northampton, ma

When one travels to Cusco, or La Paz, or other similarly high (11,000 feet plus) places in South America, you expect to get altitude sickness. This usually comprises of fatigue, headache, and naseau. The symptoms for some people can be rather severe, and for others they can be non-existant. So far I have luckily been in the latter group, no adverse effects to really speak of.

But there are some things you do not expect that come with altitude. Everyone knows you get short of breath (sometimes even just sitting down I have to take a couple deep breaths, it's crazy), but what you don't know is how the thin air affects your hydration. High altitude sucks all the moisture out of your body through your breath. The lower humidity and increased breathing rate at altitude cause you to lose more moisture with every exhalation than at sea level. Then add in any sort of physical exertion that leads to sweating and water loss (like climbing up Huayna Picchu) and you are at a serious loss for water. Oddly, it also seems to make me pee a lot more often than normal. In other words, getting dehydrated is really really easy to do. I will drink upwards of 1.5 litres of water here a day and still feel thirsty. Every morning at this elevation I wake up with a mouth that tastes like chalk and salt. It's not particularly fun, all the pissing and water guzzling.