Cold Weather Survival

Imagine this: you've been at work all day, looking out the window at a glorious spring day. Finally you get off the clock and decide to go for a day hike in the hills outside of town. It's the afternoon by the time you leave, but why worry? It's a beautiful day, and the sun is shining. It's shirtsleeves weather and what little snow is left is quickly melting. What can go wrong on a quick walk in the woods?

Since it seems so nice out, you aren't keeping track of the time and without realizing it, the sun is low in the sky. You decide you'd better turn back, but on the way to your car, the sun drops below the horizon. Now it's dark, and you can't see the trail very well. You speed up, the quicker to get back to the car, but soon find yourself off of the trail completely. Since the sun has set, but the stars aren't quite out, there aren't any reference points to navigate from, and the hills are unfamiliar, even more so in the dark. And speaking of dark, now that the sun has set, the temperature is dropping rapidly you notice with a shiver. What seemed like a beautiful spring day is now a forbidding winter night. And nobody will realize that you're gone until you don't show up to work the next day. How did an innocent day hike turn into a life and death situation so fast?

Survival hinges on several factors. Maintaining a positive attitude and being prepared are the two most important things when heading outside, especially when the mercury drops and the line between life and death becomes sharper.

First off, consider your clothing. Cotton is the most common fabric that clothing is made of, but it can be deadly. Cotton is the perfect material for hot weather, but if it gets wet, it stays wet. Melting snow or sweat can get your cotton clothing wet surprisingly fast. Not only is wet clothing uncomfortable, but it sucks heat away from your body. Much better is wool, or synthetic fabrics like polypropylene. Wool and synthetic's have the property of wicking water away from your skin, so even if you get wet, you'll stay warm. But you can't stand the itchy texture of wool? Not to worry. Recent developments have resulted in warm reliable non-itchy wool clothing.