They’re just too wet

FurTHer to the obsession with ‘rehydration’ (Mail), I’m always amused when I see local joggers on a two-mile circuit grasping their water bottles for dear life and taking regular sips to stop themselves from becoming dehydrated. Poor souls, they are victims of the publicity machines from the bottled water companies.

Several years ago, I read an article in one of the leading outdoor magazines in which the ‘technical director’ provided a formula which told its readers how much liquid they would need to carry on a hill walk. It was based on distance and the amount of height gained.

I applied it to a walk I had done in the Lake District involving a distance of 22 miles and ascent of 5,000ft. I am in my fifties and not particularly fit. I worked out I should have carried about ten gallons of water.

Had I carried that amount, I wouldn’t have been able to pick up my rucksack, let alone carry it for 22 miles.

The magazine also pointed out the supposed dangers of drinking from mountain streams. every sample it took was full of various ‘streptococci’ and similar nasties that would have killed me.

I have been drinking from mountain streams for many years and have never had a tummy complaint. I sometimes feel a bit dehydrated at the end of a long walk, but a couple of pints of local bitter at the end of the day puts things right.

SIMOn ROBInSOn, Middleton Tyas, north Yorks.