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» survey trip in Alaska
Making camp for night on Alaskan survival trip
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also hunt — moose meat and caribou steaks are good on anyone’s table, to say nothing of grouse, ptarmigan, and squirrels! Another very real problem is “ clothes control, as George Fletcher, Director of the Camp, calls it. Down lined parkas will resist temperatures down to -70°. Wolf or wolverine fur is used around the face opening, because, these furs collect less of moisture from the breath than other kinds of fur. The parka hood must extend out beyond the face for protection. In a letter of December 8, George describes some of the difficulties in maintaining temperature control in the matter of dress. “ One of the biggest problems is getting too warm,” he writes. “ Now, don’t laugh, for extra warmth leads to freezing. The other Sunday afternoon I slipped into my down parka, pants, and canvas mukluks and headed down the lake trail. It was -5°, as the temperature goes, but it wasn’t long until I was warm, extra warm. So I threw back my head, opened my parka, and continued padding my way through frost- covered trees toward the blazing sunset sky. Finally I decided that if I was to get home before dark, I’d better turn around. It wasn’t much cooler going the other direc- tion. I became warmer and warmer until my undershirt was beginning to get wet. I kept up a good pace, so that the wet undershirt wouldn’t get cold. If I had stopped for a few minutes, my clothes would have begun to freeze from the inside out. ‘Clothes control’ is yery important here. One must be warmish-cool, no more. We have to put on and take off as the need demands.” As to the weather, he says, “We haven’t had any long stretches of cold weather yet. It stayed around -25 to -30° for three days. Our record low has been -52°.” However, by January 7, Dick Mueller, another trainee, thinks that winter has really arrived. “ The weather has been between -40 and -50° since last Sunday morning,” he relates. “When we arrived here the weather was around zero. We are sure glad now that we had a little while to get used to it. It isn’t bad down to -20°. After that you really notice it. You must breathe through your nose instead of your mouth, because the air must be warmed before it reaches the lungs in order not to freeze them. The only ways is to cover your nose and mouth with a scarf and breathe through it. Wearing glasses out- doors for any length of time is impossible because the warmth from your breath and body mixing with the (Concluded on next page)
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\ On the trail at night for survival trip
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Learning to build snow house on survival hike
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F E B R U A R Y , 1960
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