From: Robert A. Neinast
Subject: The Physiology of Coldfootin'
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 08:36:10 -0400

Despite the high-falutin' Subject line, this really
isn't any sort of medical treatise, just some observations
from a hike I took yesterday at Hocking Hills (coupled
with observations from previous hikes over the years).

When I started my hike around 10:00am, here in Central
Ohio, it was below 40 degrees (5 C). By mid-day, when
I finished, it still hadn't even reached 50 degree
(10 C), so it was fairly chilly throughout the whole
hike.

When I got out of my car, I was still warm all over.
The pavement merely felt "crisp". However, after
about 3-5 minutes, I definitely felt myself cooling
down, and my feet started to feel cold. This is
normal, not dangerous (at least not at these temperatures),
and worth putting up with. [Note that my feet never
went numb; they just felt obviously cold.]

Because after about 10 minutes, my body figured out
what was going on. My toes started to get red as
more and more blood was diverted to my feet. And they
started warming up (this can also be accelerated by
doing a "toe clench" when one's foot is in the air
between every step). By 15 minutes, my feet were
entirely comfortable, and even most of the redness had
disappeared as they came into equilibrium with the
environment. I could still feel colder areas and warmer
areas, but this was just as sensory impressions, not
as discomfort. It was glorious.

I went on like this for another 2 hours, with no
difficulty at all.

I would like to mention one other thing just to be
aware of when coldfootin'. I have found that in
colder weather (usually when it's right around
freezing) that my plantar skin is not as supple as
it usually is. As a result, it does not deform around
bumps as well as it does in warmer temperatures, so
I sometimes feel it more, and I am a bit more susceptible
to injury. When it is that cold and I have hiked on gravel,
I have occasionally gotten a blood blister (but never
gotten any permanent damage). One time I hiked for
about 3 miles on a sheet of solid ice and got 2 such
blisters. I have found that draining them (but making
sure to leave the skin there) seems to work about the
best (and allows me to keep barefooting/hiking).

Bob
-- 
" . . . and shun the Frumious Bandersnatch."
Robert A. Neinast
Pickerington, OH