Date: 2014-12-10
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Miles today: 0.0

This past weekend, Treehugger and I set out for a test-the-cold-weather-gear hike in Shenandoah NP. The weather was cooperative, with 31 degrees at the start. Given that the last few days had been sustained cold rain, this was a major improvement, and at least it was sunny.We had mapped out a fairly modest loop of just under 14 miles total, with the Gravel Springs Hut conveniently located about halfway. I was planning to tent at the Hut, which goes to show you that plans are made for changing.The literal and scenic highlight of this hike was mt. marshall, at 3868 ft. Everything was covered in frozen rain. The wind had blown the rain on all branches into pretty patterns, making it look all winter-wonderland-y.As is its reputation in Shenandoah NP, the AT was fairly easy in this section and we arrived at the hut with lots of time to spare. So we checked out the privy, collected wood for a fire and chatted with 2 day hikers who had planned to hike Big Devil Stairs but missed the turn to the trail. One of the hikers' kids had thru-hiked last year.Even after all that, it was still very early, so we decided to go down the AT a little bit further and then come back before settling in. I think we added maybe a mile and half total. I also decided to just sleep in the shelter rather than set up my tent. Given the cold, I regretted that later. Lesson learned!my first attempt at making a fancy feast stove had resulted in dismal failure (stupid hole punch couldn't even make 1 decent hole), but fortunately Treehugger had a stove I could use. We took the opportunity to compare the alcohol stove she planned on using to the canister stove she had brought for me. The canister stove was a micro rocket, and we agreed it beat the alcohol stove hands down for convenience and speed. Needless to say, I am now seriously considering going with a canister stove.After dinner, Treehugger built an awesome fire and tended to it, while I tried to stay warm in my bag. As dusk was setting in, another thru-hiker showed up, in shorts! Brrrr. His name was NoFilter, and he was finishing up a section in VA before heading to his final stretch in Harpers Ferry to complete. Thru-hiking in December in VA looks to be a cold and lonely business to me, but NoFilter was unfazed by any of it. Ah, to be young...As I have mentioned before, my sleeping bag is old and I have no idea what it is rated for, so my main goal was to figure out if it would keep me comfortable in cold conditions. To start with, I wore sleep socks, long johns, a thin wool sleep shirt, my hiking fleece and hat + buff, but I decided fairly early on that I needed to add the down jacket. After that, I was quite comfortable, except for my feet. I added my hiking socks to the sleep socks, which helped, but even so my feet were freezing. It felt as if I was sticking them out of my bag barefoot into the cold air. They never warmed all night. I was awake for most of the night, yet somehow daylight came as a surprise. Obviously I slept more than I thought.I am now researching down footies. The hike back to the car was longer than we expected (no idea why we thought it would be shorter) and had a fair amount of blow downs to deal with, but nothing too serious. We got back to the parking lot just before noon, and according to my car the temperature was 28 degrees. I think it probably was in the low twenties during the night, though neither Treehugger nor I had a thermometer to be sure.Overall, this was a very useful hike! I am quite happy to have figured out that my cold weather sleep set-up was insufficient now, rather than knee-deep in Smoky mountain NP. Also, I got to see both an alcohol and a canister stove in action (in the cold, no less). And I realized that my NeoAir probably saved the day in terms of warmth and comfort. I am not sure when I'll be able to go out again, but not until after the holidays. I need to make my rain pants (I have had the supplies for this for months now) and I also want to make mittens. Gloves just don't cut it, especially when holding poles. I actually stowed my poles for most of day 2, so I could keep my hands warm by balling them into fists. I didn't miss the poles at all while hiking, though they do come in very handy when trying to cross streams on slippery rocks. (Treehugger kindly lent me one of her poles for each of the crossings). Aside from the sewing projects, I will try to find a solution to the cold feet problem and sleep in my tent in the yard to test it next. I will report back on how that goes!