Well, I’ve spent much of the past couple days pricing gear for snow camping. Let’s look at the numbers:

Down parka: $150-200

Insulated pants: $150-200
Zero-degree rated sleeping bag: $200-300
Four-season tent: $400-500

We’re talking serious bucks to acquire enough gear to survive sub-freezing temperatures.

Then there are my issues. Cold is not my friend. My feet freeze at room temperature. My hands get chilly if I go outside without gloves when it’s below 70 degrees. I’ve stayed away from the town of my birth for most the past 20 years to avoid the winters.

I never liked “Frosty the Snowman.”

In more than six years in the Bay Area I’ve never had the urge to go skiing at Tahoe.

So I have to make up my mind whether I should do something difficult because overcoming it builds character, or should I admit that where cold is concerned, I’ve built all the character I’m ever going to get?