2018—Cold

On our last morning in Yellowstone, the cold got to me.  My boots kept my feet warm; my several layers of SmartWool and down kept my body toasty.  It was my fingers that were numb.  I had three different pairs of ice climbing gloves with three increasingly warmer levels of protection plus  I had hand warmers in my pockets.   But, they didn’t seem to help.  We stood on a turnout watching bison nibbling their way through the sparse undergrowth, shoveling snow away with their hooves.  The scene was dreary and the cold was very visible.   I am used to standing still for long periods watching nature pass in front of my lens.   I have been in cold situations like this before and I will be again.  But, on this last day, I lost interest in photography and could think of nothing but my numb fingers.

I left my camera and walked down the road at a brisk pace pumping my arms in an effort to get the blood circulating again.  When I returned a few minutes later, Moose offered me the use of his beaver and elk skin mittens.  I was almost instantly warm again.  My fingers felt as if I’d wrapped them in an electric blanket.  What was most amazing is that once I was warm (in just a few minutes) and removed the mittens, my fingers stayed warm.  I can’t explain it how these mittens could provide such lasting protection but I will be getting my own pair of them.

This photograph reminds me of how bitterly cold I felt.  I don’t know what the temperature was that morning.  I just know that after standing in it for an hour and a half, my hands rebelled.