Cold weather survival tips…..

I had written up several essays on surviving rural homelessness in the winter. Today after last night would be a fitting time to post this. It got down into the low twenties and we had our first frost last night.

I did go last night without heat. The little gas heater in my apartment will not stay lit. I could go turn on the main furnace that heats the whole house but I was being cheap and wanted to see how I would fare. It was so cold in my apartment this morning that you could see my breath. I did have an electric heating blanket on my bed and was toasty warm but getting out of that bed was pure torture this morning. I will not even try to describe my very cold and very quick shower. I think after posting this I will bite the bullet and go turn on the main heat. Here is one of those short essays:

One of the hardest aspects of last winter and living in a tent was the cold. Cold is a relative thing when it comes to where you live though. I was lucky that I lived in the Deep South and most days in the winter it would crawl into the fifties and feel down right balmy once you became acclimated. And you do become acclimated to the cold. You would be surprised how warm a high forties or low fifties day will feel if you spend much of your time outdoors and in the elements.

The most dangerous times were at night and early morning. This is the time when temperatures are at their lowest. I can vividly remember a few nights were the temperatures got down into the teens. On these days I would sometimes lay in my warm sleeping bag until the sun got very high and the day had a chance to warm up some.

The trick is being prepared and having the right gear. I had a really good goose down sleeping bag that was rated at zero degrees Fahrenheit. I also had a fleece bag liner to add another layer of insulation. Layers of insulation are the key. You want to add as many layers of insulating air between you and cold night air to stay comfortable. Staying dry is also important so cotton apparel was a big no. Cotton garments have almost no insulating qualities when they get damp or wet and are slow to dry. They are also not very good at handling perspiration. You would be surprised at how much you can perspire even on the coldest days with moderate exertion. Try to stick to wool or synthetic garments.

I also learned to sleep with some of my clothes on and to put my shoes inside the sleeping bag with me. That way they would be warm and dry in the morning and ready to use. Nothing is more painful than putting on cold, clammy shoes or garments on a subfreezing morning. Especially with shoes as once your feet get cold you will have a hell of a time getting them warmed back up.

Here is a list of my most comfortable garments and these were sometimes lifesavers:

1) A wool toboggan and a fleece baklava.
2) A heavy wool sweater.
3) An expedition style cross county skiers jacket with a zip in fleece liner.
4) Polyester heavy weight thermal underwear.
5) Mittens not gloves. I found that if you did not need dexterity then mittens kept your hands warmer as your fingers could make contact and they insulated better.
6) Thick wool socks with cotton liners to keep your feet from itching.
7) Insulated hiking boots.

This is just a short list but these garments were invaluable to keeping me comfortable on some very cold days.

Another trick that was great both physically and psychologically was to have something warm to drink such as hot tea or coffee. You don’t know how much of a comfort these can be on a very cold morning. I had a little white gas camp stove and could boil water in just a few minutes. I also had a small aluminum coffee percolator that came in real handy on those cold days where I needed a boost.

A good fire can help keep your extremities warm but I found it biggest benefit to be psychological. I would keep two fire pits; one for the evening and one for the morning. Before the sun set the previous evening, I would have my morning fire ready to go so all I had to do is get dressed and walk out of my tent and light it. Within minutes of facing the brisk morning air I would have a roaring fire going. Keep in mind that there is a certain art and skill involved to be able to consistently light fires so if you want to experiment with rural camping in a winter setting you would be wise to practice a lot in warmer months.

Well, these are just a few things that I found important. I could probably go on for many more pages. If you are interested into looking into some of the gear I have mentioned and want to see what kinds of hiking gear is available then I suggest the following website to get started: