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	Dealing with Weather

For other activities, see the Activities Chapter.

• You loose heat by five methods:
  • Conduction to the ground or rocks. Sit on a leaves or branches.
  • Convection to the air (wind chill). Minimize the air movement around your body by wearing a windproof nylon shell.
  • Radiation as in infrared. Cover up as much as possible.
  • Respiration or breathing. Your body heats every breath that you inhale. Minimize the amount of exercise you do. Do isometric exercises if necessary to keep warm.
  • Perspiration or sweating. Water cools you MUCH faster than air. Clothes wet with sweat will not insulate you as well.
• Layers of clothes trap more insulating air. Multiple layers are also easier than a single layer to adapt to changing temperatures and conditions because you have more options.
• Make sure your outer layer is wind proof - that will hold in more heat by keeping the warm air close to you.
• The best sleeping bags are synthetic mummy bags. Down and cotton bags are useless if wet.
• Avoid cots (open to air underneath) and air mattresses (too much transfer of heat to air and ground, worthless if they get a leak), use closed cell foam or self inflating pads.
• Avoid cotton - it is know as "dead man's clothing" because it holds water, doesn't provide any insulation when wet, and doesn't dry easily.
• Use fabrics like nylon, polypro, wool, coolmax, or the new synthetics. They will provide some insulation even when wet, won't absorb as much water, and will dry faster.
• Wear a good warm hat. Most of the body's heat is lost through the head and neck. Keep them warm and the rest of your body will thank you.
• Stay dry. Cold and wet is the worst and very dangerous. 25° F with snow isn't as bad as 35° F with rain.
• A vapor barrier can be made by wearing a trash bag next to your skin. Take a trash bag, cut openings for your arms and head. Put it on next to your skin, cover it with a tight fitting shirt, and tuck it in at the waist. You can also do this with your feet and hands.
• Drink something warm like hot chocolate or soup to warm you up and provide the extra calories needed by your body to generate heat.
• Fluff up your sleeping bag by giving it a couple good shakes. It will trap more insulating air.
• Wear only dry clothes inside your sleeping bag. You will be warmer (because you are dry) and your bag will keep you warmer. Any clothes you wore during the day will be moist from water coming from your body - change into dry clothes before climbing into your sleeping bag.
• Keep water, stove/fuel and batteries warm by bringing into tent or sleeping bag. Ice doesn't do you any good, a stove will start easier if it is warm, and batteries will provide more power if they are warm. White gas stoves are better in cold weather because they provide more heat. A hint to starting them more easily is to pour a small amount of alcohol or fuel on the burner and light it. The alcohol/fuel will burn and warm up the stove. The flame can then be used to light the stove. Warning: The flame from burning alcohol is nearly invisible, don't get burnt.
• Take a water bottle filled with hot water to bed.
• One of those hand warmers that uses lighter fluid feels great. They will last all day on a single charge. Don't use in closed areas like your tent. They can also be very helpful in emergency situations.

• Hypothermia – shivering > feel miserable > poor motor coordination > irrational/erratic behavior - bad cases should be taken to the hospital
• Drink something warm and/or eat something sweet for mild cases.
• Get into a tent (or at least out of the wind), put on dry clothes, and get into your sleeping bag (don't forget to use your sleeping pad). Use warm water bottles in armpits or groin.
• Get close to another person and let their body heat warm you up.
• Frostbite – skin looks gray, waxy, and discolored.
• Warm it up. Once it is warm, cover it up and keep it warm.
• Frozen extremities - keep frozen, go to hospital. If the extremity thaws, it will be very painful and you probably won't be able to use it. You can walk on frozen feet for a long time.
• Sunburn and snow blindness - wear sunscreen, lip gloss with sunscreen, sunglasses.

• Light colored clothes reflect heat, dark colors absorb heat.
• Wide brimmed hats can provide some shade and protect you from the sun. Also, consider using an umbrella.
• Stay in the shade as much as possible.
• Remember to use sunscreen on all parts of your body that are exposed. This is especially important if you are around water. There you not only get the direct light from the sun, but also the reflected light from the water.
• Consider sunglasses especially around water.
• Drink LOTS of water. Avoid prepared drinks - they contain too much sugar. At least dilute them by half.
• A wet bandana around your neck or on your head will help cool your body.
• A small battery powered fan can cool you down. This is also useful in your tent to improve the air circulation.

• Dehydration - not urinating, or urine dark in color
• Drink liquids – mostly water
• Heat exhaustion - light-headed, nausea, sweating, cold skin, face pale
• Lay down in shade, wet rag on head/body, fan, elevate feet, drink liquids
• Heat stroke - dry skin, high temperature, face red - take to hospital
• Lay down in shade/water, wet rags on head & body, elevate head & shoulders

• Pack everything in waterproof stuff sacks - not Gore-Tex, not dry bags.
• Pack clothes and food inside 2 gallon zip-lock freezer bags and then inside trash bag.
• Use a good waterproof nylon cover for your backpack. Trash bags won't do much good. A poncho that's big enough to cover you and your pack is a BAD idea because sooner or later you will need to take off your pack. Then either your pack or you will get wet.
• Sleeping bag should always be inside trash bag that is inside a stuff sack (preferably water proof).
• If setting up your tent in the rain keep your tent dryer inside by having a buddy/buddies hold a tarp, ground cloth, or rain fly over your tent while setting it up. Be sure to reciprocate the help.
• Keep sleeping bag and clothes dry. After setting up your tent, put gear inside and get into tent. Remove your wet rain gear/clothes and dry them off with a pack towel (those small cloths that you can wring out like a chamois) and put them in a trash bag. You may even want to dry off the tent floor, sleeping pad, yourself, ... Only after all wet items have been dried and stored, get out dry clothes, sleeping bag, ...
• A trash bag can be used as an emergency raincoat. Cut a slit on the side seam of the bag about 8" from the bottom. The corner of the bag acts like a rain hat.
• A wide brimmed hat will keep a lot of water off you and your glasses.
• Raincoats and pants are preferred over ponchos because windy weather can make a poncho useless.
• Pack your tent in a waterproof sack or trash bag. This will keep the inside dry.
• Pack a variety of sizes of zip-lock bags.
• Why not take a small umbrella if you are expecting a lot of rain? They act as another barrier layer to the rain.
• Make sure the tent ground cloth is completely under the tent - not showing at all. Any part of the ground cloth that is showing will funnel water under the tent where is can seep through the floor.
• Stake your tent securely - it sheds water better.

Note that the recommendations conflict between the different dangers. It is important to understand the differences and to react properly to the danger at hand.

• Flash Flooding
• Avoid low areas, ditches.
• Don't try to cross fast moving water. Water levels can change dramatically in a few seconds.
• Lightning
• Count the number of seconds from flash to bang and divide by 5 to find out how many miles the lightning is from you. It can strike up to 10 miles from a storm.
• Stay away from high places, open fields, water (lakes, pools), lone trees, rock outcroppings, caves, metal (dining fly poles, pack, tent, knife, belt, fence), electrical lines.
• Seek clumps of uniform height trees, ditches, trenches, or low ground.
• Stay at least 15’ (preferably 100') from other people (this reduces the chance of multiple injuries); squat on your sleeping pad (provides some insulation from the ground), heels touching (lightning goes between feet instead of up through body), hands over ears (lessens damage from thunder).
• Tornadoes
• Seek low areas, ditches. Lay flat on the ground on your stomach. Cover up head and torso as best you can (arms, sleeping pad, ...). What causes the damage in a tornado is the debris picked up by the winds and propelled at 100-300+ MPH. The higher you are the faster the winds.
• Hypothermia – shivering > feel miserable > poor motor coordination > irrational/erratic behavior - bad cases should be taken to the hospital
• Drink something warm and/or eat something sweet for mild cases.
• Get into a tent (or at least out of the wind), put on dry clothes, and get into your sleeping bag (don't forget to use your sleeping pad). Use warm water bottles in armpits or groin.
• Get close to another person and let their body heat warm you up.