6 Reasons You Might Get Cold On a Winter Hike

1. You’re not wearing enough
2. You’re wearing too much
3. You’re wearing the wrong fabric
4. You’re hungry or thirsty
5. Blame it on the wind
6. You lost the sun

You’ve mastered dressing in layers to keep the cold at bay. You checked the forecast and packed accordingly. And yet, you still find yourself getting cold on a winter hike. What gives?

Believe it or not, most first-timers to the world of winter hiking have run into this issue — but the fixes are pretty easy. Here are the six issues that are most likely to leave you feeling cold on a winter hike, even if you think you dressed appropriately for the weather:

1. You’re not wearing enough clothing

Sure, this one’s a gimme. But even if you’re dressing in layers, the amount of clothing that keeps you warm during a balmy 40-degree autumn day just isn’t going to do the job on a 10-degree winter day.

The fix: You’ll quickly learn how much clothing you need for what temperatures. Don’t be afraid to dress in layers!

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2. You’re wearing too much clothing

This one’s a little less obvious. If you wear so much clothing that it ends up cutting off your circulation, you’ll actually end up colder than you began. This is particularly true with your hands and feet, where wearing too many socks or too-tight gloves can diminish your circulation — which is like cutting off the flow of hot water into a radiator heating system.

The fix: Fine-tune your layering system. You might need slightly bigger boots or outer gloves to leave room for those insulating layers, or you might need to trade multiple midweight layers out for one heavyweight layer.

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3. You’re wearing the wrong fabric

Cotton and rayon are both horrible choices for winter wear, especially if you’re going to be in any kind of precipitation (including snow) or if you’re exerting yourself enough to get sweaty.

That’s because both fabrics soak up moisture readily and then hold it against your skin — and they lose their insulating ability when wet. That’s a lousy one-two punch.

Instead, focus on wool and wicking polyesters, such as Capilene. These materials naturally draw moisture away from your skin, helping keep you dry. And even if they get wet, wool and wicking polyester still retain much of their insulating ability.

The fix: Wear non-cotton clothes. If you don’t have the budget for fancy tech gear, cruise the thrift shops. You can find some amazing deals there! One of my friends hikes in a thrifted cashmere sweater that is both warm and glorious to wear.

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4. You’re hungry and (really) thirsty

These are more subtle issues, but they’re still very real. If you’re dehydrated enough your circulation suffers — and it’s that circulation that helps keep you warm.

In a similar vein, your clothes don’t generate heat; your body does, and the clothes help you keep that heat in. Food is the fuel that helps you generate body heat; so a cold-weather trip is usually the time to load up on calories, not to skimp on them.

The fix: Stay hydrated before and during your hike, and carry some fatty snacks that you can use to stoke your inner furnace if need be.

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5. You didn’t pay attention to the wind

Being outside on a windy 20-degree day is a whole different animal than being outside on a calm day with the same temperature readings. The wind draws heat away from your body, and its effects are particularly fierce in cold temperatures.

The fix: Next time you check the weather forecast, look for data on expected winds and/or the expected windchill.

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6. You lost the sun

It’s not your imagination: At higher latitudes, the sun really does sit lower on the horizon during the winter. Because of this, it’s easy for one side of a valley to be in direct sun while the other is in shadow, or for entire valleys to become shadowed as the sun circles closer to the horizon instead of straight overhead. And during winter, the effects of passing from sun to shadow (or back again) are obvious and profound.

The fix: Either plan your hikes to coincide with the sun, or pack a few extra layers to deal with the Narnia-level cold if you find yourself suddenly cast into shadow.

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Want to know more about terms like windchill? Check out my glossary of hiking terms.