Adirondacks and Physics?

During our break, I found myself in the mountains again. Funny how they draw me in at every possible opportunity, including daydreaming about them when I can't be in the midst of their grandeur. This time, I was harshly reminded about some very basic principles of physics.

1. Energy conservation and the laws of thermodynamics: it's a cold time in the mountains right now. Temperatures at night dropped into the low teens. So what's the big deal? Well, energy flows from hot to cold, and can never go in reverse without effort expended. Seeing as I cannot expend effort easily while sleeping, it was difficult to keep up with the heat being lost from my body, through the sleeping bag, and out into that "infinite" pool called the world. Survival Tip: Hot water Nalgene bottles kept our feet happy. Boil water. Fill Nalgene with boiling water. Toss in bottom of sleeping bag. Take care not to place in direct contact with exposed skin.
2. "The Work Formula" - In introductory physics, we teach this one as Work = Distance*Force (of course, we are ignoring the "vector dot product" for simplicity...). For vertical movement, such as climbing a flight of stairs, this changes to Work = Height Climbed * Mass of Self * Gravity. Note to self: when climbing up to the top of a mountain, work is directly proportional to your mass and how far you want to go. The farther you want to go up, the more work you do. The more mass you carry, the more work you do. Why, then, did we decide to climb the 2nd tallest peak in New York state with our 45-50 pound packs? I do not know, but I'll probably do it again some day soon.
   
3. The earth spins on her axis once a day. This results in a decrease in sunlight as the earth rotates away from direct light from the sun. We typically call this phenomenon "dusk." Dusk is followed by darkness. Trails are hard to follow at night. Night is scary. The thought of hungry bears seems a lot scarier at night. Why did we not put this all together before it got dark and we were still on the trail? Good question!
   
4. Gravity always wins on earth! Especially when you don't screw the camelbak cap on all the way before putting it in your pack and gravity somehow manages to empty the two liters of water in the bottom of your backpack right where your sleeping bag is. See 1.
   
5. What goes up must come down. And getting down a mountain path littered with boulders and ice is not easy. And hurts your feet if you don't have good insoles in your brand spankin' new boots.
   
6. Friction between two objects is significantly decreased if one of the objects is ice. It is truly unfortunate when the other object is a 135 lb person.

Needless to say, it was a great weekend! Can't wait to go back!