Had a wake-up call recently in the form of a fun hike - fortunately.
My wife, dog and I were hiding our latest geocache and enjoying some of the cooler weather this weekend when I remembered Les Stroud's iconic saying - you sweat, you die.
Granted - it was a family-friendly hike along the SC Johnson trail - but the lesson was learned on my end. The clouds remained covering the sky for the entire day but we headed out anyways. Along with my normal hiking bag, I packed two extra t-shirts in case we got cold. Even on our short hike, I found it very difficult to control the flow of sweat down the center of my back - eventually creating a wet spot in my shirt and really - giving me a good little chill.
So, I came home and researched some essentials about off-season hiking.
The Great Outdoors - Hiking in Winter
Hiking Dude - Winter Hiking Adventures
Review some of the tips int he links above and share some of your own. I'm always looking for good information.
Thankfully, our hike was in a densely populated area with little risk of exposure. Sure - it's always there, but we weren't very far from civilization at all - we were walking right through it. A good wake up call and a fantastic opportunity to explore some of the science behind off-season hiking.
There's no such thing as "off-season" for true outdoorsmen. The key is to layer effectively. Cotton is the devil and should only ever comprise a single layer in a multi-layer system. Fleece is awesome. Goretex works well, too.
ReplyDeleteIf you sweat a lot, cut down on the amount of coffee you consume daily (coffee drinkers sweat profusely), start hitting the treadmill, and invest in some good wicking base-layer clothing, like Underarmor or a suitable knockoff.
Cotton is for rucksacks. :D
ReplyDeleteThis a perfect exame of important a "dry run" (sorry bad pin) can be and how it can have a massive impact on your action. Planning is a must, but just planning and not actually getting out there and DOING can be just as deadly as not planning at all.
In this day and age of Internet experts, woe to those that think simply Google'ing it and buying the highest pricetag item at MEC will help them survive a difficult situation.