Winter Time Backpacking

[oldsarge]

I agree ppine, I would think that any exposed area will help heat escape. Why wouldn't an uncovered head keep you cold. When it's smoking hot out and you're on the verge of passing out due to heat, you pour water over your head to help cool down. The thin area of skin allow the water to help cool the capillaries in your head, cool this down and it's conducted to the rest of you body. Nowhere as efficient and a radiator but works on the same principle. If you are pumping warm blood into a cold noggin, it's just going to recirculate this cooler than when it came in. Your body is already working to save heat and is trying to keep the primary organs warm. Hands and feet are going to feel this first. I say cover the head and keep as much as the heat in as possible.

 

[Judy Ann]

Dress appropriately for conditions so you are neither too hot or too cold. We all have different tolerances for extremes in weather and age can factor into this as well. I wasn't going to mention hair, but...

 

[Judy Ann]

If you think those sources are credible, more power to you. The internet has information to support almost any point of view.

The next time you go camping and it is below freezing, or better yet below 10 degrees, try this experiment. Sleep for a night without a hat, then wear a really warm hat, like a rabbit fur lined mad bomber the next night. Tell me what you find out.

I tried wearing a hat when camping in temperatures below freezing, however I was more comfortable with my down bag used as it was intended pulled over the top of my head and small pillow and the collar pulled in. Those bomber hats remind me too much of The Confederancy of Dunces to ever wear one. That being said, I'm intelligent enough to bring whatever everyone else is bringing to keep comfortable just in case. Southerners are not fond of being cold!

 

[catspa]

I agree with ppine, from experience. In fact, I carry an extra wool hat and when I find a hypothermic patient, the first thing I do is slap it on their head. JudyAnn can help us with her vascular knowledge, but it's my understanding that the blood vessels in your scalp are much closer to the surface than elsewhere, and your involuntary nervous system doesn't restrict them to conserve heat like the circulation in your fingers and toes.

Anyway, I don't know exactly why, but it works.

Here's another little tip, from Iditarod mushers: Just before you turn in at night, eat a little snack of cheese, preferably cheddar or another orange variety. There's something in it that stimulates your metabolism to produce more heat while you sleep.

I don't mind if you don't believe it, but try it out and see if it works for you first.

Parker

 

[pastywhite]

http://jap.physiology.org/content/101/2/669?ijkey=ed684ac2bca7347b16c844fa1328f179d0227c56&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha&linkType=ABST&journalCode=jap&resid=101/2/669

Festive medical myths | BMJ

More credible for you? Just because you choose to ignore the science doesn't make it false. It is basic physics. Heat loss is proportional to surface area. There is nothing magical about your head. You will lose no more heat through your head than through any other body part (given the same surface area).

If you sleep in 10 degrees with a hat on your head and your feet naked/uncovered you are still going to get cold. The hat will keep your head warm but not your feet. Socks will also not keep your head warm. If you want a body part to be warm, insulate it to prevent heat loss. If you head is cold wear a hat, if you hands are cold wear gloves.

 

[HikerJoe]

I still believe in the "myth" Yeah surface area and all. That's why eskimos are short and round. But I think the head theory has something to do with all the blood in your head. Well at least that's what I assume because in the movies, when someone gets their head blown up blood goes everywhere. Plus, the only way to kill a zombie is by chopping their head off.

 

[Pathfinder1]

I don't know guys this sounds like a battle that should be fought on the Myth Busters show. :tinysmile_twink_t2:





Good thinking, MM22.

Actually, covering any exposed skin surfaces will help to keep you a bit warmer...unless you're Conan...!!

 

[Pathfinder1]

P.S.


Hi...


For car campers...have you seen the new cot tent/bivy from Cabela's? Kind of neat. It is a small tent that attaches to your pad on your sleeping cot. I don't remember if it was previously mentioned on OBC before or not.

 

[Grandpa]

I'm staying out of this one except to say;
I wear my pink pajamas in the summer when it's hot
I wear my pink pajamas in the winter when it's not
And sometime in the spring and sometimes in the fall
I jump between the sheets with nothing on at all

 

[oldsarge]

Thanks for not posting picture Grandpa!

 

[Davefromva]

I generally don't backpack in the winter time because I am not a fan of snow. Seeing that we are having a mild winter I thought I might do a little winter time back packing. What things should be packed in a winter time pack?

A 4 SEASON TENT and a -5 Degree Sleeping bag. Ive already learned my lesson.

 

[Eppo]

I'm a former mountaineering guide and Outward Bound instructor. I've worked with hundreds of clients over the years. In addition, I have over 500 miles of winter trekking including six successful ski tours around Crater Lake in Oregon. In my youth we used to hike the AT from Crawford Notch to Franconia Notch in winter (New Hampshire). Generally speaking, the most common cause of people getting cold in the winter is from dehydration. Most hikers don't drink enough fluids in summer and in winter it's even more of a problem. Cold hands and feet is the first sign of dehydration. Headache is another common sign of dehydration. Cramps come later. My advice besides carrying more cloths and a warmer bag is drink plenty of water. If you can afford the weight, consider carrying a thermos full of tea prepared at breakfast.

 

[ppine]

Eppo,
You just let the cat out of the bag. Guide and OB intructor. That is a good resume. You have mentioned the Mountaineers several times. Are you in the PNW? Thanks for bringing back some good old threads. I am a forester and third gen Husky.

 

[IndianaHiker]

I'm a former mountaineering guide and Outward Bound instructor. I've worked with hundreds of clients over the years. In addition, I have over 500 miles of winter trekking including six successful ski tours around Crater Lake in Oregon. In my youth we used to hike the AT from Crawford Notch to Franconia Notch in winter (New Hampshire). Generally speaking, the most common cause of people getting cold in the winter is from dehydration. Most hikers don't drink enough fluids in summer and in winter it's even more of a problem. Cold hands and feet is the first sign of dehydration. Headache is another common sign of dehydration. Cramps come later. My advice besides carrying more cloths and a warmer bag is drink plenty of water. If you can afford the weight, consider carrying a thermos full of tea prepared at breakfast.

Great advise and to that I would add caloric intake. Experienced this first hand in January on a trip. Didn't carry enough food on a day hike that went long as we got misplaced (not lost did the scenic route :tinysmile_grin_t Anyway got back to base-camp at midnight. Was tired and made the mistake of not eating dinner before crawling under the tarp and into sleeping bag. I ended up with classic symptoms of Stage 2 hypothermia. Chattering teeth, confusion, lack of muscle coordination, etc. I was luck enough to know what was happening. Got out of the bag, ingested some calories, and drank a liter of water. Then after doing jumping jacks and push up got core temp up high enough to go to bed comfortably. Lesson learned even when tired take the time to re-hydrate, and take in some calories. After doing that was comfy all night. You have to give your body what it needs to maintain core temp. I was lucky someone that didn't have the understanding of what was happening could have gotten themselves in trouble.

Edit to add;
Another mistake was assume that I was warm enough when body was still pumping adrenalin could tell when that burned off. As that was when I started getting chilled.

 

[ppine]

Indiana,
Your story shows good self-awareness that comes with experience.

 

[IndianaHiker]

Indiana,
Your story shows good self-awareness that comes with experience.

Thanks PPine also reminded me not to get complacent and not to skip over things that you know you should be doing. Let being wore out over ride better judgement. On the flip side it was a good experience. Since I have now been through it will help me recognize this when or if it happens to people that are with me when I take others out.