Hydration

Wanted: Symptoms & Treatment of Dehydration

Keep hydrated. Keep happy.

Keeping Hydrated

You'll need more water the first few days you're in the desert. After a couple of days your body will acclimate a bit, and you'll need to drink less.
Drink water often. If you find yourself gulping down or chugging water, you're already dehydrated.
If you're drinking a lot of alcohol, drink even more water.
Make sure you're also consuming electrolytes which will help you retain water and replace salts, minerals, and vitamins that you lose from sweating and urinating.
Carbonated beverages such as sodas (aka "Pop" or "Coke") don't give you a net hydration benefit. The carbonation usually causes the body to lose more water than is consumed.
Wearing a hydration pack makes staying hydrated much easier. When you have a hose you can suck on, it's easy to get into a rhythm of sipping every couple of minutes.
It's harder to stay hydrated if your water is warm or tastes bad. Throw some clean ice into your water container, and/or add a little flavor with lemon, fresh mint, or a little bit of sport drink powder. However, some things such as Emergen-C can taste pretty bad in dilute quantities.

Dehydration sucks.

One of the symptoms of dehydration is crankiness or irritability. Drink water and be happy, or drink water and be naturally cranky because everyone really does suck. But don't drink water and be cranky for purely artificial reasons.
If you find yourself chugging or gulping water, you're probably getting dehydrated. Take a little time to sit in the shade, rest, and recuperate.

It is possible to drink too much water. Don't over-do it.