Winter PSA For Southwestern Residents

A hoodie does not quite cut it for winter wear. We may be blessed with 60 degree winters, but the rest of the nation is not so lucky.

You're welcome.

Thanks Big T!

That sounds like the voice of experience.

A few weeks ago I was temporarily seated in a different truck while mine went to the dealer for some repairs. I grabbed the bare necessities for life on the road, as I didn't want to move a bunch of my gear for such a short transition. It turned out to be two weeks and of course I got into some gnarly weather. I had grabbed a hoodie, and it came in handy, but it really was dumb of me to not grab a winter jacket of some sort.

When you're all over the place out here, you just never know what you might encounter. Sometimes in a single day you might go from seeing this...

To this...

It pays to be prepared.

I had three students in a row last year that showed up with a hoodie and a light blanket.

We stopped at the first Walmart I could find in "cold" country so i could get them something more suitable.

I remember one time I left Los Angeles early in the afternoon and it was 72 degrees. By late that night I was high in the mountains of Utah and it was twenty degrees below zero. A swing of 92 degrees in a matter of about 10 hours. The tan I got that afternoon made me look like a bronze statue when I froze solid.

I actually need to buy winter clothes, because I'm from Arkansas where it rarely gets real cold,so light clothes are fine there. Not sure how the weather is in the North East, but that's where I've been at since I went solo. But I heard it gets cold up this way.

Had a similar experience going from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. 105 in Vegas and 27 at the rest area near the 80 / 84 junction. That was a really short smoke break!

I remember one time I left Los Angeles early in the afternoon and it was 72 degrees. By late that night I was high in the mountains of Utah and it was twenty degrees below zero. A swing of 92 degrees in a matter of about 10 hours. The tan I got that afternoon made me look like a bronze statue when I froze solid.

Jamie, Wal-Mart will have most everything you need. But if you're not adverse to paying more, going to Big-R, Murdochs, or elsewhere that carries Western/work wear the quality is generally worth it, imo.

I keep what I need in a backpack. Set of long johns, wool socks, two sets of insulated gloves (if you get some ski gloves (can find them at ****'s) they can fit inside most of the larger insulated gloves, and sweatpants. And obviously a nice big jacket. That sort of gear as well as some good boots will keep you good well under freezing (I've been on the back of a trash truck at 10 degrees (so... 0, maybe -5 or 10 with wind chill?) with that level of gear and been fine for an entire day, with occasional breaks in the truck) -- so that should keep you even if the worst happens and you get stranded in a storm somehow.

Brain toot... it wasn't Las Vegas it was Phoenix to Albuquerque to Denver then Salt Lake City.

Had a similar experience going from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. 105 in Vegas and 27 at the rest area near the 80 / 84 junction. That was a really short smoke break!

I remember one time I left Los Angeles early in the afternoon and it was 72 degrees. By late that night I was high in the mountains of Utah and it was twenty degrees below zero. A swing of 92 degrees in a matter of about 10 hours. The tan I got that afternoon made me look like a bronze statue when I froze solid.

If you drive in the northeast, you should carry food, water, and a sleeping bag. Maybe even a small butane stove for heat/cooking. You could get stuck on the highway for a few days

If you can buy it in area where it is needed it tends to be cheaper than if you buy it in a warmer climate.

I keep a winter jacket in my truck year round because I mainly run out west and snow in July or august is not out of the realm of possibility in the Rockies or Wyoming. I got caught in the snow up on Donner one year in May.