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  1. #61

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    How detailed do you want?

    Sleeping pads:
    z-lite sol
    thermarest prolite plus short

    (dang it...just realized I forgot to layer them with the prolite on bottom and z-lite in the middle, something I want to try)

    Clothing:
    Patagonia baselayer pants (don’t know what style)
    thin fleece pullover (maybe 100 wt but seems thinner cuz it’s old)
    neck buff
    sparkly blue hand-knitted merino wool hat
    lightweight merino wool socks

  2. #62

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    Quote Originally Posted by zippyd8 View Post
    Plus if you prepared for the conditions you will be in, it is much more bearable
    I like variety for all hikes to stay more engaged and grateful.

    A big part is being grateful for conditions rather than getting negative, and then, working with them.

    For winter, consider slowing down, not so much because the conditions mean we physically must but to be more grateful for the lesser experienced scenic winter perspectives when backpacking or hiking. For me, I appreciate the crunching of snow underfoot, paying greater attention to breathing, finding and identifying animal tracks, winter plant identification, predicting winter weather through cloud studies/wind/barometric pressure, frozen waterfalls and rocky streams, the shortcuts provided when ice is safe enough to cross rather than going around water, the way ice and snow accumulates, the different animals and how animals behave differently, etc. I appreciate the greater solitude and perhaps an AT shelter all to myself or sharing it with a few other hardy winter souls.


    Change diet to more fats and more warmed foods. Consider carefully how you're approaching mornings as they can influence the entire day. I like to start days off differently depending on conditions and personal temperament. For morning winter eats I like to bring along different foods based on morning inclinations, - no cook Bobo's Oatmeal bar, ProBar, or Cashew Macro bar dipped in a high fat nut or seed butter with perhaps dry roasted caramel or chocolate covered coconut strips. add in the options to go warmed meal with oatmeal or millet or dehydrated quinoa as a base with flax seed oil or full fat powered coconut milk with nuts and seeds and their butters with dried fruits. Morning beverages I add in to be heated something I never do on warmer trips. These different early-mid morning food approaches parlay into how I further approach the morning's activities. Get up and go while eating or within an hr or two and then eat "cold" or heat a b'fast meal...it all works. All the b'fasts are made to also be consumed at any other time doing away with a rigid 3 squares a day approach.

    Prepping for a winter hike I re-habituate to cold and wind and walking in sleet and snow. I'll winter I'll mountain bike or peddle a gravel bike. Windows at home are opened. I sleep outside pre hike bivying if conditions allow. Tipi Walter sleeps outside even in winter which is one aspect of why he probably has a wider temp comfort zone. This is the physiological and psychological conditioning discussed in detail for thru hikers. Those same principles can be applied to winter outings.

    One problem for folks not going out in winter is they spend too much time inside enclosed tents or indoors pre hike hovering over a thermostat or under blankets on the bed or couch and scurry quickly to their vehicles in the cold mornings. No wonder not as a many that could enjoy winter aspects like winter backpacking and hiking choose not to.

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