Dr. Collins: Hypothermia in the summer? It can happen | Idaho Outdoors | Idaho Statesman

You would think there is no need to worry about getting too cold this time of year, but some recent adventures in the wilderness proved that incorrect.

While on a recent hike on the West Coast Trail in British Columbia, where the average daily temperature was a balmy 55 degrees, I helped a girl with hypothermia, and another hypothermic hiker had to be flown out.

Two weeks ago, while camping at 5,700 feet in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, my tent was covered with frost every morning.

While kayaking recently on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, many of the lightly dressed rafters were shivering in the sunshine. The water was cold and so were they.

Humans are tropical animals by design; no hair to speak of, a body temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and a fairly large surface area. We just aren't made for places like Idaho. But we're here, and the trick is to stay warm because hypothermia is easy to get any time of the year.