Disclaimer: I received the Buff® UV Half Buff to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (Ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!
Hi everyone! Yeah, it’s been way too long since my last post, but I swear I have a good excuse: last weekend I went for a 12 mile hike out on the tundra (no tree cover and high elevation) in 80 degree sunshine, and had heat exhaustion for most of the rest of the week. I was so sick that I missed work for a few days, and I just kept putting off writing my post about how epic the hike was. But trust me, it was amazing and actually probably worth it! I’ll just make sure to bring a hat and way more water next time I hike in direct sunlight for hours (I think my Camelbak bladder maxes out at like 8 or 9 miles!).
The hike to Eagle and Symphony Lakes has been on my bucket list for so long now, and I was really excited to cross it off my list. It’s mostly flat through a gorgeous valley only about 30 minutes away from Anchorage, with the last mile out to the lakes on a large, tricky boulder field. Unlike the usual giant, rock-climbable boulders that I usually have to deal with on hikes (and I hate), these were small enough that I could walk top on them and didn’t have to use my hands. Finding the trail down to Symphony Lake was tough, but so worth it! My friend even went swimming in the freezing water for a few seconds!
Eagle Lake was quite possibly the most beautiful lake I’d ever seen. The water was a perfect greenish blue color, and I couldn’t stop looking at it! There was a trail that wound all the way around the lake that I need to explore next time I go out there. And yes, there will be a next time because this hike was hands down my favorite hike in Chugach State Park! Best hike of the summer for sure!
It wasn’t until the turnaround point that I started to really feel the heat slowly taking its toll on me. We kept stopping to put our tired feet in the freezing cold glacial stream, and I even dipped my UV Half Buff in their as well to keep me cool. I swear it’s what got me back to the car!
You may have noticed my snazzy new Buff UV Half Buff in a lot of my recent hiking pictures. I was sent the Petrol print (so cute!) to test as a BibRave Pro, and at first I just figured it would be similar to my other Buff products. But when I opened my mailbox and tried it on, I realized that it’s half the size of a regular Buff, which meant that it was super easy to make into a lightweight, sweat-wicking headband! It’s the perfect accessory for summer hiking in Alaska, so I’ve been stashing it in my backpack and wearing it out on all the mountain trails.
I also wore it on my super warm birthday run, and absolutely loved that it kept the sweat out of my eyes while also giving me UV protection. I realized that I was grabbing it every time I left the house for a run or bike ride – in fact, every time I thought I might be sweating, I was wearing it! And it fits really well underneath a helmet without making me hot, which was a nice surprise.
It was great that I was sent a print that matched almost all of my clothes, and I’m already looking for my next print here. Out of all of the Buff products I’ve tried so far, this one was my favorite because it was so easy to make into a quick headband. I can guarantee you’ll be seeing this product showing up in my Instagram photos for a long time because I know I’m going to wear it everywhere!
Have you ever gotten heat exhaustion? How do you keep cool while working out? What’s your favorite sweat-wicking headband?
Mom in the Mtns 
Fortunately not heat exhaustion, yet. But I realized, even when it is only 18C here and I go for a 10 miles run, I need something to drink now. In winter I wouldn’t even think about it but a 2 days ago I was dying of thirst!
Yes! I have to drink so much more water doing anything in the summer than I do in the winter. I guess I should be drinking more all the time, but it will literally take me out if I don’t do it in the summer!
Since I am vegan, I drink even more, around 2 – 3 L per day and I also eat A LOT! When I was racing past saturday (32km trail race), I have literally eaten EVERYTHING I had in my race vest, which I usually never do. My belly must have thought “oi, what is going on? Where is all the food I usually get?!”…
Luckily, I have not personally experienced heat exhaustion but I have definitely come close! Arizona is brutal in the summertime, so water is always the first thing I grab on my way out the door to go anywhere. The view from your hike looks amazing. I am usually stuck indoors during the summertime when I run so there are a lot of treadmill miles being racked up. One thing I will use if I brave the heat to go running is a neck cooling cloth. I received it at the end of a race last year and it has been a lifesaver.
Ooooh I want to try one of those out! That would be perfect for hiking on long trails in the summer for sure.
What a beautiful hike! I don’t do so well in the heat so I normally wear a hat every time I am out. Plus we are constantly told for hot weather to take 1 gallon of water per person per day. I didn’t realize it got so hot so far north!
I’m definitely going to have to carry more water on long hikes from now on. And yes, it gets even hotter up in Fairbanks! Like in the 90s! We’re super close to the sun this time of year too (the sun never sets in the summer) so that also makes it a bit worse honestly.
Thankfully, no, I’ve never had heat exhaustion. My favorite way to stay cool is AC! Kidding. Sort of. We’re having an unusually hot summer here.
We took a shore excursion to some lake (I don’t even remember the name) in the Yukon when we did our Alaska cruise.It was just stunning! As are the photos from your hike.
Haha! We don’t have AC in our homes in Alaska which totally sucks sometimes. It’s 84 today and eternally sunny (even at night) so it’s hard to cool off! And the Yukon is so beautiful, I’m glad you got a chance to experience that!
We didn’t have AC when we lived in VT, so I hear you!
Oh, and the Yukon was definitely spectacular!