fascinating exhibit is called the Mystery Tooth, which paleontologists recently discovered belonged to a human – until that point they thought belonged to a plant-eating dinosaur.

6. Picture Perfect Scenery

Zion National Park has served as a backdrop for dozens of films and TV shows, most notably Romancing the Stone starring Michael Douglas, The Eiger Sanction starring Clint Eastwood and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Have you hiked Zion National Park? What would you add to our list?

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