Wet Your Whistle - Gerry Godsoe

Rating: ***

After partaking in a hiking trip myself I feel that I have learned the importance of staying hydrated throughout. Therefore, when reading Wet Your Whistle by Gerry Godsoe, I related to the topic extremely well.

The entire article essentially is about the importance of H2O and the effects it can have on one that embarks on activities such as, hiking, camping, canoeing, etc. Godsoe emphasizes that although a typical person can survive about several days with water, most people can start to suffer from side effects from being dehydrated with in the first 24 hours without water. Some side effects of dehydration include, dry skin, headaches, and dizziness There are of course many ways to get clean water on hiking trips, by boiling it, purification tablets, and many other purification processes. Gerry can emphasize the importance of water, and how it’s safe to bring more water than is necessary in a trip to have, just in case.

I feel this article has had a very great effect on myself as just recently I attended a hiking trip with my class where I felt dehydrated on more than one occasion. Although the symptoms were minor, I didn’t feel like my normal self, and my hiking performance took a hit due to that. The article really made me aware of symptoms, so that if I were ever to partake in a trip like that again, and either myself or others start getting dizzy or get sudden headaches, I can offer up some water for there body to get replenished. I think this article will help, and remind to stay hydrated when doing activities either in the outdoors, or just in regular day life, as water is essential in life.

I think staying hydrated is something that comes very easy for people in our area of living, so when we go out on outdoor activities we really don’t think about being hydrated. Nevertheless, staying hydrated is an important part of having a fun, and most importantly safe trip, as the article Wet Your Whistle exemplifies so very well.

Gerry, Godsoe. “Wet Your Whistle.” Ottawa Outdoors. Summer/Fall 2009
Page 5. Print.