Be interesting to hear their story....

[WillieCash]

The hot springs seems like a gamble to me though. At some point, you have to come out of that water and after a few seconds you're going to be pretty chilled. Use something to dry off quickly and you've just soaked whatever it was you used to dry off with and now you have to figure out a way to dry it back out in cold temps with high moisture. I could see using water containers and the hot springs as makeshift hot water bags, but I don't think I'd opt for submersion in that situation. Maybe I'm wrong since they are around to tell the tale.

I was watching one of those survivor shows that said if it is below freezing out the air will be arid.

I would guess (assuming the hot springs are pretty darn hot) if you bathed nude and air dried after, your core would still have some excess heat in it long before you finished getting reasonably dry.

[Cannibal]

I was watching one of those survivor shows that said if it is below freezing out the air will be arid.

I would guess (assuming the hot springs are pretty darn hot) if you bathed nude and air dried after, your core would still have some excess heat in it long before you finished getting reasonably dry.

That's kind of where I was coming from with my comment. Several times each winter, I find myself sitting in a nice bubbly and steamy hot tub at 9,300' (quite arid most of the time). As I'm enjoying the bliss, I often catch myself visually measuring the distance from the hot tub to the door of the condo. It's about 20'. When I get out of the tub, not only do I have to get something on my feet quick, but I also have to replace the cover on the hot tub. All said and done, it takes about 30 to 45 seconds to get in the door after I get out of the hot tub. When there is a stumble and it takes me a little longer, the chill sets in very quickly. So yes, there is a cushion before the cold as your skin is nice and hot. But, that cushion is short lived and if I don't find heat quickly, I get very cold very quick. It simply isn't a risk I would personally take in a survival situation unless it was my only option.

[gordonfreeman]

What about setting the hammock up overtop of the hot springs? Tarp that sucker and hold in the heat