When I consider the freezing surf conditions our northern neighbors negotiate, I’ll be the first to admit I have it easy. The point is, we all have a relationship with the cold. What's yours? Photo: Ryan Struck
“Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and wood, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary.” – Henry David Thoreau
It’s almost winter time in the northern hemisphere.
Given the relatively inclement summer conditions, I am a bit apprehensive about the coming winter conditions.
“It’s cold outside, it’s windy. the surf is getting worse and I’m putting on a cold still wet wetsuit”
I wrote that last winter. I didn’t date that comment in my journal, but it was probably around January.
During that time of year, your booties and the legs of your full suit never seem to dry completely – from one session to the next, for about three months
Even though I live in sunny Southern California, the winter sea temperatures are in the mid 50s, and when you add the wind chill factor it’s a tad chilly for me.
When I consider the conditions our northern brothers and sisters deal with on a regular basis, I’ll be the first to admit I have it easy and warm.
The point is, we all have some relationship with the cold. What’s yours? Do you ignore it? Hide from it? Complain? Joke about it? It doesn’t seem to matter how cold it is. It’s all relative.
If it was 20 degrees out, I wouldn’t leave the house.
But in the same temperatures, the Nova Scotia surf crew would be skipping to the beach…in shorts.
(Skipping might be an over dramatization but you get the idea…)
The point being that it’s all in your head. It’s one of very few things you actually have some control over. Of course, exercising that control is another thing. Think about that the next time you are in the parking lot putting on a damp full suit and wet, smelly booties.
As for me, I’m saving up for a new top of the line wetsuit that costs three times what I spent for my first car.
