I don't think I'd be able to make it out there right now...
Two days ago we had a warm and sunny 70 degree day. Last night it dropped to 18 with a quarter inch of ice accumulation, it snowed a little more today and it's going down to 25 tonight. That is a drastic temperature change to adjust to. If I went out right now with some basic gear, I know I wouldn't die overnight, but I'd probably have to keep myself awake all night, and keep a fire going. It would definitely sap my morale and energy. In the long run it would probably beat me (if I were solo).
Some of you that are more experience-hardened and from colder areas might think what I'm talking about sounds comparatively mild. While that may be true, I've been lounging around in a nice cozy house for many years now and live in a typically warm and humid state. I have no resistances, psychological or physical, built up to handle the cold. Not to mention I'm always cold anyway!
There was a feral child found (don't remember where or when), the people looking after him observed one day when it was freezing outside and snowing, the boy threw his clothes off and ran out stark naked, joyfully playing in the snow. The researchers theorized from this event that sensitivity to temperature is largely determined by life experiences. I'm sure many of you will agree this is true.
I think I'm going to progressively keep it colder in my house to try and adapt to handle it a little better, and save money while I'm at it. It could be hard to regulate though. Anyway, it's just an idea, don't know if it will actually do much for my sensitivity to cold in the long run. And nobody likes to intentionally make themselves miserable, but I need to toughen my body and mind up. Even just being in a house sheltered from the elements (with a bed and blankets) is a huge luxury I may not always have, and if I wanted to, I could turn off all the heat and see how well I manage overnight.
You are actually on to something scientific, and thinning
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Iskander
I think I'm going to progressively keep it colder in my house to try and adapt to handle it a little better, and save money while I'm at it. It could be hard to regulate though. Anyway, it's just an idea, don't know if it will actually do much for my sensitivity to cold in the long run. And nobody likes to intentionally make themselves miserable, but I need to toughen my body and mind up. Even just being in a house sheltered from the elements (with a bed and blankets) is a huge luxury I may not always have, and if I wanted to, I could turn off all the heat and see how well I manage overnight.
A fair amount of scientific research has been done on this topic already that you can Google and read about. Also experiment with it yourself. Both in winter and with heat in summer. It will all be a moot point to some degree if you share the home with others who do not share your passion for the outdoors and/or science. Like my wife and kids who are constantly cranking up the thermostat. OH Well, so I sleep in the back yard. LOL
Here are just 2 articles to read, but there are many more:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...ok-fat/383509/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0122133824.htm
But just keeping your home at 62F or lower in the winter and wearing only skiviez will NOT prevent obesity. There are other factors involved. Some Inuit who still live mostly in the "wilderness" strip down to just a shirt and pants at temps of about 45F, I do when I am doing light work even when there is no sun. But I also adjust to temps over 110F in the summer and high humidity.
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Breathless Wife forces me to Acclimatize outdoors in wilderness
Another reason to sleep outside in the backyard or porch frequently (besides acclimating to climate extremes) is that my wife claims I leave her "Breathless in bed". Evidently this is NOT a good experience for her as this Valentine's Card suggests:
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edit: yes Hunter evidently I eat too much broccoli and beans, but studies show that 30 grams of fiber per day can keep a person healthy and even be effective at weight loss, so I fart away.
http://time.com/3709904/fiber-weight-loss/
So eat 30 grams of fiber/day, live outdoors, stay cool so you don't get fat. Or something like that.
Life's more fun when you learn to adjust to nature, no whining!
Absolutely never a good idea to risk frostbite, hypothermia, hyperthermia, or heatstroke in extreme climate conditions, BUT I have found that I can acclimatize my body and mind to a wide range of environments over a relatively short period of time (does not take a lifetime.) This allows me to go on adventures, hunts, fishing trips in great places like the Canadian Rocky Mountains when it is very cold or even further north, and tropical places near the equator that are hot and humid and deserts in Western USA during the hottest parts of the summer. Occasionally some whiny whimp will be on a trip who wants to stay in a climate controlled cabin, car or lodge, dang it I only wish I could use his tag for an extra elk.
Oh! and when I am sitting very still in a windblown makeshift game blind and some "city boy" fidgets around shivering because he is cold, dog gone it if the butt of my rifle doesn't want to accidentally knock him unconscious. But even then some White Tail or mule deer will occasionally walk up behind me and stomp its hooves and snort as if to say "Hey! I smelled you down wind, stinky human, have you been eating beans?"
So if you don't want to be a whiny, whimpy, thin skinned, thin blooded guy holed up in a climate controlled automobile or building all your life learn to adjust to whatever nature throws at you and you will have more fun in life. That has been my experience. But don't freeze to death or die of heatstroke either allegedly that is not fun.
