Date: 2010-04-02
From: Neels Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 5 reportStart Location: Blood Mountain CabinsEnd Location: Blood Mountain CabinsDay Miles: 0Total Miles: 30.7 (plus the 8.8 Approach Trail)Distance to go: 2148.4Trip Report:Today is a zero day. I am doing back to back zeros mostly because of logistics. Years ago I planned to spend weekends both here and in Franklin, taking a zero, to help my body adapt to these new physical stresses, and because Neels and Franklin are both close enough for Debbie to drive to for a weekend visit. After next weekend I will be to far away for Debbie to drive to for a weekend. I am also justifying a double zero because I over did it the past three days. Fortunately, though, I woke up this morning disappointed that I was staying put. Last night I wasn't so sure that would be the case, because I was so sore and tired. By Sunday morning I will be raring to go.I thought I would start to talk a little bit about my experiences, equipment and the like.Both Tuesday and Wednesday I had bad night sweats probably my body's reaction to the sudden new physical stresses. Which brings me to my sleeping bag. I have a Marmot Helium 15 degree bag. It is down. The advantage of down is that it is lighter than synthetics for equivalent insulation. The disadvantage is that supposedly synthetics retain some insulating ability when wet and down does not. I am careful not to let the bag get wet from the outside. Normal night time persperation isn't a problem because the water vapor is forced by the heat of your body through the bag. But I was sweating so profusely it made the bag wet enough that I got cold. Which brings me to my layering system.First of all a saying among hikers is "cotton kills". Everything I wear is either nylon or wool. My base clothing consists of an underarmour t-shirt, underarmour boxer briefs with six inch long legs (very important to keep your thighs from chafing), and the lightest nylon pants REI sold. On my feet I wear Smart Wool hiking socks and silk sock liners--the combination helps prevent hot spots and blisters--so far so good. My options to increase the warmth of that base include the following:A woven nylon long sleave shirt made by Columbia. It breaths and doesn't provide much insulation--just enough to reduce the chill when I first start hiking in the morning--before the hiking heater kicks in.Next is a Golite wind shirt. Weighs less than an ounce as I recall. I put this on after making a hard climb and then reaching a ridge with a strong wind. It is amazing how cold that wind is when you are soaking wet. The Golight works wonders. I suppose that it is like putting on a plastic bag, but it is soft and comfortable and packs down smaller than a tennis ball in it's own little integrated stuff sack.Next is a pair of heavy weight wool long underwear made by Smart Wool. These are for emergencies (like when your sleeping bag gets wet in the middle of the night) and I will wear them in camp when it gets cold.My favorite piece of gear is the Nunatak down sweater and pants. Nunatak caters primarily to climbers. It is minimalist in the extreme. Everything is custom made and expensive. And requires a bit of a leap of faith. You call the fellow who makes them, discuss your needs, fabric choices, etc. Then you have to pay in full and it takes about two months to get it. But when I pop that sweater on I am instantly warm.More importantly the sweater and pants are effectively a back-up sleeping bag. When my bag got wet from my night sweats, I put on the wool long johns, then the Nunatak suit and I was toasty. I believe that combo would keep me comfortable into the mid 30s and would stave off hypothermia in any weather I expect to encounter. Debbie named the Nunatak "the bunny suit" when I got it a few years back--so even though it will be annoying, in the future I might call it by that name.Lastly I have a driducks rain suit. It is essentially a jacket and pants made out of the same paper as a Federal Express envelope. Fortunately I haven't gotten to try it yet. The weather so far has been Chamber of Commerce perfect. But the day will come.Tomorrow--the daily routine is already in place. So I will talk about that.