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Pennsylvania Rose
02-05-2007, 10:32
As much as I wish I was hiking, I'm glad today's not the day. Temp here in Central KY is 1, with windchills between -10 and -20. Waaaay too cold for us in the south - school was even cancelled today, so I don't have to go to work!!!! Wonder how the early hikers are coping.

Chaco Taco
02-05-2007, 11:49
As much as I wish I was hiking, I'm glad today's not the day. Temp here in Central KY is 1, with windchills between -10 and -20. Waaaay too cold for us in the south - school was even cancelled today, so I don't have to go to work!!!! Wonder how the early hikers are coping.

Im def not jealous of them this week. Some of the coldest air to hit the south this decade

rhjanes
02-05-2007, 11:50
I looked at Mt Wash this AM. 60 MPH winds and gust to 100. Windchill was -70

rafe
02-05-2007, 12:32
It is pretty much the season for "peak cold" in New England. By the end of February some warming should be noticeable. We've even got snow on the ground (about 2" or so) in the Boston 'burbs. Whoopee!

moxie
02-05-2007, 12:47
It is just 2 degrees above totally miserable in Maine today. I have two wood fires burming and the house is still cold. The wind is out of the north and just screaming and snow is blowing across all the roads. Today's high may reach 5 degrees in Augusta but it is 10 degrees colder in the woods. Oh well, if we didn't have days like this we wouldn't appreciate the nice days. Skiing was excellent over the weekend on fresh powder, the lakes are now frozen enough to drive on them, weatherbug just fashed on my PC with a dangerous wind chill warning. The groundhog didn't seee his shadow but any chance of an early spring is just a distant dream. I'm going back to bed until April.:sun

Blissful
02-05-2007, 13:13
Yeah when they said this could go on for a few weeks here in VA, it made me nervous as my start is March 1st. I now plan to get a silk liner for my bag and maybe some warmers, just in case. The liner will help my bag go down to the single digits (it's a 15 degree bag).

Michele
02-05-2007, 13:18
Yup..same story here in Michigan. Leaving for work this morning, the temp was -4 with windchill at -25. Our weatherman called it "stupid cold," and I couldn't agree more. Just brutal. If this keeps up, I'll have to get a battery warmer!

Chaco Taco
02-05-2007, 13:19
Yeah when they said this could go on for a few weeks here in VA, it made me nervous as my start is March 1st. I now plan to get a silk liner for my bag and maybe some warmers, just in case. The liner will help my bag go down to the single digits (it's a 15 degree bag).

Yea, I am also a little nervous about my March 9 start in the Smokies.

madstang
02-05-2007, 13:25
My son left Springer Saturday noonish. Cold, clear, frozen. I posted some pix - they can bee seen on the GA views. The trail is pretty much flowing ice above 3000'. He reported in yesterday from Suches, one of his trail crew already dropped out with some back pain. the other two are headed North. I think the exact quote was; "It's colder than I imagined it would be. I imagined it would be very cold."

Halfstep
02-05-2007, 13:30
Hello Everybody,

I have been lurking around for a couple of months getting a lot of information from searches. Awesome site...I have bike camped, car camped, and hiked for years. Just never put them together by carrying my gear on my back. Figured this would be an good time to come out of the wood work...did my first overnighter this weekend, low temp hitting 12. Don't know what the wind chill was...not sure I want to. Did a loop around Apple Orchard falls in southwest Va. Camped at the Cornellious Creek shelter. My tent looked like one big ice crystal inside Sunday morning but pretty much stayed comfortable. Would I have been better off to stay in the shelter to avoid all the condensation problems (my bag was pretty much frozen too around my face from my breath I suppose, ended up burying my head completely inside my bag to take care of that problem) or is a tent warmer in the long run?
Bottom line, I had a great first experience, cold or not, and feel like backpacking is a natural evolution for me. I look forward to MANY more trips. I live within 10 miles of the AT...closest access point being Catawba Mountain. If I can be of help to anyone concerning this area please ask...

HalfStep

Gray Blazer
02-05-2007, 13:37
Halfstep- Welcome :welcome to White Blaze. I know what ya'll mean by cold temps. Our high in north FL is only getting in the 60's. I know you feel sorry for us.:rolleyes:

Ron "So Big" B
02-05-2007, 13:39
:welcome

Welcome Halfstep. I am rather new to the site as well.

DavidNH
02-05-2007, 13:40
As much as I wish I was hiking, I'm glad today's not the day. Temp here in Central KY is 1, with windchills between -10 and -20. Waaaay too cold for us in the south - school was even cancelled today, so I don't have to go to work!!!! Wonder how the early hikers are coping.


yeah it is cold out.. there is always at least a shart cold snap or two every year. Up here in New New Hampshire the wind is howling and it can't be much over zero. NO WAY would i go hiking on a day like this!

Pennsylvania Rose..I'm surprised they cancelled school down in KY. Don't they have insulated and heated buildings?

DavidNH

woodsy
02-05-2007, 13:47
:welcome halfstep, thanks for sharing your trip. :welcome to other new WBers too

madstang
02-05-2007, 13:51
Halfstep -

the tent is warmer. you have to consider ventilation to get rid of the condensation or you'll have the ice problem you were describing, or, in warmer weather, just plain water on the inside of your tent. If you have a shelter to yourself, you can set up a bivy inside teh shelter. A bivy isn't muc bigger than just a sleeping bag, but you'd have both then. A shelter to block the wind and a tent to block the critters (mice are a problem in some shelters). HTH - 'Stang

madstang
02-05-2007, 13:55
The Bear Bait Boys have just reported in from mountain crossings (walasi-yi) I was impressed with the thirty miles since Saturday afternoon. They report that it is so cold in the N.GA. mountains that it is scary when nature calls. A fear of things freezing off. They were glad to see indoor facilities.
Such a report makes me glad I'm not female.

Pennsylvania Rose
02-05-2007, 13:56
Pennsylvania Rose..I'm surprised they cancelled school down in KY. Don't they have insulated and heated buildings?

DavidNH
Well - the boilers at the two schools behind my house gave up the ghost last night. The main problem, though, is kids standing outside waiting for the school bus. Generally, they have to walk at least a block or two, up to 1/2 mile in rural areas, then stand and wait during the 15-20 minute window that busses have. Many folks around here just don't prepare for this kind of cold when they're buying school clothes. As a matter of fact, my local Wal-Mart has already sent their snow pants, boots, long underwear and warmest coats to stores in more northern climes, and are now stocking shorts and bathing suits. So even if you went out this weekend to prepare for this bitter week, you'd be hard pressed to find what you need.

Anybody know if hikers are heading into towns, or are they toughing it out?

madstang
02-05-2007, 14:03
My hikers are staying on the trail. Today, in N.GA., they walked from the Gooch MT shelter to Walasi-Yi by lunch. They plan to stay in the next shelter north. Some talk about leaving clothes out to dry, then checking them after they became stiff intead of dry.....

hammock engineer
02-05-2007, 14:20
The cold snap is a good thing. I'm planning on testing my setup tonight.

Anyone with me?

ASUGrad
02-05-2007, 14:57
Let me think, Hammock. No.

rhjanes
02-05-2007, 15:16
Our cold snap ends today. Up to 56 at noon!!!

rafe
02-05-2007, 15:27
My hikers are staying on the trail. Today, in N.GA., they walked from the Gooch MT shelter to Walasi-Yi by lunch. They plan to stay in the next shelter north. Some talk about leaving clothes out to dry, then checking them after they became stiff intead of dry.....

Thanksgiving evening, 1989, a few of us stayed in one of the Tuckermans Ravine shelters. It was a cold clear night but not windy. We had a pleasant walk up "the highway" from Pinkham in the dark. I was quite comfortable, not really conscious of the cold. When we got to the caretaker's hut he said, 'Y'all be careful, it's going down to -10 degrees tonight." Anyway, on settling into the shelter I took off a layer or two before settling into my down bag. I remember reaching for my tee shirt, about five minutes later... and it was stiff as a board.

madstang
02-05-2007, 15:30
One of the guys is in a Henessy (spell check?). I haven't actually spoken to him though; I think he is staying in the shelters wihle they are relatively empty. The weather has been so clear, and the moon so bright here teh last several nights that a hammock with a good pad/bag/inner-bag would be nice with the rain fly adjusted for viewing...cold...maybe a large thick garbage bag too. maybe an electric blanket

Lyle
02-05-2007, 16:27
Hello Everybody,
Camped at the Cornellious Creek shelter. My tent looked like one big ice crystal inside Sunday morning but pretty much stayed comfortable. Would I have been better off to stay in the shelter to avoid all the condensation problems (my bag was pretty much frozen too around my face from my breath I suppose, ended up burying my head completely inside my bag to take care of that problem) or is a tent warmer in the long run?


HalfStep

Generally speaking, the tent will be warmer than the open/larger shelter. Not a great idea to put your head completely into the bag, then all of the moisture you exhale ends up in your insulation and on the inside of the bag. The frost/ice on the outside of the bag each morning can often be brushed off while still frozen, prior to stuffing. For this really cold weather, I suggest you get a balaclava if you haven't got one already and sleep in that, with the sleeping bag hood snugged up to, but not over your nose and mouth.

Also try to brush/shake as much of the frost off and out of your tent prior to packing.

Welcome to backpacking - what a choice of first trips!
Lyle

FanaticFringer
02-05-2007, 16:57
Let me think, Hammock. No.

Let me think, Hammock. Yes.
I was warm and feeling fine camping out in my hammock last weekend.

FanaticFringer
02-05-2007, 16:59
Let me think, Hammock. No.

Let me think, Hammock. Yes.
I was warm and feeling fine camping out in my hammock last weekend.
Low temp was 12F. I would like to see what she could do at negative temps.:D

moxie
02-05-2007, 19:05
A couple of years ago i was up checking my section, Piazza Rock to Eddy Pond on Saddleback in Maine in early February. It was well below zero that afternoon and a major snow storm was expected to hit during the evening. I was amazed to find 14 people from 2 different groups camping at Piazza Rock shelter that night. One was a griup of women from Bowdoin College and the other was from a outward bound group. On my way back to my car I met a father and son who had camped on the summit of Saddleback the night before. In 2000 Mr. Clean, (the one from Andover, Me.) started a southbound thru from Baxter on New Years Day. He took his time because I met him in New York in August but he was still hiking. People are on the trail in Maine in this God awful weather but this old hiker is going to stay close to the home fires until things warm up a few degrees. We find almost no remains of frozen hikers when we open the trail in the spring so I guess they all make it.

Bravo
02-05-2007, 19:12
81 in Phoenix right now. I'm glad I decided not to start until April. All this extra desert blood running through these veins would freeeeeeze.:)

woodsy
02-05-2007, 19:25
Anyone out there in the NE or south of NE is in survival mode right now. below zero +wind chill = too cooooold for most gear. Happy to be stoking the woodstove:)

Jim Adams
02-05-2007, 21:14
Tarpinator and I were camping wednesday on the Laurel Highlands Trail---7* high, -2 over night. Good time! No problems!
geek

trlhiker
02-05-2007, 22:00
From Moxie:"In 2000 Mr. Clean, (the one from Andover, Me.) started a southbound thru from Baxter on New Years Day. He took his time because I met him in New York in August but he was still hiking."

Maine to New York in 6 months, now thats what I call taking your time.

Halfstep
02-05-2007, 22:33
Generally speaking, the tent will be warmer than the open/larger shelter. Not a great idea to put your head completely into the bag, then all of the moisture you exhale ends up in your insulation and on the inside of the bag. The frost/ice on the outside of the bag each morning can often be brushed off while still frozen, prior to stuffing. For this really cold weather, I suggest you get a balaclava if you haven't got one already and sleep in that, with the sleeping bag hood snugged up to, but not over your nose and mouth.

Also try to brush/shake as much of the frost off and out of your tent prior to packing.

Welcome to backpacking - what a choice of first trips!




Yep, I had a balaclava. I knew I probably shouldn't bury my head All the way down in my bag but sure seemed like the thing to do at the time.
The wildest thing about the trip was Sunday morning while breaking camp and fixing breakfast (sorta side bar,using a canister stove that was having a difficult time with the cold boiling water for coffee, decided to not fix my oatmeal and opted for some granola type Power Bars. They were hard as Rocks, had a couple of hand warmers that were strategically placed during the night in my sleeping bag still nice and warm. Put two of them in a glove Along with the power bars... When my coffee was Ready I had nice, chewy, warm bars!) while Eating we thought, it felt like the temps were going up significantly...... looked at the thermometer, a comfortable 19 degrees. The trail had Alot of ICE on it making for slow, Albeit, beautiful going.

It was indeed a first trip to remember.

HalfStep

Kerosene
02-05-2007, 22:50
-9F in Ann Arbor this morning on my way into work.

catskillshiker
02-05-2007, 23:20
I got to test out my gear in this cold snap as well. Found out my sleeping bag really stinks in cold weather. The night temps got down to -2 with some crazy wind. The problem I had was where I tented on the snow, it melted and froze my tent to the snow. Has anybody ele had this problem. I was using a footprint on my MSR hubba. Is there any way to avoid this while tenting on snow?
Kris

saimyoji
02-05-2007, 23:53
I love hiking in the winter. As the song goes: "Goin' where the climate suits my clothes...." :banana

Moxie00
02-06-2007, 10:08
From Moxie:"In 2000 Mr. Clean, (the one from Andover, Me.) started a southbound thru from Baxter on New Years Day. He took his time because I met him in New York in August but he was still hiking."

Maine to New York in 6 months, now thats what I call taking your time.
I guess he took his time, many days he did three miles, others zero. The ridgerunner at Stratton Pond rememberd him and said that was the best way to hike the trail. The day I met Mr. Clean he had spent the day gathering wonderful chantrell mushrooms, I had parkey and garlic powder, and we had a feast fit for a king that night. He stopped at every view, visited every intresting waterfall or other blue blaze of note. He could have cared less if his hike took two years, he was going to savor every foot of it. I later learned that sickness caused him to abandon his hike in Virginia that winter. I admire his style and only wish I had the time to hike the trail exactly the same way. If you don't have to be anywhere why not take your time and enjoy your adventure.

Cheesewhiz
02-06-2007, 10:18
It is 9 deg. without wind and I am now heading out to hike from Caldonia to Duncannon, here in PA

c.coyle
02-06-2007, 11:18
It is 9 deg. without wind and I am now heading out to hike from Caldonia to Duncannon, here in PA

That's a nice hike, especially this time of year. Just keep moving.

Joey
02-11-2007, 10:20
Stayed last weekend at Flint Mtn. Shelter, temp was 8 degrees with a beautiful snow covered trail and a full moon night. Hiked SB from I-26 across hwy 212. Loved every minute of it. The colder the better. IF you have the right equipment.