For the old backpacking adage is true: Cotton Kills!
Don't get me wrong, cotton is a wonderfully comfortable fabric. It breathes and lets your skin breathe too. But in the mountains, cotton fibers soak up just about every bit of perspiration and precipitation _ and leave your body cold and clammy, making it susceptible to hypothermia, even in the heart of summer.
Stick with polyester, or polyester blends, that wick away moisture, making sure your body remains dry.
This is invaluable even in the summer in the White Mountains. We are sometimes fooled by the easy access to these peaks and some hikers can't fathom battling deadly hypothermia in the heart of summer. But I've been in the mountains in the middle of August -- when the temperatures plummeted to a mere 30 degrees. I was glad I'd paid attention to the weather forecast and came prepared, but the hiker I was with didn't and we were forced to cut short our hike. Thankfully, we were spared any serious emergency.
Now that the season's first "real" snowfall has hit the region, it's time to dust off those winter clothing tips. There's far less margin for error. While a hiker's choice of attire is important every season in New Hampshire's White Mountains, it's absolutely critical when the temps dip below freezing and the snow flies.
A hiker's life depends on it.
Rule No. 1: Be prepared for all kinds of weather.
Rule No. 2: Cotton kills.
Rule No. 3: See first two rules.
In the winter, avoiding hypothermia is more of an art form and requires that each hiker know his or her body and how it reacts to both physical exertion and weather. I'm still new to getting this system down pat, but I'm more adept now at putting together an efficient -- and comfortable -- layering system after a couple of winter hiking seasons.
I've found that I tend to sweat a lot, even on winter hikes. A particularly vulnerable area is my back, which is in constant contact with my backpack. My pack tends to be heavier on day hikes in the winter with all the extra gear, and my body is working overtime to stay warm and sludge through the snow.
