In the most extreme conditions I used to visit building sites as the site offices tended to remain unlocked (there's nothing in there to steal) and they were unattended from 7pm through 5am. They also tended to have a kettle and some enamel cups... usually all dirty at the end of a day but with boiling water to hand that isn't an issue. One can sleep there and actually feel really safe and secure, not just from the harshest conditions but I never saw anyone else in those spaces so I didn't have to fear being mugged either.
The very worst thing to do is precisely what you see some homeless people do, which is to drink alcohol. It's temporarily soothing and warming, but your body loses some of it's ability to effectively regulate temperature. The people I saw in the worst trouble when I walked the streets were those who drank heavily.
Strange how I didn't comprehend at the time that my extreme hunger over winter could probably be correlated with the cold and burning more calories to deal with it. Thankfully compassion increases during winter and food is slightly more readily available.
The only other thing I'll add is shoes. If your feet are warm when you're walking your 30 miles a day (what I believe I averaged through rough calculation) then you feel warm. Cold feet and you feel freezing. Good boots, thick soles, are a blessing and felt more valuable to me than a heavy coat.
Actually, another thing. Wisdom says to layer, but if you're not actually mobile much overnight I always found fewer thicker layers to be better. i.e. a thick cable-knit jumper trumped multiple thinner layers. I suspect layers are really the solution for highly active people such as skiers, runners and so on, but if you're immobile in the cold a thick jumper helps more.
> Actually, another thing. Wisdom says to layer, but if you're not actually mobile much overnight I always found fewer thicker layers to be better. i.e. a thick cable-knit jumper trumped multiple thinner layers. I suspect layers are really the solution for highly active people such as skiers, runners and so on, but if you're immobile in the cold a thick jumper helps more.
It's a matter of managing the sweat. In the winter you want to be warm up until you start sweating. Sweat in the winter freezes and makes you more cold. Layers help wick away sweat, and are easier to adjust so you don't get too hot. So, yeah, layers are much more important when being active.
A little bit off-topic, but why were you walking so much? And where did you find so much energy to do so (I presume you would probably need to eat a lot (much more than 2,000 calories) to be able to walk so many miles)?
One of our city-based HPC facilities has had a recurring fault where the aircon goes off for no obvious reason overnight. Eventually we figured out that a homeless guy had realised he could sleep above a vent from the aircon and be relatively warm - and had also realised he could turn off the system (it's not very secure) to cut the noise down but still be warm from the heat coming out.
At the moment we're just ignoring it as it's -3C just now in the daytime. Better to loose a few HPC jobs than freeze the poor guy.
buro9|11 years ago
The very worst thing to do is precisely what you see some homeless people do, which is to drink alcohol. It's temporarily soothing and warming, but your body loses some of it's ability to effectively regulate temperature. The people I saw in the worst trouble when I walked the streets were those who drank heavily.
Strange how I didn't comprehend at the time that my extreme hunger over winter could probably be correlated with the cold and burning more calories to deal with it. Thankfully compassion increases during winter and food is slightly more readily available.
The only other thing I'll add is shoes. If your feet are warm when you're walking your 30 miles a day (what I believe I averaged through rough calculation) then you feel warm. Cold feet and you feel freezing. Good boots, thick soles, are a blessing and felt more valuable to me than a heavy coat.
Actually, another thing. Wisdom says to layer, but if you're not actually mobile much overnight I always found fewer thicker layers to be better. i.e. a thick cable-knit jumper trumped multiple thinner layers. I suspect layers are really the solution for highly active people such as skiers, runners and so on, but if you're immobile in the cold a thick jumper helps more.
lojack|11 years ago
It's a matter of managing the sweat. In the winter you want to be warm up until you start sweating. Sweat in the winter freezes and makes you more cold. Layers help wick away sweat, and are easier to adjust so you don't get too hot. So, yeah, layers are much more important when being active.
tmmm|11 years ago
billybofh|11 years ago
At the moment we're just ignoring it as it's -3C just now in the daytime. Better to loose a few HPC jobs than freeze the poor guy.
buro9|11 years ago
bjourne|11 years ago
dghughes|11 years ago
Raphmedia|11 years ago