Sun Dog Days. Lunar Corona Nights

The "men" amongst us were busy checking their gear and growing their beards. They were trying a little too hard to be rugged explorers. There was much discussion between them about the various states of their beards. "Are you past the itchy stage?" they kept asking each other. Bert winked at me and asked if I had read Scott's or Shackleton's books. "Have you looked at photographs of them after they've been camping for a few months? All clean shaven. Why? You'll find out!". He gave me a knowing nod. "Don't grow a beard. \it's not just cleanliness or discipline. Tell me why at the end of the winter". A few of us new fids followed his advice and kept clean shaven but the majority let their beards groww. "It'll keep the face warm in winter" was the justification. "After all you cannot be a rugged explorer without a rampant woolly beard!"