[pct-l] going wet....

[verber at gmail.com (Mark Verber)]

On 10/11/05, Brian McLaughlin <bmclaughlin@bigplanet.com> wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> > Not long ago, someone posted a theory of hiking in perrenial wet
> weather--
> > deliberately going 'wet'. The theory was something like, forget keeping
> out
> > the rain, find a way to tolerate wetness while hiking on the trail, then
> dry
> > off and keep dry the normal way in camp.
>
> The issue is seldom wetness. After all, your skin is waterproof.
> The issue is usually warmth, or the lack of it. Cold rain and
> wind are notorious for sucking warmth out of you. Hiking
> wet is perfectly acceptable as long as you don't leave yourself
> vulnerable to hypothermia from evaporative and convective
> cooling.


Keeping your feet wet and cold for an extended period of time can result in
trench foot which is not pretty. If possible, you should try to avoid feet
being soaked for extended periods of time. I gave up keeping my feet
completely dry, but I strive to keep feet reasonably dry over the course of
the day.

In fact, many a hiker has hiked wet all day, even while wearing
> rain gear that was meant to keep them dry. Didn't kill them,
> either. OTOH, hypothermia has killed thousands of hikers.


I think the numbers are more like hypothermia kills tens or maybe hundreds
of hikers. My memory is that there are less than 1000 people who die each
year... and a number of those are connected with alcohol and drugs. Just a
portion of the deaths are hikers in the back country. Actually, your feet
being constantly cold and wet can be a problem. While not commonly seen
today, there is a risk of trench foot which can turn quite nasty.

--mark