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January 30, 2010

Tips for winter outdoor travel

By DENNIS APRILL, Outdoor Perspective

We are now in the heart of winter, the coldest stretch of the year, yet up to now it has been anything but a difficult winter, both with temperatures and snow.

That could change, and if it does, there is still no need for those who love being in the out-of-doors to stay inside, especially if you dress properly. There are many different ways to do so; here's my method for below-zero travel.

Starting with the extremities, in below-zero weather I wear a pair of 6-inch Bean's Pacs that are a half-size larger and a size wider than my normal boots. In these go my feet covered with two pairs of wool socks (plus a liner sock if it's really cold), the outer pair an extra-large size to fit over the normal-sized socks. Rubber-soled Bean's style boots are easier on snowshoe filling than Vibram soles.

For my hands, I wear thin liner gloves made of Thermax (they go by the name Seirus) that slip easily in and out of soft buckskin outer and duffle cloth inner mittens. Duffle cloth is hard to come by. I bought the heavy wool material for mine from a Hudson Bay Company store in Labrador in the 1970s. My wife cut the fleecy cloth, similar to that of a Hudson Bay blanket, and sewed it into mittens. The liner glove allows me to take off my heavy mitts and take photographs without freezing my hands. I have never found a single pair of gloves that could keep my hands warm in below-zero weather.

The head gear is more complicated because I usually wear glasses for distance seeing, and have never found a substance that stops the glasses from fogging up. I have tried shaving cream, liquid soap and commercial defoggers like Catcrap and Antifog, but when there is warm breath hitting cold glasses, there is always fog. With that in mind, I wear an Outdoor Research (OR) cap similar to an old aviator's hat that has a flap with a vent that covers the mouth. It is that vent which lets the warm air fog the glasses. When that happens, off come my glasses (I can function without them). Over the OR cap is a hooded, green and black, buffalo plaid wool cap, bought a size larger so it fits easily over the liner.

The rest of my body is a lot less complicated to cover. I usually wear insulated black snow pants with elastic cuffs like those sold in ski shops, and if it is bitter cold, a pair of light wool underwear next to the skin. From the waist up, I have on a short sleeve, all wool T-shirt, zip-up fleece shirt. Over that goes a windproof, breathable down jacket. I used to scorn at the idea of a down jacket, given to me years ago by my mother-in-law, but have since found it to be warm and easily vented.

I hate zippers — they always seem to malfunction at the wrong time — but they are needed to vent because perspiration is your biggest enemy on sub-zero treks. When I start getting overly warm (and you can get so even at minus 20 degrees), I begin unzipping. When I stop moving, I zip up; it's a habit. To ease the up and down zip process, I attached loops cut from old shoelaces to the zippers so I can manipulate them with mittens on. So far, this winter, I have been averaging 35 miles per week on the trail.

No matter how you do it and no matter if we get to minus 20 this winter or not, dress properly if you love being in the outdoors and remind yourself this still beats hiking during the black-fly season.

E-mail Dennis Aprill at daprill2000@yahoo.com and check out our Web site at www.pressrepublican.com/0105_outdoor_perspective for more photos and past articles.

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