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I grew up (and currently live) in the Appalachian Mountain region of southwestern Virginia, and while the winters here are relatively mild compared to those endured by our friends up north, it’s quite common for temps to drop well below freezing.
And on rare occasions they will remain blow freezing for several days.
Spending several winters in Georgia sort of spoiled me in regards to winter weather so it was a shock to the system when wintertime rolled around soon after I moved back to Virginia.
Back when I was a youngster I could play outside in the bitter cold for hours and feel quite comfortable. Just give me a coat, a boggin (what we call a wool cap in these parts) and most any pair of cheap gloves and I was good to go.
Oh, the joys of childhood.
But nowadays I have to be a little more strategic when dressing for the cold.
It’s often said that the key to staying warm is dressing in layers, and there’s a lot of truth in that saying. Every layer of clothing provides an extra shield against the cold air along with a small, but important insulating air buffer between each layer.
Personally, I’ve found that the combination of a T-shirt covered by a regular shirt with a sweatshirt on top keeps me quite warm as long as the ambient temp remains above freezing. When drops below the freezing mark I add a jacket to the mix. And if it drops below 20 I simply replace the jacket with a winter coat. Of course your mileage may vary since each of us seem to have our own internal thermostat.
Now that the layers are out of the way, let’s move on to the choice of hat (which is probably even more important)…
Just as I did in my youth, I still prefer an old-fashioned boggin like this one when it’s cold. These little gems do a great job at covering most everything except for the face, and that’s important since the human body loses approximately 40% of its body heat through the head.
Another reason I prefer wearing boggins is because they feel so comfortable. For me, nothing else even comes close.
Now that we have the core of the body and the head out of the way, let’s move on the extremities…
On the rare occasions when I did get cold as a youngster it was because my fingers and/or toes got cold. And once your fingers or toes get cold they tend to stay that way until you go back inside to warm up.
Back in the day there weren’t a lot of options when it came to gloves. We pretty much just bought whatever we could find at our local clothing store. But luckily that’s no longer the case.
We now have a wide variety of cold weather gloves to choose from. I really like these because they are made from materials that have been proven to prevent the loss of heat from the hands.
Just remember that the real key to keeping your hands warm in the bitter cold is to make sure they are warm before you put your gloves on. Even the best gloves do a poor job at warming up hands that are already cold, but they do a great job at keeping warm hands from getting cold.
Of course toes are just as important as fingers and they are usually the first things to get cold in frigid weather, especially if the ground is frozen or covered with a layer of snow or ice.
I remember wearing a double layer of socks back in the day, and that’s still a decent option as long as you have on a pair of water-proof shoes or boots. But these days a better option is a good pair of thermal socks.
There are lots of them to choose from but I really like these because they don’t itch like regular wool socks, they are quite soft and comfortable, and most importantly they do a great job at wicking moisture away from your feet.
And now, one final tip…
Always pay attention to the latest weather report and plan ahead for expected weather changes. If you leave your house for a day of outdoor activities dressed for 50 degree weather you’ll likely get pretty cold if the temp drops to 30 before you make it back indoors, which often happens in late afternoon.
Well, that’s how I manage to stay warm when it’s really cold outside, especially now that I’m a little older and colder by nature. I hope it helped you.
To finish up, check out this short video that shows what’s it’s like to live in the coldest village on Earth. It’s a real eye-opener.