NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27/NN_1992_27.iso/spool/rec/backcoun/8927

Text File | 1992-11-17 | 2.0 KB | 41 lines

Newsgroups: rec.backcountry
Path: sparky!uunet!wupost!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!news.Brown.EDU!noc.near.net!inmet!daf
From: [e-mail] (Tony Flanders)
Subject: Re: Warm clothing while hiking
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: Intermetrics Inc, Cambridge MA
References: <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 02:18:44 GMT
Lines: 30

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (The Devil Reincarnate) writes:

>  I need some recommendations for clothing while hiking in cool/cold/chilly
> weather.  I find that I warm up quite a bit soon after I start walking and
> it becomes uncomfortable to keep the same clothes on. On the other hand, the
> moment I stop for a break, within 10 min or so, I get chilled to the bone!

Yes, that`s right.  If you want to do anything active in cold weather,
including hiking, you'd better get used to it.  The difference between
clothes that will keep you comfortable hiking uphill and sitting still
is truly dramatic.  If I'm not sweating when I am hiking uphill in a long-
sleeved polypro shirt, I figure I will need a down jacket when I am stopped.
This is *not* an exaggeration.

All you can do is accept it.  One technique is not to take long stops; just
start moving again when you get cold.  The other technique is to keep extra
clothing handy to put on when you stop.  In practice, you may need to do
both.  No mere clothing adjustment, like opening or closing zippers, comes
close to being enough.

By the same token, you shouldn't need bulky clothing when you are hiking.
If you are comfortable when you start, you are wearing much too much.  A
polypro shirt under a shell is plenty for 32F and a moderate wind.

Cold rain makes everything hard, because you have to take your shell off
to put on extra clothing.  Short stops are very popular among people who
do lots of hiking in cold rain.

    - Tony Flanders
    [e-mail]