Layering

Working outdoors is a great way to develop appreciation for the power of the sun. When I was in the Yukon, we slept in a few hours past dawn and then started work at 7am; the temperature was usually still around freezing at this point. As the sun got higher, things started to warm up (moving around helped with warmth too) and by mid-afternoon it could be almost t-shirt weather.

This, then, is where I was introduced to the art of layering-- while a single heavy jacket may be fine at a constant cold temperature, being toasty in the morning without being toasted in the afternoon required, in my experience, four or five thin layers that were all worn at the start of the day and successively removed and tied around the waist. A warm hat and gloves usually came off around 11am.

Currently, in the South Carolina winter, three layers is the most I ever need, but the same concept applies. I'm assuming that when summer rolls around, I'll start my day with just one layer and have nowhere to go from there.