Date: 2006-10-19
To: Prep #53--Shakedown #2--Who said I'd be cold?
Miles today: 0.0

Alright folks, I finally got my pics in from my first cold-weather shakedown hike. As you now know (because you scored a 100% on my hammock test) cold weather poses a unique challenge w/staying warm in a hammock due to convection. So it was time to see if all of my gear could work as a system and keep me comfortable.I hiked a wonderful 7 miles into the campsite and got all set up. I then celebrated the moments of my life with a cup of International Coffees French Vanilla coffee...yummy on a pretty cool day.The temps in the day were in the 50's (prime hypothermia weather so I got a lot of practice regulating my body temps). I went to bed at 9:15 p.m. and it was COLD. Clear skies, no wind, but as you can see in my photos, I was pretty close to the lake. My Warmth System:I first started w/just the underquilt (the green thing hanging under my hammock) An underquilt is just a high-quality down "quilt" made to attach to a hammock for underside insultation. I was wearing my mid-weight Patagonia thermals, long sleeve Marmot shirt, wool socks, buff as a neck gaitor and my wigwam skull cap. As soon as I crawled inside of my sleeping bag, my butt and lower body got pretty cold. After waiting about 25 min. to see if my body heat would fix it, I decided it wasn't going to. I then got out and put the big blue closed cell foam pad (from Wally World for $12.00!) inside my hammock, crawled back in, got all zipped up and immediately felt warm. I fell asleep and woke up at 2:30 a.m. SWEATING like a pig!! I had a crappy little thermometer, but I believe it was at least 30 degrees that night, maybe even cooler.So the verdict is that I was plenty warm, and had many more options to add warmth if needed. (layer more clothing, put boiling water into my canteens and put them in my sleeping bag w/me are other options) I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!And now.....we'll talk about feet.My Feet:When I was in Hot Springs, I picked up a pair of SuperFeet Insoles. A lot of people talk about them, so I thought I'd check them out. You have to break them in, so I wore my cool trail runners to work for a week (now people at work don't doubt that I can't match my own clothing/shoes).I used them on this hike, 7 miles on day 1, close to 5 on day 2 and my pack weighed 28 lbs. All I can say is that for the FIRST time in my life...my feet did NOT (did we catch that word people?) did NOT hurt AT ALL on day 1 and were just starting to get a little sore on day 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is an absolute first for me, and I'm also thrilled to death about this. I've officialy retired the cushy (compressable) insoles that came in my trail runners. I'll never hike w/out SuperFeet again.My Cooking:It's no secret to those who know me, that I am as natural in the kitchen as my cat Henry is body surfing in the Pacific ocean. "Something" just doesn't click in my brain when it comes to cooking. If only I'd taken a picture, but I actually managed to ruin...yes RUIN...instant oatmeal when I was making my breakfast the next morning! Let's just say when I read that package which said, "heat 1/2 cup of water and add contents of package," my brain translated that into, "well...you like your oatmeal a little more soupy, so you'd better add about 1 3/4 cup water instead." Yeah...um...it looked like runny grey puke w/chunks in it (from the apples). Luckily, I brought 2 packages, so I properly disposed of my first try and made more. Mucho bettero this time.Next Test:I'll be going out again in November, which should offer even colder temps, but this time I'll be hiking w/my 2 new friends, Toasty and Nicole! We are all so excited about this little excursion, and it will be so cool to have fellow AT-addicts w/me. Can't wait....can't wait....can't wait.......