IT’S GOING TO BE A COLD ONE!
We have all been there at some point, out in the mountains and as the sun dips behind the peaks we feel the chill of the evening coming and then it hits us, “tonight is going to be a cold one”. We put on every piece of clothing we packed and still we are shivering to the bone as we huddle around a camp stove praying that the water will boil faster for some hot chocolate or soup. While we might look back on times like these with a bit of laughter and a sideways smile, it is important to be honest how that could have gone bad real quick. Some of the coldest nights I have personally spent in the backcountry were mid-summer trips in the Rocky Mountains here in the US, and it’s so easy to lose sight of packing critical pieces of gear just because it is warm, sunny and blue skies at your house. This is why proper insulation is one of 10 Essentials of gear you need to bring while in the backcountry.
Here are are few important things to consider as you pack;
1. We often think about insulation in terms of just guarding against heat loss to the surrounding air (Radiation). But there are actually three ways we loose heat to keep in mind;
– Evaporation; the process of loosing moisture from the body through sweating.
– Conduction; Contact with a cold surface like the ground.
– Convection; transfer of heat to moving air or water.
2. When considering what gear to bring, it’s important to keep all the methods of heat loss in mind. For example, your sleeping bag may be insulating enough (radiation) for the type of trip you are taking or leading but is the ground pad (conduction) you are using equal to the task?
3. Moving water and air (convection) are some of the most effective methods of heat transfer. So even in the warmth of summer it’s important to be aware that the blistery wind on the summit or the rushing river your rafting could be potential heat related risk for you and your group.
4. Proper layering in our clothing is critical for good insulation. Having non-cotton moisture wicking layers, next to your skin helps reduce evaporative heat lost and convection. Insulating layers like down and fleece, next help to trap in the radiating body heat. Moisture and wind repelling layers on the outside help to reduce convective loss while keeping your insulting layers dry.
WE MUST GUARD OUR HEART AGAINST THE CLIMATE OF THIS WORLD
The second law of thermodynamics, overly simplified, tells us that energy is always looking to move towards less energy. For our purpose here, that means energy in the form of heat will always move towards less heat energy unless we intervene and work hard to guard against it. Likewise, our sinful hearts sadly desire to conform to the surrounding climate of the world. This is something the Scriptures seem to consistently urge us as believers against, like we see Paul saying in Romans 12:2;
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
This was a concern on the mind of Jesus as well and can see it as He was praying in garden before His arrest. He prayed this for His disciples in John 17:15, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” Throughout His prayer you can feel Jesus’ concern for His followers, whom He has sent into the world, to be present there but set apart from the ways of the world. So how are we to do this? How are we to live as faithful followers of Jesus, in a cold and formidable world that is constantly engulfing us, tempting us to succumb to it?
INSULATION THAT WILL KEEP YOU FROM STARVING FOR WARMTH
Paul in several of his letters spoke to this exact issue. To the Romans, who were living in the epicenter of debauchery, sin and corruption, he challenged with the language of clothing and armor, to “clothe ourselves in the LORD Jesus Christ”, to the Galatians, to “put on Christ”, to the Ephesian, to “put on the new self”. In Paul’s mind, whatever it took to be followers of Jesus in the world and not corrupted by it, started by covering yourself in the identity, the character and the way of Jesus, so much so that it becomes who you are. In addition, Jesus continued His prayer for His disciples by asking the Father to “protect them by the power of your name” and that He had given them His Father’s “word” and then would go on to pray for their unity as it would a critical component to their resiliency. From this we must see that the layers of insulation that we need to protect our sinful hearts from entropy towards the world is to be first wrapped and clothed in the way of Jesus, to bind His words on our heart and to cling tightly to our fellow followers of Jesus. If we fail to do these things, we might find ourselves with cold and dying hearts, shivering and starving for the warmth we can only find in Christ Jesus.
APPLICATION
1. Set out the gear and clothing you have (personal or group). Do you have all the layers of an insulating system to guard against the 4 major comments of heat loss.
2. As you read the scriptures look for language of “clothing” and “put on” can you find a few other verses that use this language?
3. How might you use these scriptures to teach in the backcountry?
