Cold Weather Camping

 I work with a lot of guys, which means I get to hear some pretty good scout camp stories.

The best ones involve fire, infectious diseases, and cold-weather camping.

My director once told a story about how he went snow caving.

He got pretty good and sweaty digging the cave, so when he went to bed that night, he laid his pants out to dry.

Of course they froze stiff overnight...so not only did he have to wear wet pants, but they were freezing.

This was the exact moment he decided to become an artist.


On the other hand, I have a buddy (Joe) who loves cold-weather camping.  It's like his favorite thing.  He could survive a winter in the Yukon with only a plastic bag and a dead bee.  When he became a scout leader, he was really excited to show the little guys the ropes.

So, when it was time to take the little fellas on a cold-weather camping trip, they had a meeting where they briefed the boys on what to bring.  Joe, being the expert, wanted to make sure they brought all the right clothes.

The meeting was in February.  Most of the boys were wearing shorts and no jackets.  Joe decided this was a good time to have an object lesson.

 Out in the freezing cold of the parking lot, Joe launched into a giant lecture on how to dress warm...

And the scouts were like:

guh guh guh guh guh guh guh

And the other leader was like:

guh guh guh guh guh guh guh 

 ...And Joe was like, great!  I've hoped you've all learned you don't wanna be out in the cold without a coat!

Several days later, they were on their way!

Joe and the scouts stepped out into the blistering cold.  One of the leaders stepped out of his car...

...and promptly got back in his car, and left.

Aaaaaand...the rest of the weekend pretty much went like that.

Addendum to this story:  Joe's just entered a contest to run a bunch of sled dogs over the Arctic Circle. 

not this

this

The competition is sponsored by a Norwegian company, Fjallraven, which sells coats and stuff.  Every year they pick 2 people from each country around the world to compete.  They give them all the right equipment, they give them the dogs and the sleds, and then they set 'em all loose in the outer regions of the world.

This sounds like a nightmare.  (To me.)

Joe thinks it would be a blast.  So, I'm not gonna twist your arm or anything, but if you want to vote for Joe you can go here.  You can vote through facebook.  If it gets enough attention, the Fjallraven people will pick him!

VOTE FOR JOE

Do it for the dogs.  (I hear Americans are pretty tasty.)