Winter Thriving: Clothing and Layering

Layering Up for Cold Weather

If you've spent time camping in cooler weather then this post will be familiar to you and you can skip to one of my other interesting posts on a different topic. This article is for the many people (and parents who are sending their kids to our wilderness classes) who have little to no experience spending an entire day or night outside in the winter. 

There's no such thing as poor weather, only poor choices in clothing. 
While it may be hard to believe, it's actually true that you can be outside all day in 25 degree weather and have a great time! But in order to do this you have to choose your clothing wisely. So let's read up and wise up.
First, we'll discuss various fabrics and their pros and cons. Then we'll discuss how to keep different parts of the body warm.

Fabric Considerations for All Layers:

Cotton: this is a nice natural fiber that is great in warm weather however, it does not insulate when wet and drys very slowly so it's not good for cold-weather conditions. It does hold up well against campfire sparks though.

Fleece/Synthetic Layers: quick drying and retains heat but campfire sparks will melt holes through it. Good for cold and wet conditions.

Soft Shell layers: look for waterproof and breathable in the label. If it doesn't say "waterproof" then it probably isn't. This material works great in rainy conditions but can easily get holes melted into it when around a campfire. 

Wool: this natural fiber tends to be a bit heavier and bulkier than fleece but is great at insulating even when wet and sparks from a campfire won't melt it. It's good for light rain but in heavier rain it can soak through. 

*Wild Nature Project instructors tend to use a combination of fabrics often with a wool outer layer unless it's raining heavy then we'll put on a rain poncho, soft shell, or umbrella. We often find wool sweaters in thrift stores for a great price.





Core Layers
Protect your core temperature with at least 3 layers as shown.

What about the rest of the body?!?!
Keeping your core warm is important but it's just the beginning. If you have cold feet, hands, legs, or head then that's not fun and it might cut your trip short. 
Apply the above principles of layering and fabrics to the rest of your body.

Hands
Read up on mittens for warming your hands here. 

Feet
For feet, go with a wool/synthetic blend sock but make sure it's the thicker(warmer) material. 
Sometimes I see kids show up to class with thin cotton socks and rubber rain boots and then wonder why their feet get cold (see image on right). These kinds of boots are waterproof but provide no insulation. If you wear these in cold weather you need to have at least 2 thick pairs of wool socks on your feet and have an insulating insert in the bottom of the boot. 
I like to wear footwear that is waterproof and insulated.

Legs
Don't neglect your legs! Wearing one pair of pants is not enough to keep warm. For legs, our instructors will wear synthetic base leggings and choose thicker fleece for colder conditions. You can spend a lot of money on these or look for the cheaper knock-offs, just avoid 100% cotton. Wearing a poly/cotton blend can work too for your outer or under layers. I often wear cotton pants or 60/40 poly/cotton blend(outer layer) unless it's under 30 degrees or rainy.

Head/Face
And lastly, cover your noggin! Most people know this but I'll say it anyway. Wearing a simple fleece beanie hat is good. Having a neck gator or scarf is better. And then there's the "bomber hats" that you can get with real fur (I love mine) that cover your cheeks.

 

Wilderness Survival Considerations

Survival on TV
It seems like there's a new survival TV show coming out every month. What is it about this new fascination with wilderness survival, urban survival, or zombie apocalypse survival? These shows can be very informative with lots of detailed information on how to make fire, acquire food, or navigate. However, the information download can also be a trap in that it can have the effect of viewers feeling more prepared than they actually are. Not to mention that there are also things they'll do for the camera that would be pretty dumb to do in real life.

Shelter: heated by fire, bark shingles, warm and dry!

Unless you get out and actually put to use what you are "learning" from videos, TV, books, (and even from taking classes) then you're not really learning and it's not that useful. There's a term for the one who watches the shows from the comfort of the living room and comments "I could do that!" It's called "the armchair survivalist". Avoid them.

Do you have Information or Experience?
Maybe you have a bow and an arrow, and you know what a deer is and you've seen their tracks in a field guide. Does this mean you actually know how to get close enough to take a shot without spooking it? Probably not. It takes skills and lots of practice playing "hide and seek" with the deer to get up close to one, but sitting there in the forest within 10 feet of a wild deer who doesn't sense you at all is an incredible feeling. There is no substitute for real experience and no book or video can take you to that place of real knowing.

An Approach to Practicing Survival Skills
My recommendation is to not bite off more than you can chew. I have seen this many times, where someone goes into "full survival" by bringing nothing with them only to be completely humiliated and deeply discouraged from ever attempting surviving in the wild again. Instead, take it in steps and practice one thing at a time. For example, bring a tent, sleeping bag and food but leave your matches at home and bring a bowdrill, or make one out there. If you were successful then next time add building a natural shelter to your bowdrill fire and so on. Start with what can give you success as the more successes you'll have the more proud of yourself you'll be and the more excited you'll be to go back and step up to the next level. Build confidence without staying in your comfort zone too much though either. Hmmm, is this useful when teaching others these skills? Absolutely. Set your students up for success at first. When there's a failure... pick the situation apart like a detective and learn from it. Get over your fear of failure by leaning into it, learning from it, and recognizing failure as part of the journey rather than an avenue for beating yourself up.

What's most Important in Survival?
4 things to consider in a survival situation, whether it's self-imposed or an unintended circumstance, is that you may need Shelter, Water, Fire, and Food. This is not new information to you if you've read up on survival skills. Shelter can be the most important because you can die from exposure in just a few minutes or hours, while one can live without food for several weeks. However, it all depends on your situation and the conditions that you're in. Even though food is last in the survival order it can be the trickiest to acquire. Think about it, your shelter may take you from an hour to half a day to build but it won't run away from you and neither will your fire (well hopefully your fire won't get away from you!). Food, however, may have legs or wings or slither or crawl and this is what becomes the greatest challenge, in my opinion. You must decide which food resources are worth the caloric effort to go after. Here's a link to an excellent BLOG article on what it takes to keep yourself alive as far as caloric input. It's definitely worth consideration.

Side Note: If you are "practicing" survival and are bringing items with you here's one item to consider putting in your pack. 1 tablespoon of coconut oil has as many calories as a red squirrel and the oil can be eaten raw or used in cooking (frying, stews, salads) and it's cholesterol and trans-fat free.

Survival Fantasy
There is a survival fantasy that often hits the beginner. It sounds something like "I've taken a few classes and read up on survival so now I can just go out into any wilderness area and surthrive indefinitely." Having attempted this myself numerous times over the years I can share a few things that I've learned from such an adventure. (I should also note that if you feel this desire then by all means go out and do it. You will learn a heck of a lot about nature and yourself.) One thing I've learned is to choose the area where I will go into survival carefully. There are places out there where one would starve to death and there are places out there where one, or many people, could surthrive. Knowing the difference is a skill that the ancient scouts of tribal times were good at deciphering. A tribe of people wouldn't just pick a place at random, it had to have certain resources to make it ideal. So why should you just pick a place at random?

The other part of the fantasy that I've seen is the belief that I won't have to do much work because I'm surrounded by everything that I need. While it may be correct to assume that you are surrounded by the resources you need to survive it still takes a lot of focus, awareness, energy, and hard work to meet your basic needs... especially in the first 3 days. This is because in the first 3 days you are making your shelter and fire and securing a water source among other things. However, once you have shelter, fire, and a water source then you are set in those areas so you can spend the rest of your time finding food. I have seen, more than once, a group of people going into a survival trip and essentially "shutting down" within the first 24-48 hours. Most people aren't prepared mentally to do the work it may take in those first days without having much water or any food intake. This is something you can practice. Just start with fasting for a day and building a natural shelter in your backyard during your fast. See how that feels. Then next time try it with only a quart of water intake for the day. (note: if you're feeling extremely tired, weak, or concerned about your health and well-being then by all means end your fast and attempt again another day. You are first in charge of taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others)

Conclusion
So then what does it take to actually survive? It takes gathering real experiences and tested skills. It takes the eye of the tracker or scout for seeing into the landscape for the resources that are available or not available. It takes knowing the seasonal changes and the opportunities that arise. It takes having a realistic and honest view of yourself and the natural world. And most importantly, it takes having a mental state that will enable you to overcome stress, fatigue, and the unexpected. Enjoy the journey and focus on the adventure, the lessons, and your purpose for living and why you want to learn these skills.

(Remember, other people are resources too and having a tribe, village, or community can make survival much easier and more enjoyable)

Ready to take a wilderness survival class?