Helaine and I are a little stumped. We went for our walk up Sleeping Giant and weren’t quite sure what to wear. Maybe this has to do with my watching Les Stroud, aka “Survivorman,” too much. Les always talks about the downside of sweat, evaporation and chill. Helaine may glow, but I sweat!
With the mercury lower and enough breeze to hear the rustle that marks fall we took light shells to wear over our t-shirts. We were still sweating (OK, I was sweating), but the sweat wasn’t going anywhere. There is a solution, we just haven’t figured it out yet.
We’d like this to be a year-round thing. I’m not so sure we’re going to be able to do that.
There is a saying among outdoor adventurists, “Cotton is Rotten”!
I’m not an outdoor adventurist, but I occasionally play one on TV. You need to get out of those cotton T-shirts and get into some synthetic “wicking” clothes. This clothing is designed to take the sweat away from your skin and “wick” it away. It will help keep you dry and warm. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Surviorman wear a cotton T-Shirt in a cold wet environment. Wicking clothing can be purchased at any local outdoor outfitter store (like EMS). You can also get some nice fleece tops that will keep you warm and wick moisture. It ain’t perfect and it ain’t cheap, but it will help tremendously.
Never let them see you sweat!
-Jebidiah “In the Great Outdoors” Springfield