#damp cold

Journal Three.  29th November 2010.  The cold is Scotland in different to many of the notoriously frigid places on earth.  There it is usually a dry cold, in Scotland, and especially on the west coast, the humidity is far greater and this damp cold feels far worse.  

I have spoken to people who were raised in countries with far colder temperatures, yet they acknowledge they have never felt as cold as during a Highland winter.  One man had grown up in Saskatchewan, where the mercury plummets in winter, yet he felt colder at -6°c than he did out there at -30°c (wind chill excepted).  

Gathering fuel was a cold experience, yet crucial to my well-being.  By the time I had collected, carried and processed the oak logs I could no longer feel the tips of my fingers or toes.  It took some time to warm up.

My adventure (or this part of it) was coming to an end.  I had arranged to be picked up from Fort William by my parents, so I could spend Christmas with them up in the north of Scotland.  My extraction day was approaching, four days from the 29th, when they would be coming back from a visit to relatives in England.