Snow requires so much body heat to melt that rapid hypothermia can result. Instead, melt it in a hubcap over your candle. Times like these make a cellular phone or mobile ham radio look mighty good. It provides by far the driest, most windproof, most comfortable shelter you could possibly devise in the wilds. It's also highly visible.
Poor judgment leading to gross stupidity is a classic effect of oncoming hypothermia.
When things look bad it would be very easy to walk a half mile down the road from your car at 3 a.m. in hopes of finding the house that you think maybe you passed, become disoriented, and forget to turn around. Such emergencies, of course, are unlikely. Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Please read our copyright and permissions policy .