Lee ,
I have experienced temperatures of -44 degrees Fahrenheit in North Dakota. So, I consider myself part of the Freezer Club, but prefer an emeritus status in terms of needing to repeat the experience. Will you kindly grant me that status? Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Frelich" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, January 3, 2010 1:05:48 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [ENTS] Cold is good Russ: Yes, definitely it cools suddenly in the forest around 3:30 in the afternoon during winter. Any solar radiation you may have been getting disappears at the same time as the air temperature drops. Two of my friends were winter camping in boreal forests of the boundary waters a few years ago, and at 4:00, the temperature had dropped to the bottom of their thermometer (-40). Because it was clear with very light northerly winds, they figured that it was best to get out of the woods and go into town. Its a good thing they did because to got down to -54 that night and their equipment was only rated for -40. Another time I was filming a piece on global warming in January in the boundary waters for channel 4 (Minneapolis CBS TV station), at about 3:30 pm. We were showing red maple saplings invading the boreal forest, and trying to look like we weren't freezing while talking about a warmer climate, but the temperature cooling you mentioned was just setting in, and for sake of continuity, we couldn't change the coats we had on eariler. After two takes of one scene, the producer said, "could you do that again like you just did, but use 10% fewer words?". Somehow we managed to do it just like the producer wanted so we could be excused and hike back to the car. You can see the resulting story, both written and video versions at the TV station's website: http://wcco.com/topstories/global.warming.Northwoods.2.365546.html Also, a bunch of other stories about fires, storms, invasive insects, etc. impacts on forests in MN: http://wcco.com/search?searchstring=Frelich&tabid=0 Lee [email protected] wrote: > Paul: > > I, like you very much enjoy extreme cold ....there is something > perversely enjoyable about being outside at temps close to zero or > below with a gentle wind that feels like a laser on your cheeks. As > I've gotten older and reached the point where I am almost always > working alone, I no longer go out for more than six or eight hours in > the woods if the temperature isn't going to get above zero. > > I agree about layering and how you mix them is so incredibly > important. The general availability of good mixed material boots like > Sorels with removable felts makes many aspects of extreme weather much > more enjoyable today than 30 or 40 years ago. > > I'd like to offer a tip for heavy physical effort and perspiration > in extreme cold weather. In almost any circumstance where I am going > to climb up a big mountain or expose myself to a substantial period of > serious effort in very cold temperatures, I'll carry a spare T-shirt. > At the point where I decide that the period of most severe effort has > ended I will immediately stop in as calm a point as possible and strip > down my top layers down to bare skin and take off the wettest > bottommost layer of my shirts and completely dress back up with a dry > shirt on the bottom. Such a change has always been refreshing > and nearly always prevents me from developing a chill. Also, if I > plan it carefully and I am able to make the wardrobe change before my > body starts to recover from the strain of the climb and begin cooling > off I have an extremely good chance of remaining comfortable at > whatever the temperature is for several hours. > > One question, for everyone who spends a lot of time in the woods > during the coldest part of winter....have you noticed that there is a > time in the afternoon when something changes to make the air suddenly > "feel" colder. In Western Massachusetts during January I > usually found that time to be between 3:15 and 3:30 on the coldest > days. Other people were the first to point this change out to me and > it seems to be most readily noticeable in forested locations that are > on north or east facing areas (out of any sun). > > Russ > > > ---- > d email to [email protected] -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
