Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Let It Fly!

The snow has arrived! It showed up with a 10-15 mph wind to back it up. At this time I have a little over 5 inches and the snow is still flying heavily.  the wind is causing a little drifting here in my neighbor hood so I would imagine in the country the drifts will be substantial.  The suggested totals are no in the 10 inch range.

   This brings to mind a question. If you live with this white crap or travel through areas that have cold temperatures and snowfall, are you prepared for the challenges these things present? Snow itself is cold and wet. it usually comes with a cold wind to boot. In this particular storm we are looking for temperatures to drop to a negative 10. Did you read that right? Ten degrees below ZERO. And that is without adding in a wind chill factor.
This situation call fro good, warm clothing, warm, dry boots, water proof warm gloves and certainly a hat. When temperatures get this cold, your skin freezes quickly so it MUST be covered up. No the trick is staying warm without sweating. If you are walking , struggling, running, shoveling you are going to sweat and under all those layers of clothes you are going to be drenched. Personally, when I shovel snow or walk to a distant stand, I dress very lightly as I am exerting my self for a short time. When gong to a stand I carry my coveralls, hat, heavy glove and such and don them at the stand after a cool off period. Now comes the cold part, staying inactive in the cold. Whether you are on a deer stand or an LP/OP, inactivity in extreme cold will chill you to the bone and kill you very easily unless you are prepared for it with layers of warm clothing. Poly Pro long johns seem the best anymore for a base layer and they come in several different weights. Then a mid level layer of wool pants and shirt or poly pro "sweats". Then a top layer of insulated coveralls. I prefer insulated bibs and a heavy coat on the top. With your hands you need a poly pro liner and a wool glove and water proof shell. Mittens are always good for the top layer as they trap a lot more heat. As far as a hat I use a simple single layer watch cap for most cold weather but then I run to warm. You might want a heavier cap or hat. If the wind gets up I will pull the coats hood over the cap. If it is very cold or the wind is creating very low temps you will need to cover you face too. No one wants a frostbit face. Your feet are another thing. Save those toes! Poly pro liners with wool socks and a good felt insulated pac boot are about the warmest I have found. Any of the Thinsulate lined boots are good as well. Once again though, it is easy to over insulate the feet and make them sweat  so it takes a little experimentation to get what is right for you. One big No No is COTTON. Do not use cotton in cold weather. It absorbs moisture and holds it and that sucks the warmth out of your body and that my friends is a bad, bad thing in the cold.
Now the big question is, Do you have any or all of these things in your preps?

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