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When I camp in the winter, it's difficult to keep everything toasty warm. My feet are always the first to get cold and they always take the longest to warm up. I understand it's my body's priority to maintain core temperature, which requires it to decrease blood flow to the extremities. Here are some tricks that will help you to keep your feet warm, even in the coldest conditions:
- Warm winter boots: I usually wear my hiking boots, which don't have much lining, for daytime when we're snowshoeing and moving around. My feet are fine during the day, but I always carry a pair of warmer winter boots to wear around the campsite - where we do a lot of standing around. And after a long day of snowshoeing, I am always so grateful to have another pair of warmer boots to put on.
- Wear one pair of socks: Two pairs take up too much room in your boots, which will cut circulation - and make your feet cold.
- Wiggle your toes: While at the campsite, your feet will get cold -there's no way around this. Remember what you grade school teachers told you though - wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!
- Use foot warmers: They're small, inexpensive and really help to warm up your feet if wiggling your toes just isn't doing it for you!
- Borrow a friend's armpits: What?! You're probably thinking "is this girl for real" Seriously though, if your feet are cold, putting them in another person's armpits will warm them up in no time through a simple transfer of body heat.
- Sleep with your liners: This will prevent your liners from freezing overnight. Believe me, starting out with warm boots in the morning is much better than donning cold, rock-hard boots.
- Wear booties: Light-weight, compressible, camp booties are perfect for in the tent or cabin. A friend of mine had some on our last winter hiking trip, and she said they kept her feet, which are always cold, warm the whole time. They also had grips on the bottom, so she could wear them on the snow and around the campsite. I tried them on - it felt like I was walking on clouds.
Ready to start shopping? Nomadik has all the latest on winter hiking boots.
Kim Bowerman,
Nomadik Personal Fitness Expert
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I finally saw An Inconvenient Truth this weekend. If anyone had told me earlier that watching Al Gore give a slideshow for ninety minutes would be a riveting experience, I would have rolled my eyes and said something along the lines of “Sure, dude, whatever you say.” But there I was... riveted.
It's not like I didn't already accept the reality of global warming, and I've always believed that I do my best to help protect the environment. I reduce, reuse and recycle whenever possible. I run the dishwasher only when I have a full load. And I've been known to chase a piece of errant tissue halfway down the block to avoid littering.
But after watching the movie, I realize that I've really got to make a conscious effort to do more. After all, it's people like us-people for whom the natural world is a true haven-that have the most at stake. As shocking as the data and the charts and the computer simulations presented in the film are (and they're staggering!), it was the actual footage of the visible changes that are currently taking place on the planet that made me realize just what's at risk. Could anyone watch massive chunks of Antarctica plunging into the sea or see how the vibrant colors of coral reefs are being bleached out of existence not be moved to action?
So I urge anyone who hasn't seen the documentary yet to do so as soon as possible. And, in the meantime, pay a visit to the official website, to learn what changes we can make today to reverse the course of global warming. Because if there's one message I take away from this movie, it's that we already have all the knowledge, technology, and ability we need to solve this problem. Now all we need is the will.
Elizabeth Kricfalusi,
Miss Adventure
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If you plan to spend a whole night sleeping outside in the winter, your choice of shelter is very important. Even if you have a quality tent, you'll need to find a location that will protect you from the elements - especially if the mercury plummets at night. Here is a list of things to look for when scoping out a place to sleep:
- Find a small clearing big enough for your tent - make sure it's not slopped or riddled with potholes.
- Clear away rocks, logs or sticks before setting up your tent.
- Seek out a natural shelter from the wind to help keep you warm all night - a large rock, hill or trees.
- Look for an area where the trees still have snow on them - a good indication that the wind doesn't blow strong in that area.
- Ensure nearby trees are solid and not likely to topple in a windstorm - steer clear of dead and leaning trees.
- Source out water nearby, but since it's snowy this isn't that important.
Build up an area for a fire - again a sheltered area out of the wind is important.
Kim Bowerman,
Nomadik Personal Fitness Expert
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On Friday night I drove to Algonquin Park with six friends for some winter camping. We arrived in Huntsville Friday night, where we spent the night in a motel, preparing ourselves for our two-day winter adventure. After buying our permit on Saturday morning at the West Gate, and one of our cars almost sliding into the ditch, we embarked on our snowshoe journey from Mew Lake
We knew it was cold but had no idea how cold until we arrived home late Sunday night. Apparently the temperature had dropped alarmingly close to 0 Fahrenheit on Saturday night. And Sunday was even colder.
Despite being the coldest weekend we've had so far this year, not to mention the coldest weather I've ever endured in a tent, it was an amazing weekend spent with a great group of people. The trails were beautiful and the weather was bearable as long as we kept moving. Actually, there's nothing more invigorating than spending an active weekend in the snow and on the trails.
Minimizing the time standing around is the key to staying warm. We spent our entire day hiking, and the only time we really felt the cold was while standing around during lunch breaks, setting up camp, getting the fire going or waiting (and waiting) for the water to boil.
I also realized that it is during these extremely low temperatures that you really become aware of which gear is the most essential, and how big of a difference the cold really makes when performing tasks that are normally considered second-nature.
Kim Bowerman,
Nomadik Personal Fitness Expert
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I'm thrilled that Julia has invited me to be a guest blogger for The Nomadik Fanatiks. I love the attitude this site brings to the topic of outdoor adventure—that you don't have to be an extreme athlete (or an extreme masochist) to participate and benefit from it.
Take me, for example. I regularly read magazines like Outside and National Geographic Adventure and I definitely find myself inspired by their stories of daring men and women who scale mountains and blaze trails and challenge Mother Nature every step of the way.
But I also know that I'm never going to be one of those people.
When I traveled to Africa last year, I went with established outfitters who had predefined itineraries and fully equipped vehicles. However, I did sleep in a tent almost every night, a first for me for that length of time. And, of course, there were plenty of other experiences that made the trip one of the greatest adventures of my life (so far...), many of which I hope to share with you over the coming weeks and months.
In the meantime, please feel free to visit my blog, Embrace Adventure, where I explore the broader nature of adventure and how we can incorporate it into every aspect of our lives.
Ask a question, leave a comment or share your own adventures. I look forward to hearing from you.
Elizabeth Kricfalusi,
Miss Adventure
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The world is all too aware of the dangers of transporting crude oil from wells to the rest of the world. The Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 is proof that environmentally sensitive areas can be totally destroyed in one foul swoop. Twenty years later, the scars of toxic sludge and residue still fester.
Hearing on the news today that good old George Dubbya has lifted a ban on gas and oil drilling in Bristol Bay Alaska sounds like another stellar step towards unparalleled stupidity. Or maybe it's just the republicans proving that raping and pillaging a wilderness paradise is all in a day's work.
Experts calculate as much as 2 billion barrels of crude oil and about 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lay buried under the bay, ripe for the picking. Just in time to boost an economy that's seen its share of toxic spills of all kinds.
So where does this leave nature?
Haven't we learned anything from the past? The plan to extract the crude involves a mega pipeline, passing through some of the most pristine environments on earth. Are we ready for another told you so, or is it time to move into the age of technology and give the more sound systems of energy generation a chance?
I have visited the damaged areas of Alaska and seen the effects of spill after spill after spill. It's time to protect what wonder there is left in the world - for the people who depend on it for their livelihood or their enjoyment. The fishery industry, for example, depends on an eco-friendly approach to drilling for oil and gas - and so do we if we want eat their catch.
Let's hope that the pilots of this space ship can steer clear of another disaster.
Paul Lander,
Nomadik Fanatik
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