A friend and I are going on our first BWCA adventure. We are going from July 1st to the 5th starting at EP 54 and making a border loop. Looking at the forecast, it appears nearly all the time we will be there it will be 90+ degree highs. I was wondering if there are any tips for dealing with this heat? Thanks!

Shade
Swim
Drink lots of water
light colored clothing

When my son was a catcher, we used a cooling towel

Lightweight, light color merino wool t-shirts. Dip in lake, wring, wear, repeat. Wide brimmed breathable white (or close to it) hat.

Swim. Swim and more swimming.

Interesting to hear the lightweight Merino wool t-shirts mentioned. We have a couple of those and they are so comfortable, in any weather. Ours are IceBreakers, and they weren' t cheap, but they wear really well unless you insist upon putting them in a dryer. Not scratchy at all, and so breathable.

I would also +1 to drinking lots of water. Dehydration is no fun, but in super-hot weather it can be deadly.

I think Icebreakers are the best put together of the merino I've used. Minus 33 and Woolly are also good.

This is kinda off topic but a perfect spot to post it. With a trip coming up in August I got to thinking (something that always gets me in trouble) about canoeing in hot weather while wearing my pfd. While boating yesterday I decided to take off the pfd but attached it to the belt loop of my shorts by a 4 foot or so cord thinking that if I went in it would come with me. Now for the test! I jumped in and it worked, the pfd came flying out of the boat unfortunately bringing one of the ores with it. The pfd landed in the water the ore landed on me. It hurt and my glasses are bent. Moral -ware your life jacket and buy some Gatorade packets to replace the good stuff you sweat out.

butthead

Despite hot air temps, some of the larger and deeper lakes could still feel a bit cold. Mid-sized lakes could be more comfy for swimming.

I like to take a sheet along. I sleep on top of the sleeping bag and just have the sheet on top of me.The sheet can also serve as a robe LOL. I have had sun poisoning from paddling to much in sun before so make sure that you have lip balm with sunscreen.

Try to find shady tent pads. It sucks to crawl from hot weather into an even hotter tent. If it's hot and doesn't look like rain we've set up our tent under a tarp instead of using the fly. The tarp protects from dew but lets far more heat escape than the fly does.

And, yes, wear your PFD even though it's hot. Being hot is a good excuse to go swimming more.

My dad would always have some kind of cloth around his neck when it was hot, usually a cotton wash cloth. He would wet the cloth and let it hang around his neck possibly tucking it into the front of his shirt.

I have used this technique with a bandana that was dipped in the lake. It covers the back of the neck from sun and can cool you down pretty well.

Even if it is hot the typical head wind will cool you down also. Wind combined with wet cloth can be extra cooling.

At night, you may sleep better if you use a battery operated fan.

For day in a pinch, climb into a pine tree for a breeze. Seems to work. If there are a few of them around, the result will be better. The friend who told me of this says There is always a breeze in the pines.

Wear a cotton floppy hat and dip it in the water often, then put back on head to cool off. Wrap a wet bandana around your neck. Wear lightweight polyester clothes. Don’t get sunburnt. Drink lots of water. Try to find a spot in the shade to camp. Swim often.

I have some very lightweight, synthetic pants, they might be Columbia brand. I like to wear them for protection from thorns and branches on portages. If you are wet-footing, just go about waist deep, the damp pants help a lot to keep you cool and also keep your skyward knees and inner thighs protected from the sun.

Stop wetting them when you have around an hour left of paddling for the day and they will be dry when you get into camp.

Pay attention to where the sun will rise in the morning. It sucks when your tent becomes a greenhouse at 6:30am and you still want to sleep more.

Depending on what kind of food you take, keep your food pack in the shade and wet it down periodically to keep it cooler as well. Also, bring your own shade with a tarp.

Take breaks and stand barefoot in the cool water. That's what we did yesterday in 88 degree heat. It's the outdoor equivalent of running cold water over your wrists and using your blood circulation to cool your whole body.