Cold Weather II

Well, I learned this week, after a week of sub-freezing temperatures with 8-12 degree wind chills, that my body is better in cold weather than I wrote earlier, so much so I can walk in weather in the low 20's with a wind chill into the low-mid teens.

It's a matter of adding a layers of clothes, especially the legs since I wear above-the-knee shorts now all the time. I dragged out all the winter clothes I used over my 13 years of doing year-round field work in Oregon, Arizona and Washington.

Much of the clothes have shrank some, even though I'm smaller and weigh less than when I did field work, but there was enough to use to keep me warm under the NorthFace Gore-Tex two-layer coat wiht a down inner liner and some Marmot gloves for Reynaud's Syndrome.

In addition I changed my morning breakfast snack to help fuel the body better for the walks. And adding bread now adds some carbohydrates. The only problem is when it gets into the 30's and colder my nose runs faster than I walk so I go through a hankerchief every walk.

That said, I got out five days this week in sub-freezing weather is only problems with walking into 15-20 mph winds. Wind goes through Gore-Tex, but the underlayers do a good job keeping me warm. Only the face gets cold.

I learned I prefer 40's and rain to 20-30's and clear and windy. I can stay dry, but staying warm takes more work, although walking on the pre-dawn, moonless, clear mornings offer the stars, where in some places there's very little light from the area.

What's cool on some walks are the places where you can stop and hearing nothing, just silence except for the natural sounds, owls, etc. You can just stop and listen for awhile to the quiet, until commuters drive by which you can hear a mile away,

In other news, I've done more food experiments, some good and most not so good. I'm still limited on the vegetables (carrots, celery and peas) after trying a few more. The same happened with fruits, all but organges are out, including bananas.

Meat is still regional free-range turkey and some natural, drug-free brands of sandwich ham after trying a range of beef, veal, pork, etc. Seafood is ok occasionally (crab, shrimp). I haven't tried any fresh or canned fish yet, and probably won't for awhile.

Bread is still baguette, sourdough bread, some croissants (depends on bakery), cornbread and Ritz cracker, while muffins, biscuits, scones, etc. are out. Not sure why but it's the reality for now. I haven't tried regular breads yet, and like fish, won't for awhile.

The same applies to other foods, such as grains (rice, oats, etc.), meaning haven't tried them yet. Potatoes (white, yam, sweet, etc.) are ok occasionally in small quantities. They're great as a base for toppings.

Anyway, that's it from here for early January. The cold weather isn't stopping the walking, only bad food experiments are.