PAXSON — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is usually my go-to website for weather forecasts — and if one is to be out and about most days, the weather rules almost all activities. What I am having trouble with over the past month is accuracy.
On Monday, the National Weather Service — part of NOAA — forecast that the Delta Junction weather was mostly cloudy and a couple degrees above zero. AccuWeather said it was minus-2, while Weather Underground claimed minus-9. Reality was 7 above. I'm not sure where this comes from? I do know that a 16-degree swing is significant if one is dressing to be outside all day.
My advice would be to check several weather sites online and prepare for the worst forecast you find. The good news is that nobody is even suggesting that it will be very cold over the next 10 days.
Christmas vacation is coming up. The kids will be out of school. Pitch their I-phone under a couch cushion with the ringer off. Dress them warmly and get them outside.
A fishing pole is the easiest route to outdoor fun. There are plenty of stocked lakes close to all of the major cities where almost anyone can catch something. Experience tells me that the smaller the kid, the easier they get chilled. A good rule of thumb is to dress a 3-year-old heavily enough that if they fall down, they will need your help to get up. Put mittens on your kids, not gloves. Gloves separate the fingers, leading to cold hands much easier.
It is getting harder to find decent footwear. Pack boots are easy to find, but the rubber draws cold. Boots that are rated to minus-40 are usually good to zero or warmer, especially if one is standing on ice. Who rates boot temperatures? The manufacturer, of course. A boot rated to minus-20 probably means an adult can put on a warm boot and stand in a freezer at minus-20 for 25 minutes.
Military mukluks made by LaCrosse work pretty well. "Small" works for kids who are size 5 and smaller. Adults with size 9 or better should consider going to an extra large. Bunny boots, or vapor-barrier boots are very good, too. If one can find a pair in good shape, they will work well below zero. Do not settle for the imitations; they'll disappoint.
Single-piece snowsuits are the way to go for kids and often adults, too. That said, I am partial to two-piece suits if it's not too cold. Two-part suits are more adaptable to changing conditions, though they require more care to be really toasty in. The trick to warm hands and feet is keeping your body core warm. Extremities get cold because the body abandons them first in exchange for keeping the head and body core from freezing.
Be certain you're well-layered under a snowsuit with thermal underwear and polar fleece. Good thermals don't absorb much moisture. Polar fleece holds less than 1 percent moisture by weight. Avoid silk or lyra as base layers. They wick heat away from the body. Cotton gets a bad rap, but if one doesn't perspire much, cotton works fine.
Wrist-warmers are a good investment, too. A wrist-warmer is basically a mitten with no fingers and no thumb — just a hole there. A polar fleece mitten over a wrist-warmer will lower the working temperature of a mitten more than 10 degrees. They can be made from an old sock. Cut the toe off and use the hole worn in the heel for the thumb hole.
With a bit of extra care dressing you and your kids, most winter outdoor experiences will be pleasant.
John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.