It got down to -6F in the city I work in last night. Which means that out where I was it was probably more likely -10 to -15. It was definitely a "warm up the car before driving so your windshield doesn't fog up 30 seconds after you leave" day.

Incidently, where I went to law school, we had -40F mornings. I didn't warm up my van one morning, and my breath frosted the windshield within a few minutes. I pulled over to the side of the road to let it defrost. Unfortunately, there was no side of the road: just a twenty foot embankment leading to a small river. That was a fun day. Now I always remember to let the car warm up.

It was one of those times that might make other people very upset. My own reaction in situations like that is to simply take the steps I need to correct the situation. In my case that meant climbing up the embankment, flagging down a car and getting a ride back into town, and arranging for a tow. I can remember getting out of my car, and realizing that another couple feet to the left would have put a thick branch through the windowshield and into me.

Anyway, when the temperature gets below 0F, an interesting thing happens when you breathe. The insides of your nostrils feel like they are freezing over. It's not that unpleasant. It's just sort of odd.

So back to today, I did go for that evening hike. I just got back about half an hour ago. The temperature was up to about 8F by the time we started at 7:00 p.m. I was pretty warmly dressed, with two pairs of pants over longjohns, two pairs of gloves, an undercoat and an overcoat, and my new spongebob cap. Having the tips of my ears covered is important, I've discovered. I had forgotten though, that my chin can get cold. Scarf next time.

Still it wasn't too bad. Once I got walking at a brisk pace, I didn't feel anywhere near as cold. I ended up taking off my gloves for a few minutes in one part. The company was pleasant, and the pace was just good enough to get my heart pumping a couple of times.