Since most of us hunt during rapidly changing weather conditions or extreme cold conditions, sometimes far from civilization or our' vehicles, it is good idea to be prepared! After suffering the effects of hypothermia due to a very long hike with wet boots and wet and cold feet while hunting, a friend gave me a tip to help me if I ever got into that situation again. It is pretty simple and only requires a few items that take up very little room in a day pack, backpack or even pocket. The tip is, to carry with you at least one extra pair of warm socks and two used (empty) bread bags when going on any hunt or hike in the late fall and winter months. If you find yourself in a situation where your' boots and feet get wet during a sudden change to colder weather or in cold weather, do the following. Stop and sit down on a log, remove your boots and sit or hang them upside down to drain as much water out of them as possible. Take off your' socks, wring out as much water as possible, dry off your' feet, wring out the socks again and set them aside, Next, put on the extra pair of warm/dry socks, place the bread bags over the socks, then put the wet (now damp) socks on over the bread bags, then put your' boots back on. The bread bags will protect your' dry/warm socks from getting wet and the wet (now damp) socks will actually act as a protecter and insulate your feet from the cold. This little tip can mean the difference between getting back to civilization or your' vehicle where you can get warmed up or dying far from either due to hypothermia!

Just a note to this for better understanding: While a person may be able to tolerate the cold due to the layers of clothing they are wearing, wet...cold feet lead to fatigue and fatigue in cold weather, can and will lead to hypothermia.


Frank