Cold Weather Lesson

Harry Dietz writes in the Reading Eagle, Reading, PA on 22 January 2012 under the headline "Let's not turn cold shoulder on needy". He's pleading for compassion for the homeless, especially during cold winter nights, and uses an A.T. experience as his opener:

The two coldest nights of my life were spent in a tent.

The coldest one was in a camping area just off the Appalachian Trail. It was late fall, and I was unprepared for the temperatures, which dropped below freezing. I slept on a thin pad in a thin sleeping bag. Actually I didn't sleep much because I was so cold. I learned a lot that night about being prepared.

Of course the point is that hikers either sooner or eventually get to go home and warm up, while the truly homeless don't. Remember that next time you're out on the Trail griping about the weather: you're out there voluntarily.