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A short time ago, I was hiking peaked mountain and had a little incident that underscored the benefits of synthetic clothing materials that I thought I would share with you all.
Somewhere along the way back (about 2 miles from the end of the journey), I was crossing that small brook that flows down into 13th lake. Along the trail there is a rather large tree that has fallen across the brook and makes an attractive bridge crossing. Anyway, on the walk in, I had no trouble making this crossing, but on the way back, it seems as though fatigue took its toll and I slipped off the log and fell into the brook.
Mind you, this was no ordinary fall…And here is where the interesting part comes. I had taken two steps across the log and the usual thought came into my mind: it was “boy, if I fall of this log, I could get wet.†And indeed I did. When I slipped, I figured that if I could bear-hug the log on the way down, I could possibly avoid the splash part. I did successfully catch and hug the log, but I had just enough sideways momentum that I began to slowly rotate around the log so that I eventually became entirely upside down holding on to the log from underneath. This all happened in slow motion so I had plenty of time to see my life pass before my eyes. Of course, the log was snow covered, too big to hold on for long, and so I fell off, horizontally, in about two feet of water. Since I was horizontal, when I fell, I completely submerged my entire body in the icy cold water before I was able to stand up and regain my control. The outside temperature was 10 degrees F. It was also dark, and I was alone. But I know that is dumb, so we will leave that part out.
After the initial jolt, and when things came to equilibrium, I realized that I had not taken on any water and that my clothing had completely protected me from getting wet. The gortex coat and pants had kept water out of nearly everywhere. I had wicked a bit up my arms but that was not too bad since I was wearing a synthetic shirt. The only exception to this was my feet, because I had not been wearing any gators. However, I had wool socks on and once the sloshing stopped and the water in my shoes warmed, I was rather comfortable again. After a change of gloves and a moment of counting my blessings, I was on my way, returning back to my car.
Although I was warm, by the time I arrived at my car, my pack, my shell was a frozen ice-cube. My crampons straps were frozen on my boots and impossible to remove. The only way I was able to get them off was by pouring warmed gator-aid on them to thaw them (that was the only liquid water near by).
Moral of the story: wear synthetic clothing and don’t walk across logs. Oh yea, don't hike alone and at night. But I know that is dumb, so we will leave that part out.
Has anyone else submerged themselves during this time of the year?
SB
Somewhere along the way back (about 2 miles from the end of the journey), I was crossing that small brook that flows down into 13th lake. Along the trail there is a rather large tree that has fallen across the brook and makes an attractive bridge crossing. Anyway, on the walk in, I had no trouble making this crossing, but on the way back, it seems as though fatigue took its toll and I slipped off the log and fell into the brook.
Mind you, this was no ordinary fall…And here is where the interesting part comes. I had taken two steps across the log and the usual thought came into my mind: it was “boy, if I fall of this log, I could get wet.†And indeed I did. When I slipped, I figured that if I could bear-hug the log on the way down, I could possibly avoid the splash part. I did successfully catch and hug the log, but I had just enough sideways momentum that I began to slowly rotate around the log so that I eventually became entirely upside down holding on to the log from underneath. This all happened in slow motion so I had plenty of time to see my life pass before my eyes. Of course, the log was snow covered, too big to hold on for long, and so I fell off, horizontally, in about two feet of water. Since I was horizontal, when I fell, I completely submerged my entire body in the icy cold water before I was able to stand up and regain my control. The outside temperature was 10 degrees F. It was also dark, and I was alone. But I know that is dumb, so we will leave that part out.
After the initial jolt, and when things came to equilibrium, I realized that I had not taken on any water and that my clothing had completely protected me from getting wet. The gortex coat and pants had kept water out of nearly everywhere. I had wicked a bit up my arms but that was not too bad since I was wearing a synthetic shirt. The only exception to this was my feet, because I had not been wearing any gators. However, I had wool socks on and once the sloshing stopped and the water in my shoes warmed, I was rather comfortable again. After a change of gloves and a moment of counting my blessings, I was on my way, returning back to my car.
Although I was warm, by the time I arrived at my car, my pack, my shell was a frozen ice-cube. My crampons straps were frozen on my boots and impossible to remove. The only way I was able to get them off was by pouring warmed gator-aid on them to thaw them (that was the only liquid water near by).
Moral of the story: wear synthetic clothing and don’t walk across logs. Oh yea, don't hike alone and at night. But I know that is dumb, so we will leave that part out.
Has anyone else submerged themselves during this time of the year?
SB
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