I have this theory when on holidays.
For every 1000 steps I do over 10,000 then I have earnt myself a pint.
I doesn't have to be a day to day thing. It can accumulate over the entire duration.
So in other words, if I have done 8000 steps one day and 16,000 steps the next, then I have earned myself four pints.
So far I was well in the black and needed to rack up some steps.
It'd more difficult in a cold climate too.
You tend to do less walking so I hopped onto the treadmill on this bright and sunny Saturday morning with absolutely nothing planned.
I ran and I ran and I ran.
I needed to earn these steps, because pint drinking was becoming so much fun.
After my gym session I'd worked out I was still in deficit. I needed to do much more.
Still it was -20 outside and after being in Alaska this time last year, I thought I was much more equipped to handle it.
I was.
However, I cannot emphasise enough the important of decent footwear when heading to the cold.
In Alaska I had a pair of Salomon boots that said they were good down to -40 but they weren't. They cost me a fortune too. This time I bought a pair of second-hand pair of Kamik boots. They were US$35 and they proved to the saviour of my trip. They arrived from the US in as-new condition and I did not feel cold feet once during my trip.
I soon discovered there wasn't a lot to see in Yellowknife, but I did have a snowshoe walk planned tomorrow so I was happy to get my bearings for today.
It was -20 outside as you can see, but gee it felt colder.
Yellowknife is an interesting place. I loved walking around seeing how people just get on with their lives in these conditions. A lot of the Asian tourists, of which there were plenty, seemed to be doing it very tough with the weather.
Popped into the supermarket and look what I found! Sorry Crows supporters, but I did warn you.
One of my missions was to find make-up for wife and daughter. Apparantely it's cheaper over here. I went looking, but couldn't find what they were looking for, so I kept walking. Every step counts when you are building it towards something special.
The weather turned colder and I decided to retreat back to sanctuary of my room. It was almost beer o'clock anyway.
Tip for people for have never travelled to to places where its -20 or lower. Yes, layers do help. I had thermal running tights, which were great for the Minneapolis, Edmonton and Calgary days where it was around -10, but they won't do when it's colder.
I had proper thermal tights and a top for Yellowknife. A T-shirt over the top, a good fleece and a really good parker. When I say fleece, I don't mean a normal hoody. You need a proper fleece. I had a really lightweight Kathmandu fleece that you will see in pics coming up. It's the brown one in some of the pics in case I forget to point it out.
I wore two beanies. One was an Under Armour one that was good, but then another normal one top of that was effective.
Boots, yes the most important thing. I also had thermal socks.
Mittens. Yes mittens, not gloves. The reason behind this is that less heat escapes when your fingers are further apart. On the really cold days I wore thermal gloves with the mittens over the top. Worked well. The thermal gloves were fine in -10, but they won't cut it in -20 and worse.
Finally a good parker is a must. The blue one I am wearing here was fantastic. I had a red one that I could get away with in -10 or less, but the blue one had down that was rated to 800. That's serious heat power. I liked the red one better, but the blue one was more effective in the cold.
So that's it. Dress in layers, two beanies if you choose to shave your head like me, thermals and DON'T SKIMP ON YOUR FOOTWEAR.
