Hiker acclimation.

[yari]

I was wondering if people have found that after doing a lot of hiking, they are more impervious to extremes of temperature. Maybe impervious is the wrong word, tolerant might be better.

I got a bunch of flak last night from friends that came to pick me up to go out. I haven't turned my heat on yet and it was 58 degrees in my apartment, 39 degrees and spitting snow outside. I had a window open and a fan blowing out because I was smoking inside.

Now, I am comfortable at 58 degrees with a fan on. They weren't in the apartment more than 15 min. max. It isn't like they were there for the weekend, and had to deal with it naked after showering, hell, they never even took off their coats. What is it with people that they have turned into such hot house flowers?

Is it that hiker's bodies actually become more acclimated to temperature extremes? Or do we get to a point we just deal and don't notice it anymore? Saturday morning musings........

[4shot]

I was wondering if people have found that after doing a lot of hiking, they are more impervious to extremes of temperature. Maybe impervious is the wrong word, tolerant might be better.

Is it that hiker's bodies actually become more acclimated to temperature extremes? Or do we get to a point we just deal and don't notice it anymore? Saturday morning musings........

on my hike I found I could tolerate cool/colder weather much better than before. I think some of it may have been learning "to deal" (sometimes didn't want to hassle with putting on and taking off layers for short intervals) and wondered if perhaps my metabolism hadn't increased as well(a guess on my part). Whatever the reason I was comfortable in t-shirt and shorts, even when not hiking, in weather I would not have been prior to my hike. I do think that learning how "to deal" (with weather, pain, fatigue, etc.) is the biggest thing to be gained from a long distance hike imo.

[Pedaling Fool]

Is it that hiker's bodies actually become more acclimated to temperature extremes? Or do we get to a point we just deal and don't notice it anymore? Saturday morning musings........

Yes the body can adjust to many "hardships" (not just WRT temps), provided the individual doesn't fight it.

An example of what I mean by "fight it":

I met another thru-hiker, somewhere in Virginia (so he already had about 6-700 miles down). This guy was complaining about how to get his pack weight down even further and was bitching because he was carrying ~30lbs. Here I am twice this punks age and carrying twice his weight. The weight was a problem for me in the beginning, but after 600 miles your body adjusts. Unless of course you don't want it to adjust (by focusing on the hardship as an unsurmountable problem).

Another way I've "acclimated" to hiking are my ankles. I feel impervious to a threat of a twisted ankle. But I had to hike over 100 miles on a twisted ankle to get that way. I still occasionally roll my ankle, but it never results in an injury.

I've have also become impervious to false peaks Those things use to really piss me off

[generoll]

maybe they just didn't like the smoke and were looking for a graceful way to exit.

[Slo-go'en]

I belive the body becomes accusomed to the average temps you spend the most time living at. So, if your used to high 70's, low 60's is going to feel cold.

People who work outside all winter can likely keep thier living space temps a lot cooler then those who work in a well heated office all day.

[Pedaling Fool]

Is it that hiker's bodies actually become more acclimated to temperature extremes? Or do we get to a point we just deal and don't notice it anymore? Saturday morning musings........

How much a thru-hiker's body changes/adapts vs. just dealing with it (uncomfortable temps) I don't know, but you can change you physiology to be more tolerant of abnormal temps. In the same way your body changes to become more efficient at walking (with weight) day-after day... And in many other ways.

Most thru-hikers don't really work at it, when it gets cold they bundle up when it warms the take off and some adjust their hike to deal with the temps avoiding the problem, by hiking in less heat.

I'm sure cavemen could withstand greater temp extremes than most today, primarily because they had to. Modern Heat and A/C systems has just made us a bunch of wussies, but hasn't fundamentally change our physiology, not yet anyway.

[garlic08]

Vasodilation and vasoconstriction (the immediate physiological responses to heat and cold) work differently for different people, and differently for the same person depending on conditions at the time. I've heard medical people say that both of those responses can be "trained" with frequent exposure. Prior food, drink, fitness and general health, and pharmaceuticals (including nicotine) can really affect responses too.

Great comment above about false summits. I noticed that after my AT hike, small hills (less than 1000') don't even register on my radar any more. There were so many of them (MUDs and PUDs) on the AT, if you worried about climbing a little hill you wouldn't think about anything else, so I stopped thinking about the hills and it worked.

[DapperD]

I was wondering if people have found that after doing a lot of hiking, they are more impervious to extremes of temperature. Maybe impervious is the wrong word, tolerant might be better.

I got a bunch of flak last night from friends that came to pick me up to go out. I haven't turned my heat on yet and it was 58 degrees in my apartment, 39 degrees and spitting snow outside. I had a window open and a fan blowing out because I was smoking inside.

Now, I am comfortable at 58 degrees with a fan on. They weren't in the apartment more than 15 min. max. It isn't like they were there for the weekend, and had to deal with it naked after showering, hell, they never even took off their coats. What is it with people that they have turned into such hot house flowers?

Is it that hiker's bodies actually become more acclimated to temperature extremes? Or do we get to a point we just deal and don't notice it anymore? Saturday morning musings........

Yes I agree with this. But not just hikers can handle colder temperatures better. People who have to work outside in the cold, spend large amounts of time in it, say do to their environment, etc...Something else I learned, people with a large amount of bodyfat on average appear to stay warmer easier in the cold than the people who have really gotten themselves in to good shape and have reduced their body fat percentage.

[Rocket Jones]

I was born and raised in California, but after spending five winters in North Dakota, I found that cold didn't bother me any more. Heck, after months of sub-zero wind chills, when the thermometer read above 32 you wouldn't think twice about running out to the car in your shorts because it felt downright tropical.

[yari]

maybe they just didn't like the smoke and were looking for a graceful way to exit.

This site really needs a Bronx cheer emoticon.

[mateozzz]

I grew up in New England and a 60 degree day was cause for joy. Now I live in S Texas and when it gets below 90 I feel chilly.

[Kerosene]

My personal thermostat definitely adjusts after only a few days on the trail. Consequently, I know that I can get by with 15-20 degrees less insulation than I need around town.

I went to elementary school in northern New England and I've always been more comfortable in cooler temperatures, even after living on the Jersey Shore and southern Michigan for years.

[Dogwood]

Is it that hiker's bodies actually become more acclimated to temperature extremes? Or do we get to a point we just deal and don't notice it anymore? Saturday morning musings........ - Yari

I think both situations occur. A physiological aspect is involved as well as a mental/emotional aspect.

I rarely meet a long distance hiker, who completes their intended hike, who is consistently bitching, depressed, and/or negative. These hikers soon remove themselves from the challenges of a hike. I suspect this process occurs in many areas of the lives of many of those who quit.

[Odd Man Out]

Yes, it is a scientifically proven fact that a 50 degree day in March is a lot warmer than a 50 degree day in October!

[The Solemates]

the body grows accustom to what it is used to. we dont typically turn on the heat until christmas or after, which for where we live means its 56 in our house. people who come over think we are crazy. on the flip side, we usually dont turn the air on in our house until May, which where we live means its 84 in the house. our bills are low though

we had family come pick us up after our thru-hike. we took a side trip to bar harbor on the way home. we were wearing shorts, sandles, and a light jacket. everyone else was bundled up like the arctic. it was 43 degrees. it was interesting just how acclimated we had become.

[Erin]

I am the same, cold house, open windows, low heat, but I chalk that up to age

[sbhikes]

I live in Santa Barbara. It's not a particularly warm place, but it's never very cold, either. Usually when people move here from Michegan or somewhere cold, you can totally tell who they are. They are the ones in shorts and flip-flops in December. Give them a year or two and they become like the rest of us locals: down jackets, hats and ugg boots. Meanwhile, I had fun in Miami one winter poking fun at people wearing down jackets when it was actually pretty warm out to me.

[Lone Wolf]

i was a snowmaker at jay peak for 10 winters. i know cold. bein' cold on the AT ain't nothin'

[10-K]

Great comment above about false summits. I noticed that after my AT hike, small hills (less than 1000') don't even register on my radar any more. There were so many of them (MUDs and PUDs) on the AT, if you worried about climbing a little hill you wouldn't think about anything else, so I stopped thinking about the hills and it worked.

Same here! I was bad about letting the elevation profiles set my mood for the day.

Anymore I don't even care - I tell myself even Everest has a top.

[johnnybgood]

Most of hiker acclimation to cold or other external forces begins with your mental mindset . I personally feel better hiking in cold weather but know my attitude toward hot summertime hiking is piss poor. A thru would acclimate my physical & mental approach since I would be encountering hot weather for 3 months .