Years ago, my wife and I decided to do a little snow camping. It wasn’t anything really to brag about, just setting up our tent out on a bank of snow next to the cabin where our friends and family members were sleeping cozily. I had heard about tent condensation, but didn’t know diddle about how to prevent it.

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It was cold out. We zipped our down bags together and snuggled to keep warm. We talked and laughed. And, soon it began to rain. Did I say it was cold out? It was below freezing! So where did the rain come from?

It started raining inside our tent, not outside. When we could stand it no more, we packed up our soggy sleeping bags and retreated to the cabin with our tails between our legs. So much for snow camping that night.

Today, I know a bit more about tent condensation. So, I’ll share some rules for avoiding this bothersome problem.

Rule #1: If you don’t want moisture in your tent, don’t bring moisture into your tent. Remembering this rule will help you remember to apply most of the following rules starting with Rule #3.

Rule #2: If you don’t want it to rain in your tent, give moisture a way to get out of your tent.

Rule #3: Vent your tent. This is an application of rule #2. Yes, leaving your front door open and your bug screen closed may let in more cold air than zipping up the door, but that’s far better than waking up with your sleeping bag and clothes all sopping wet or covered with frost in the morning. Or worse yet, in the middle of the night when there is nothing you can do about it.

Rule #4: Leave your kitchen outside of your bedroom. Remember Rule #1 about not bringing moisture into your tent? Well, cooking in your tent will saturate the inside air and cover everything with moisture. Remember that your tent is a very small and confined  . Use the vestibule or front porch of your tent for cooking if there is no way to set up your kitchen several yards away.

Rule #5: Leave all snow outside where it belongs. Any snow dragged in on your boots, backpack, gloves etc. is likely to turn into condensation.

Rule #6: Try not to breath inside your tent. Yes, it’s a joke. Sort of. But it illustrates a point. Your breath is laden with moisture. You can’t really stop breathing, but you can keep the talking and laughing to a minimum. Absolutely no singing.

Rule #7: Avoid breathing inside your sleeping bag. This one is not a joke. Being an even smaller confined space, condensation problems are multiplied inside your sleeping bag. Not only will you be soaked in the morning, but your bag will have gained a pound or more in weight. During the hours of the night, you exhale well over a quart of moisture.

Rule #8: Store all wet clothing in a stuff sack. Don’t try to dry them out in your sleeping bag.

Rule #9: In the morning, dry your sleeping bag in the sun. If the sun doesn’t peep over the mountains the morning, hopefully you can catch some rays later on.

Tent condensation is a problem that you can avoid by following the rules above. Snow camping can be fun you just need to have a little more knowledge for this special situation.~Richard Davidian, Ph.D.

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Outdoors and Hiking Tips

As in all of life, hiking and backpacking have their conundrums and ironies.

We as hikers and backpackers love the outdoors and we want to preserve the environment, but there are aspects of hiking and backpacking that are detrimental to the very environment we seek to preserve. Therefore, it is important that we pass environment saving environment tips to one another.

A problem that we as green and responsible wilderness visitors run up against is harmful chemicals in hiking equipment and clothing. To wit: PFOA, and that stands for perfluorooctanic acid.

Used for waterproofing of both leather and fabric clothing (source), this chemical is carcinogenic and non-biodegradable. It is used widely by manufacturers of outdoor clothing as a water repellant.

So, what can you do to avoid this unpronounceable chemical? Well, maybe you can’t avoid it altogether, but there are some things you can do to reduce its negative impact on human life and on the environment.

Here’s a list of some things you can do personally to help.

SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP

1. Buy fewer goods. Before buying, ask yourself if you really need the piece of equipment that you so covet. Be a restrained consumer.

2. Purchase multi-purpose equipment any time you can. Adopt some of the principles of ultralight backpacking.

3. Buy used equipment.

4. Seek out companies that will take your old equipment in trade to be recycled. Keep your worn out gear out of the landfill.

5. Rent equipment.

6. Invest in durable quality. Such a practice is economical in the long run and results in fewer purchases.

7. Look for clothes made of recycled plastic to replace nylon. You’ll be doing the environment and your grandchildren a huge favor by keeping plastic bottles out of landfills. You will also help to mitigate the deleterious environmental effects of manufacturing nylon. This manufacturing process produces greenhouse gases hundreds of times as potent as carbon dioxide.

Hike responsibly. Hike for fun. And pass on important environment tips.

by Richard Davidian, Ph.D.

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Outdoors and Hiking Tips

Here’s a great way to keep your food safe from bears. Watch the video, learn the method, buy the equipment and stay safe.

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Mud, mud, mud!

It’s spring. The March Equinox has passed and days are getting longer. Temperatures are rising. You’ve been cooped up for months and you’re itching to get outdoors and hike!  But what about the spring thaw?

SPRING MELT HIKING TIPS

Here are some safety tips for the sloppy spring-melt season.

Tip #1: Be prepared for changes in the trails. Ones you have been in used to hiking may not be the same as they were during the summer.

Tip #2: Be prepared to turn back if you run into unsafe conditions due to extreme snowmelt and runoff. Here are some of those dangerous conditions that you may encounter:

A. Swollen streams,

B. Loose and unstable rocks due to a freeze/thaw cycle,

C. Trails cut off by rockslides,

D. Muddy trail sections,

E. Slippery slopes, rocks, roots etc.,

F. Mudslides,

G. Washed out trails.

Tip #3: Strongly consider hiking on flatter and safer trails at lower elevations.

Tip #4: Be especially careful when hiking beneath or near steep cliffs or overhangs where loosened rocks may fall.

Tip #5: Watch carefully for portions of the trail that could slough away after being saturated by ice and water.

Tip #6: Be especially attuned to environmental issues like increased risks of damaging the trail and the sides of the trail.

Tip #7: Dress for the weather. Wear jeans or long pants. Wear hiking footwear with good traction and thick socks. Take rain gear for the possibility of a downpour.

Tip #8: Consider taking trekking poles or even crampons to give you the best traction in steep and slippery conditions.

Tip #9: Make sure you have your regular essentials such as a fully stocked first aid kit, plenty of food and water etc.

Be prepared. Be safe. Come back alive and happy from your spring thaw hike.

by Richard Davidian, Ph.D.

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Have you been on any really scary trails? For me the Inca Trail leading to Machu Pichu took the cake with one really scary spot.

Here’s one that claims to be the mama of scary trails. Could be. Who knows?

The tug and push of climate change opinion can rattle us or re-energize us. It can make us apathetic or action directed.

Here’s another perspective that we may not readily think of: climate change from a military perspective:

Climate Patriots from Laura Lightbody on Vimeo.

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Why is the weatherman the only person (except for weatherwomen) who can be wrong so often and still keep his job? Well, the answer lies in the nature of weather. Despite all the technology and gadgetry that the weather people employ for their prognostications, the weather still manages to have the last word and the last laugh more often than not. Or so it appears.

From Copenhagen to Washington, D.C. to Vancouver to Wilmington, N.C., this planet’s weather and climate continue to confound us. What’s going on? Record snowfall in the southern states and no snow where it’s needed in Vancouver, B.C. for the Winter Games. What the?

If we can’t predict the weather with enough accuracy to keep or cancel a soccer game two days in advance, what we can predict, it seems, is fraud among climate scientists. Climategate marches on. Here is some of the latest on  climategate.

Climategate: the official cover-up continues – Telegraph Blogs

If there’s one thing that stinks even more than Climategate, it’s the attempts we’re seeing everywhere from the IPCC and Penn State University to the BBC to pretend that nothing seriously bad has happened, that “the science” is still …

Publish Date: 02/12/2010 8:28

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AP ClimateGate Apologist/Participant Borenstein Can’t Keep Global …

Since the AP science reporter wrote his December 12, 2009 defense of the alleged scientists who have promoted the alleged perils of human-caused global warming, the scandal known as ClimateGate has inexorably widened. …

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davidfgrove: American Thinker: Climategate’s Phil Jones Confesses …

skip to main | skip to sidebar. davidfgrove. was blog interesting? Video Bar. Loading… space traveler. space traveler. Search This Blog. Loading… Sunday, February 14, 2010. American Thinker: Climategate’s Phil Jones Confesses to …

Publish Date: 02/14/2010 3:14

http://davidfgrove.blogspot.com/

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Winter hiking can be fun. But, staying warm must be on your list of top priorities. Here are some stay-warm rules to follow when hiking in the winter time.

Rule #1: Be proactive and stay warm. Don’t let your body get cold in the first place. It is much easier to stay warm than it is to get warm.

Rule #2: Layer your clothing so that you can modify your heat retention incrementally. You don’t want to have your only options to be a heavy down jacket or a T-shirt.

Rule #3: If you stop moving, put on more clothing to retain the heat that you have generated by your hiking activity. Don immediately a jacket or a hat or gloves to conserve your hard-earned body heat.

Rule #4: Don’t get too warm. This may sound ironic. But if you start sweating, you may end up with damp clothing that can really chill you. When you start moving again, to avoid getting hot and sweaty, take layers off or open vents.

Rule #5: Avoid cotton. They say that cotton kills. This fiber retains moisture next year body and thus brings down your temperature, sometimes to the point of hypothermia. This condition can kill.

Rule #6: Especially for base layers, wear fibers like merino wool or silk or man-made fibers that wick moisture away from your body.

Rule #7: When you rest, avoid sitting or leaning on a rock whose cold surface can draw the heat from your body. Be especially wary of sitting or lying in snow for the same reason.

Rule #8: Avoid tight clothing, especially on your extremities. They tend to restrict the flow of blood, and good blood circulation is vital for keeping warm. Do yourself a favor and save your fingers and toes. Just because you have 10 of each doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice even one of them.

Follow these rules this for keeping warm and stay safe on your winter hikes.

by Richard Davidian, Ph.D.

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The debate over global warming and its causes rages on. Here are some articles that chronicle this debate.

Global Warming Dogma Melts in Glaciergate | FrontPage Magazine

Pew Poll: global warming dead last, down from last year « Watts Up …

Since 2007, when the item was first included on the priorities list, dealing with global warming has consistently ranked at or near the bottom. Even so, the percentage that now says addressing global warming should be a top priority has …

Publish Date: 01/25/2010 22:46

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The latest in scientific malpractice from climate change alarmists.

Publish Date: 01/26/2010 21:06

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Global Warming Hysteria: UK Science Czar Admits Hype, Urges More …

There is no country more in the global warming tank than the UK. Thus, it is notable that the government’s lead adviser on science issues admits that climate scientists have hyped global warming, and further, urges that they open the …

Publish Date: 01/26/2010 17:36

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• Himalayan flows (news.bbc.co.uk)

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