Hypothermia

[trailfinder]

Other than layering clothes resulting in more weight and bulk, what are the atlernatives? Expensive thermal underwear, e.g. under armor? Thanks!

[SGT Rock]

Well layering is a part any system. But there are other tricks.

COLD-

C = clean. Stay as clean as possible and keep your clothing as clean as possible.

O = Overheat. Prevent overheating by dressing in layers. Remove layers when needed.

L = Layers. See above, but also have layers you can add when needed in camp.

D = Dry. Staying dry is 50% or better of the battle.

Also staying out of wind or wearing clothing that can block the wind, carrying a hot water bottle to bed, eating high fat foods before bed, going to bed with an empty bladder, using a pee bottle, etc. All little tricks of the trade.

[jackiebolen]

The best way to prevent hypothermia is to ALWAYS have something warm and dry to put on when you get to camp and having a dry sleeping bag to crawl into. When you're hiking, it's not so much of an issue what you wear as long as it's not cotton because the hiking will keep you pretty warm.

[rocket04]

Other than layering clothes resulting in more weight and bulk, what are the atlernatives? Expensive thermal underwear, e.g. under armor? Thanks!

If you really want to go as light as possible, the sad answer may be yes. The lightest stuff out there is likely more expensive. Whether you need to have that many layers is another question. If you're doing winter hiking, chances are you'll end up with a little more weight or bulk no matter what. But you can manage in the 20s without needing too many layers or expensive stuff. Just make sure that when you get to camp you have a good sleeping bag to curl into though, it's easy to stay warm while hiking but not so easy when resting. Having said that, the folks with lot of experience in winter hiking will surely have better advice.

[SGT Rock]

As to bulky clothing issue. My system is this:

Temps above 60:

Wear wicking t-shirt, microfiber underwear, nylon shorts, running socks, and have an extra set of socks and underwear in my pack. I also have a rain suit that has pants, bottoms, Sealskins, and gortex mittens. If the weather spikes down or gets wet, this does the trick.

Between 40-60:
Add an extra pair of socks, long johns, a knitt hat, and some fleece gloves. Very little extra bulk. I have found that the heavy weigh brown polypro underwear the Army issues is just as good and a lot cheaper than some of the high tec high end stuff.

Below 40:

Add a field jacket liner and field pants liners to wear under a rainsuit. Adds better insulation than the same weight of fleece and compresses better. I also add a polypro neck gator to turn my knitt hat into a balaclava, an extra set of warm wool socks, and some fleece mittens to wear under the rain mittens.

It ain't a lot of bulk or weight using a layering system similar to this.

[TakeABreak]

The above is really good advice, but I would to add a couple of things.

1 Always change your shirt when you get to camp, the one you have on will be damp from wear your pack, and as soon as you stopyou will notice it robbing your back of heat.

2 Put on a fleece or wool sweater to, this will very important to conserve body heat.

3 After I did the above and my bedroll setup in the lean to or tent, and my meal cooking I would change my socks, let the feet breathe a second and pout on dry socks.

4 I carried a wool cap and gloves, did not always wear them, but as soon as I got into camp I would don the on. i also used them to regulate my body temperature, when I would start getting warm I would off the gloves, and warming I would take the cap off from time to time.

5 as said above wear layers when yuoustart to get warm, shed a layer at a time.

6 Dry a dry and warm sleeping bag is very Important, if you are getting chills during the day, call it a day set up camp and get in the bag for a while you will warm and quickly. Its better to do low miles today than none ever more.

[rocket04]

A wool hat will definitely make a world of difference in keeping you warm. Keeping your head warm will likely have you feeling 100% better in cold weather. It sure saved my ass during some cold nights.

[Doctari]

First let me say, from experience, Hypothermia SUCKS!!!!

The best thing you can do is to keep your withs about you, dress as warm as you reasonably can (in layers as you mentioned, as much weight as you are willing to carry) BUT, be prepared to stop, set up your shelter, & get warm however you can, usually by getting into your sleeping bag. Be prepared to stop before the Hypothermia gets a hold on you, set up your shelter, & get warm however you can, usually by getting into your sleeping bag.

I "Know better" having fairly extensive medical training, yet I have been caught by the beast TWICE! Embarising (almost as much as my spelling ) & fortunatly I survived both, the last one because I happened on some other hikers at the Rich Mt fire tower who saw My condition & helped me set up camp (insisted actually) & got me into my warm sleeping bag. I protested, but was outnumbered, once I was warmed up, I saw what was happening. After cooking dinner, & getting warmer, I realised I may well have died on the AT, I was that bad.

Hypothermia is a decetful beast, first you are cold, but keep hiking, then slowly your thought processes slow down, then you FEEL warm, "OH, I'm OK now" is what I thought at this point both times. All I felt at this point was exceptionally tired. I was almost to the point (about 1 more mile of hiking I think) of laying down in the middle of the trail & going to sleep, possibly forever, yet I wasn't aware of being cold. Both times it was raining, but not very cold, about 50f, I was wearing a rain jacket.

So Trailfinder, thanks for the post! Carry what you want, be alert!! Probably carry/wear: Poly pro long underwear (tops & bottoms) a medium weight jacket (to suit YOUR temp range) a extra pair of socks or 2, the socks can also double as mittens, I like wool, a wool or fleece sweater also doubles as a pillow. Wear a hat! Avoid COTTON! A cotton shirt takes 6 weeks to dry (not really, but it will seem so). Stay dry! This may mean that you should hike cool, to avoid sweating, in order to stay warm when you stop. Be aware that when you stop shivvering (as I had last time) That is a BAD sign, a VERY BAD sign, so stop & get warm NO MATTER WHAT!

Doctari.

[Alligator]

Thanks for sharing that information Doctari. It really helps to show that hypthermia can strike at temperatures that are not really that cold. Were you an obvious case (to others)--soaking wet? What was it that the other hikers saw that made them insist?

As for me, I have a pair of 200 wt. fleece gloves, fleece neckband, fleece headband, and windstopper hat that I use to maintain body warmth without sweating. These items give me a nice range while hiking to adjust to uphills, downhills, and shadows w/o having to switch into and out of core warmers(shirts, etc) and/or pants.

At most when hiking, I will only have two layers, polypro top and bottom and outer shell. If it's really cold (below 20F), I will add an item to my core.

[Footslogger]

Couldn't help but post an entry to this thread. Reason being ...that I slipped into hypothermia last year on my thru-hike and it wasn't one of those real obvious situations.

It all began as I and 2 other hikers hitched out of N Woodstock, NH last September. Something I had eaten for breakfast didn't agree with me but I figured by drinking a lot of water I could "hike it off", so to speak. We got a ride out to the trail crossing and began our climb up towards Franconia. Instead of getting better I got more and more nauseus. I told the other two hikers to go ahead and that I was going to take it easy and I'd meet them at the top. The nausea turned into cramps and I finally decided to just sit down and take a little rest. It was early in the morning. The weather was clear and cool but not really bone chilling cold. In response to the nausea and cramps I began to perspire heavily. My clothing became damp from the sweat and the evaporation caused by the wind brought about a rapid decrease in my body temperature. Within 5 minutes or so I got a bit dizzy and lightheaded and decided to just lay down on the ground off to the side of the trail. As a former paramedic ...I knew this wasn't normal and called out for the other 2 hikers. I went into shakes and shallow rapid respiration. Lucky for me, the other two hikers ran back down the hill and, noticing what was happening, took rapid action. They got me out of my wet clothes, dug out my sleeping bag and wrapped me up in it. After about 10 - 15 minutes my core body temperature was back within normal range and I began to feel more like myself. I was eventually able to hike back down the hill on my own power and hitch back into N Woodstock, where I spent the rest of that day just relaxing and counting my lucky stars.

So ...as can be gleaned from the above, hypothermia doesn't necessarily occur in freezing temperatures and amazingly enough there a lot of contributing factors to a hypothermic episode. As it all turns out, when I returned home after summitting Katahdin, I found out that I had hiked the entire trail with fairly bad kidney stones and what happened that morning was a byproduct of an acute kidney stone attack.

Bottom line is that I was lucky. While I'm at it I want to publicly recognize those 2 hikers (FireFeet and ChickFlick) for responding quicky and appropriately to my situation and essentially warding off what could have developed into a life threatening situation. I owe them a lot and will always credit them with having saved my life and my hike.

Two kidney stone operations later and healthy again ...I remember that day like it was yesterday. We talk a lot about hypothermia in the paramedical circles but until you are a victim yourself it is hard to fully grasp how fast it occurs and how helpless the victim is (despite having a medical background) to help themselves once hypothermia sets in.

'Slogger
AT 2003

[SGT Rock]

My experience with hypothermia and those that get it is that it usually happens above freezing. The standard temperature is in the 40s when it is wet. The victim isn't always wet either. Hypothermia can happen as high as the 50s.

[Blue Jay]

The worst part of Hypothermia is that one of the first stages is a lessening of the blood supply to the brain. In short, you start to get stupid (OK bring on the stupid jokes). As if that is not bad enough, you have no idea that it is happening. You think you are thinking normally, but you are not. Unless you survive it, like Footslogger, it's hard to imagine. I got off a Harley once, was wet and cold, but felt fine. I said something to a friend. He knew I had not been drinking, but he told me I did not make sense and was slurring my words (again with your jokes). I was in an advanced state of Hypothermia and felt fine. Remember, if you stop shivering but are not in a warm place you are in trouble, you just don't know it yet.

[grizzlyadam]

hypothermia can be a very scary thing. i delt with a group of hypothermic individuals in the mountains of new mexico once. you can read about it here.

the lesson being that you should always make sure you are prepared for any situation that may arise, even if that means carrying more weight and bulk.

[Alligator]

My hiking buddy and I watch for the -umbles and a suggestion I have seen is to ask a less than easy math question (or other topic). Just something that takes a little thought to see if the person is all there. I would expect that if you are with someone you know well that you could spot something wrong with them, but I found Doctari's account interesting because the rescuers became aware of his condition without knowing him.

Good point by BJ about the shivering.

[orangebug]

-umbles

Grumbles - becomes irritable and cranky
Mumbles - doesn't talk much or clearly
Stumbles - falls more frequently
Bumbles - can't manage to solve problems, such as opening a pack and getting into a sleeping bag.

You will notice that these all involve the brain. Hiking alone in the cold puts you at risk of having to figure out you are in trouble with a brain that is impaired from the git-go. Shivers may be the best symptom to let you know you are getting into trouble, but the -umbles frequently hold sway.

[minnesotasmith]

I have used TU extensively when the air temps were below -5* F. actual and I had to be outside most of the day. However, I have never cared for how it felt against my skin. The silk versions sound like a dream solution comfort-wise. I am concerned with how well they would work, though:

1) How warm are they, especially when damp?

2) How durable? Would I have to replace a pair after a month or two while thru-hiking during winter conditions?

3) How easy would finding replacements be in trail/near-trail towns? If the answer is "not very", and the durability is such that I can expect to have to replace it, then I would suspect that I'd need to buy extras in advance, having them shipped to me by home base, or in a bounce box.

4) How demanding is care for thick silk? Can I just gently handwash it in a sink, or does it take dry cleaning?

Cost is not so much of an issue for me, as my finances WRT funding for hiking gear purchases have recently improved substantially.

[Doctari]

Thanks for sharing that information Doctari. It really helps to show that hypthermia can strike at temperatures that are not really that cold. Were you an obvious case (to others)--soaking wet? What was it that the other hikers saw that made them insist?

You are Welcome.

I'm not exactly sure what they saw. All I remember is something to the effect of "You don't look so good". I wasn't soaking wet, just damp inside my rain jacket. As I said, I didn't feel cold, at least not until I was warmed up, then I thought "OH! I was cold!". Perhaps I was blue? Or extremly pale? Knowing my mental condition (In hindsight) perhaps I looked dazed? That was over a year ago, and I still feel those people saved my life, wish I knew who they were.

I wrote this to remind all of the hazzards, and to remind ME that I need to be careful.

I see that others have added to these warnings, Read & Heed them. The life you save may be your own, I was lucky. I solo hike, I will continue to solo even knowing the dangers, I hope I learned my lesson.

Doctari.

BTW: I am almost glad footslogger had a similar experience, another medic having a hypothermic encounter makes me feel a little less stoopid

[Pencil Pusher]

Have you had some rather incredible pain while the blood gets flowing again in your hands as you warm up? What the heck is that, for the doctor types out there? It seems the best remedy is to shake the hands like crazy and get the pain over with much quicker.

[orangebug]

I think you are talking about frost bite. You could also rewarm them quickly by putting your hands under your armpits or in your pants.

[Footslogger]

BTW: I am almost glad footslogger had a similar experience, another medic having a hypothermic encounter makes me feel a little less stoopid

==========================

Worst part about it Doctari ...is that I knew what was happening but the onset and progression was so rapid I couldn't move fast enough to help myself. I'm sure another part of that was a bit of DENIAL. This COULDN'T be happening to me !!

'Slogger
AT 2003