Winter hiking warrants precautions !

Good article in the Bangor Daily News Today:  Winter hiking warrants precautions, by Brad Viles.

I had used the Essential Winter Gear  list recommended by the Appalachian Mountain Club  to prepare for last weekend hike in the White Mountains, and found it lacking a few critical ( to me) items.

Viles got it right, though, by including the rest of the things that I had in or clipped onto my winter pack: a whistle, emergency shelter ( space blanket), chemical hand and foot warmers, insulating bottle covers, face mask or scarf, a cell phone( but don’t depend on reception in the puckerbrush), down jacket with hood, plus a thermos of hot cider, cocoa, or coffee. Viles didn’t list coffee for that thermos, I recall from a previous article that he believes it is a diuretic. Updated research disproves the “coffee is bad for you in the outdoors” school of thought.  If you are a regular coffee drinker, there is no additional fluid loss, plus it is a legal performance enhancement.

Here’s Viles’ recommendations that I  formatted into a tabular format that can be downloaded and use as a check off list:
Winter Day Hiking List
Trekking poles or ski poles
Day pack
Map
Compass
Water bottles (2)
Insulating bottle holders
Headlamp
knife
Waterproof matches
WHISTLE
EMERGENCY SHELTER ( SPACE BLANKET)
CHEMICAL HAND AND FOOT WARMERS
Cell phone
Extra Food
Thermos of hot cider, cocoa, coffee
Clothing
winter hat
NEOPRENE FACE MASK/SCARF
Sunglasses
Goggles
Lightweight long underwear top
Midweight long underwear top
Waterproof/breathable shell
jacket
Insulating gloves or mittens
Lightweight long r
pants
Waterproof/breathable pants
Liner socks
Wool socks (wear one and bring
an extra pair)
Gaiters
Boots

Here’s me on yesterday’s snowshoe hike with my own personal additional gear ( headphones–>  iPod–> rocking tunes!)

Gotta have the tunes ( except in rattlesnake or bear country)