November 1st, Snow, and testing equipment.

Blizzards in October.



View from my office

 Who would have thought that one week in October it would be in the 60's and the next week we would be in the middle of a blizzard.  Well that is exactly what happened here in the mountains.  2-3 feet at snow at elevation, power outages, wind and a lot of snow.  The silver lining is I did not lose power and I got to test out my OR puffy down jacket and other cold weather clothing in a "controlled" environment.




So the down OR puffy jacket, fleeces, capilene base layers, and assorted clothing came out of storage for a workout.  It was great being able to try different weight base layers, mid layers and outer wind/rain layers over the last couple of days. So some of the lessons learned were:



Hanging out in my OR
down puffy.

 1.  The Capilene 1 pants are definitely warm enough for most hiking applications unless it gets extremely cold.

2. The Capilene 3 top is extremely warm and will be a good camp shirt for early spring in the mountains.

3.  I need a fleece hoodie similar to the Patagonia R1.  My neck did get a bit cold when not wearing my puffy jacket with the hood.  I think a fleece hoodie with a buff used as a neck gaiter will probably work.  Couple these with a good wool/fleece cap and I may be able to forgo a balaclava.  I guess I will have to wait for colder weather to test this hypothesis.

4.  I need some overmitts to cut the wind from getting through my wool glove liners as well as helping to keep my liners dry.

5.  I may invest in some longer gaiters for late winter/early spring hiking.  Postholing with short gaiters = wet socks and wet calves.

6.  Dri ducks are not the answer for lightweight wind/snow pants!

7.  The OR Helium II rain shell is so lightweight and works great as a wind shell.  I am very happy with it!

I had wanted to put up the Lightheart tent as well as the tarp to see how they performed under a snow load.  I guess I am glad that I did not get them set up before the wind and snow came due to the amount of snow that we actually ended up with.  I can only wonder how they would have done.  I will just have to wait till we get a normal snow later this winter to test them.

So, thanks to the blizzard, I am more confident in my winter hiking clothing ability to keep me warm in most situations.  I am still thinking about a canister stove to replace my alcohol stove for winter hiking as alcohol will not function well below 30 degrees for me.  A  lightweight ( <under 3 ounces) wood burning cooking stove is under consideration as well. I am also on the hunt for a pair of lightly used snowshoes for hiking this winter.  I have the feeling it will be a snowy winter.

The Western Mountain Sleeping Bag is Awesome!



Western Mountaineering
Versalite down bag.
I look like a caterpillar!

 So, as you guys know from a previous post, the Western Mountaineering Versalite sleeping bag arrived.  What an awesome bag it is.  Light, extremely warm and roomy enough for us people that move around in a sleeping bag.  I can't wait till the temperatures get a bit colder to really test it out.  Western Mountaineering thank you for making an American made bag that is just awesome.

So all in all thank you Blizzardcane Sandy!  You have helped me shake down my cold weather equipment and I love your for that.  However, Please do not come back this way.

To all those SOBO Appalachian Trail hikers that are still on the trail (Short Legs in paticular), I know Sandy has kicked your tail.  Stay warm, dry, and safe if you are on the trail during this snow event. Oh and remember, if you are hiking on, watch out for new deadfalls and make sure to check above your camping site for dead limbs.  They will be coming down. I can't wait to read some of your journals and how you coped with the storm.

Trying to keep the compass pointed North for 2013.