Need Someone Smarter Than Me

[Bigd9]

My wife, two almost 18 year old granddaughters and yours truly just got back from a camping/skiing/hiking trip in the mountains of beautiful West Virginia. We had a blast! Now for my problem. On the day we went for a 2 mile hike, I told the girls the days temperature was going to be in the 30's, left over snow and ice on the trails, and probably mud from the melting snow. "Dress accordingly" were my parting words.

Sharon and I were dressed in waterproof hiking boots, backpack, jeans, coats and the girls? Well they came out of the motorhome dressed in 'ripped jeans', 3/4 inch sleeve light weight sweater and on their feet ...... well a picture is worth a thousand words.

Sharon, seeing what our girls were dressed in snuck back in the motorhome and stuffed two jackets, and several hand warmers in her backpack, and we headed down the trail with me shaking my head.

About 1/2 mile into the hike I could hear mummering from two freezing independent young woman. About 1 mile into the hike they were outwardly complaining they were freezing cold. I believe those red toenails turned blue! Sharon opened her backpack and offered the coats and hand warmers.

Now for the question. Should I have ordered the two to young woman to go back inside the motorhome and dress better for the expected elements? Or do you think they learned something?

BTW, they were still excited to go skiing the next day and another hike the day following.

[Isaac-1]

One must always weigh learning experience with risk of amputation due to frost bite, etc.

[Kid Gloves]

There’s some guy that does breathing exercises and then hikes in the snow wearing his underwear. Maybe they could learn something from him?

[Old-Biscuit]

Should have delayed the hike for 10 minutes during which time the girls would have had to remain outside.....learning lesson over and still at the RV

Part of that 'parenting skills' so the youngsters do NOT incur injuries

[jergle]

After having raised 3 children and being a boy scout leader for almost 2 decades, I'm pretty familiar with that situation! You handled it quite well by "being prepared". I might would have offered a little guidance prior to leaving that "you might want to reconsider your choice of footwear", but with any resistance, I would have proceeded as planned and hoped that they learned a valuable lesson! Lessons learned the hard way are the ones most often remembered.

[GoneToTheDog]

That's the thing about common sense. There seems to be less of it these days.

[FL420]

The first year I was a Scoutmaster I led the troop on a weekend Winter Camporee in the Rocky Mountains west of Boulder. I was new to snow camping but had spent a lot of time outdoors in the snow. Several of the Asst. SMs had snow camping experience to teach them (and me.)
We spent several weekly troop meetings teaching the boys how and how not to dress for a weekend of activity in the snow competing with other troops at winter skills and survival techniques.
We emphasized over and over to the boys that they will get snow on their clothes and those clothes will get wet, especially if made of cotton. We recommended either layers of wool or Polar Fleece which retain some warmth when wet and dry relatively quickly topped by Nylon outer layers filled with synthetic insulation to protect better from moisture and wind.
We even sent home an information sheet for the parents to ensure the boys were properly dressed and equipped. It ended with NO COTTON BLUE JEANS OR SOCKS!
Of course, as happens all too often, we had to "Be Prepared" by bringing proper clothing for the few kids who came close to getting frostbite because their parents ignored the recommendations. We had to hunt up a pay phone (I assume this group remembers those) to call the parents of a boy we needed to send home because he possibly needed medical attention.
Most of the boys learned from other's mistakes and a few learned from their own mistakes.
[emoji40]

[Jyrocharlie]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

My wife, two almost 18 year old granddaughters and yours truly just got back from a camping/skiing/hiking trip in the mountains of beautiful West Virginia. We had a blast! Now for my problem. On the day we went for a 2 mile hike, I told the girls the days temperature was going to be in the 30's, left over snow and ice on the trails, and probably mud from the melting snow. "Dress accordingly" were my parting words.

Sharon and I were dressed in waterproof hiking boots, backpack, jeans, coats and the girls? Well they came out of the motorhome dressed in 'ripped jeans', 3/4 inch sleeve light weight sweater and on their feet ...... well a picture is worth a thousand words.

Sharon, seeing what our girls were dressed in snuck back in the motorhome and stuffed two jackets, and several hand warmers in her backpack, and we headed down the trail with me shaking my head.

About 1/2 mile into the hike I could hear mummering from two freezing independent young woman. About 1 mile into the hike they were outwardly complaining they were freezing cold. I believe those red toenails turned blue! Sharon opened her backpack and offered the coats and hand warmers.

Now for the question. Should I have ordered the two to young woman to go back inside the motorhome and dress better for the expected elements? Or do you think they learned something?

BTW, they were still excited to go skiing the next day and another hike the day following.

If they live where it gets cold, Go home and spank your children for not teaching them much. They likely sit home on their computers and never go out. I fear this world will take advantage of them.
Maybe they're raising them to be Engineers!

[Kid Gloves]

Originally Posted by FL420

The first year I was a Scoutmaster I led the troop on a weekend Winter Camporee in the Rocky Mountains west of Boulder. I was new to snow camping but had spent a lot of time outdoors in the snow. Several of the Asst. SMs had snow camping experience to teach them (and me.)
We spent several weekly troop meetings teaching the boys how and how not to dress for a weekend of activity in the snow competing with other troops at winter skills and survival techniques.
We emphasized over and over to the boys that they will get snow on their clothes and those clothes will get wet, especially if made of cotton. We recommended either layers of wool or Polar Fleece which retain some warmth when wet and dry relatively quickly topped by Nylon outer layers filled with synthetic insulation to protect better from moisture and wind.
We even sent home an information sheet for the parents to ensure the boys were properly dressed and equipped. It ended with NO COTTON BLUE JEANS OR SOCKS!
Of course, as happens all too often, we had to "Be Prepared" by bringing proper clothing for the few kids who came close to getting frostbite because their parents ignored the recommendations. We had to hunt up a pay phone (I assume this group remembers those) to call the parents of a boy we needed to send home because he possibly needed medical attention.
Most of the boys learned from other's mistakes and a few learned from their own mistakes.
[emoji40]

I’d imagine that the parents weren’t interested in spending $1500 on synthetic undergarments and outer shells for a weekend of frolicking in the snow, when they managed to survive childhood with waffle cotton skivvies and a barn coat.

I bet those boys would have brought home the survival trophy if they made their own raccoon hats and elk skin coats.

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by Jyrocharlie

If they live where it gets cold, Go home and spank your children for not teaching them much. They likely sit home on their computers and never go out. I fear this world will take advantage of them.
Maybe they're raising them to be Engineers!

Explain please

[FL420]

Originally Posted by Kid Gloves

I’d imagine that the parents weren’t interested in spending $1500 on synthetic undergarments and outer shells for a weekend of frolicking in the snow, when they managed to survive childhood with waffle cotton skivvies and a barn coat.

I bet those boys would have brought home the survival trophy if they made their own raccoon hats and elk skin coats.

Originally Posted by Kid Gloves

I’d imagine that the parents weren’t interested in spending $1500 on synthetic undergarments and outer shells for a weekend of frolicking in the snow, when they managed to survive childhood with waffle cotton skivvies and a barn coat.

I bet those boys would have brought home the survival trophy if they made their own raccoon hats and elk skin coats.

It was the early 90s and outerwear wasn't that expensive. All the parents were running around in North Face, L. L. Bean, Colombia, Eddie Bauer, etc. I'm not sure if GoreTex was on the radar yet. This was Boulder after all.
As a Merit Badge Counselor for the Wilderness Survival Merit Badge and graduate of three military survival schools I could teach them how to make traps and snares for all kinds of small game but trapping an elk would be a whole 'nuther matter. That would have to wait for Summer Camp where we taught the Rifle and Shotgun Merit Badge courses on a range.
The activities the boys competed in at Winter Camporee were designed more to wear the kids out than to find food.
When we went looking for a pay phone we found it at Reverend's Ridge Campground in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We found a fresh brown bear track in the snow in the middle of the campground road. A few days after the Camporee a teacher at my wife's elementary school who lived a stone's throw north of where we had just camped found a mountain lion munching on a deer carcass right next to her driveway. She said the lion wasn't intimidated by her car at all and just glared at her as she drove slowly past it to her house. It's a good thing he wasn't a fan of young boy meat. He would have had more than a hundred to choose from.
[emoji40]

[Jyrocharlie]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Explain please

Intelligent people, however, have a tendency to overapply their analytical and logical reasoning abilities derived from their general intelligence incorrectly to such evolutionarily familiar domains and, as a result, get things wrong. In other words, liberals and other intelligent people lack common sense because their general intelligence overrides it. They think in situations where they are supposed to feel. In evolutionarily familiar domains such as interpersonal relationships, feeling usually leads to correct solutions whereas thinking does not.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4,203,200_.jpg

[Kid Gloves]

Originally Posted by Jyrocharlie

Intelligent people, however, have a tendency to overapply their analytical and logical reasoning abilities derived from their general intelligence incorrectly to such evolutionarily familiar domains and, as a result, get things wrong. In other words, liberals and other intelligent people lack common sense because their general intelligence overrides it. They think in situations where they are supposed to feel. In evolutionarily familiar domains such as interpersonal relationships, feeling usually leads to correct solutions whereas thinking does not.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4,203,200_.jpg

You may have overthought that.

[Jyrocharlie]

No, it's just how I FEEL.
The space shuttle external fuel tank, covered with foam for insulation wasn't painted so it could carry a few more pounds of cargo. The foam is rotted by UV light. They kept it outside with no cover to protect it from Sunlight. The space shuttle was discontinued because the risk was too great to the crew because of damage from damaged foam.