KY > Red River Gorge>March 12 to 15 > Funky Pig Hang

[Ridge_Dog]

I will have to see what work schedules for me but I have it on the schedule.

[CorrosiveCookie]

I just checked weather underground for Slade. Sat 14th 34F high with 50% chance snow less than 1 inch lows that night around 6F WINDS 15-25mph. Looks like you guys will be testing the bottom end of the gear this weekend! I hope there is no ice on Indian Stairway! That is sketchy going up with a pack on when its dry! You folks be careful!

i think you have date wrong this trip is in March not Feb.

[CorrosiveCookie]

Hey guys,

This hang is going to be a bit different we are going to put in some miles in 15 to 20. We will need place a few vehicles at start(Sheltowee Suspension Bridge), end point (Osbourne trailhead or ). Just like last time Shell hammocks should be coming out, he may have some extra stuff laying around.


Schedule:
Thursday:
Meet at Shell station 4:30pm and head to Tar Ridge for a quick camp spot.

Friday:
Meet at Shell station around 10:30am.
We will park at Sheltowee Suspension Trailhead and Osbourne Trailhead then head up to Cloud Splitter around to Indian staircase.
There will be plenty of time to take in the multiple sights and find a good site to the right of the staircase for camp.
The trees up on the staircase will provide plenty of places for hangers to setup.
Before ascending up the stairs to cloud splitter we should be have a couple of places to filter water.

Saturday:

After breakfast we make our way down to Sheltowee Trace(100) to Lost Branch Trail(239) to Osbourne Bend(240) east trail.
Find a nice spot for lunch and then continue to the Osbourne Bend East Trailhead(240).
If we make good time we will exit mid afternoon and head to Auxier Ridge Trail(204) for a quick camp spot.

Note: If the group decides to camp on Osbourne than a few of us will need to hike to trailhead pick up dinner from the cars and head back to camp to roast the bacon wrapped pork loins and corn.

Sunday:

We will continue on the Auxier Loop to check out Double Arch and then back to the parking lot to wrap up the trip at Miguels, opens on the 7th.

funkyPig.jpg

[scoffman]

Last time I was on the Osborne Bend and Lost Branch we started out from where you will be finishing up your hike. It was a nice steady up hill trek, so I guess I should say enjoy the descent.

The only thing I don't like about the Osborne Bend are the huge mud holes left behind by the horse traffic. The Osborne Bend actually borders someones private property so pay attention to those little brown trail border signs. There's a really nice camp/picnic area that should be on your left side of the trail, just shortly after the Lost Branch/Osborne Bend exchange. Have fun and I hope you can keep your boots free of the mud.

[scoffman]

Not sure how it double posted so deleting the text from the second post

[CorrosiveCookie]

Last time I was on the Osborne Bend and Lost Branch we started out from where you will be finishing up your hike. It was a nice steady up hill trek, so I guess I should say enjoy the descent.

The only thing I don't like about the Osborne Bend are the huge mud holes left behind by the horse traffic. The Osborne Bend actually borders someones private property so pay attention to those little brown trail border signs. There's a really nice camp/picnic area that should be on your left side of the trail, just shortly after the Lost Branch/Osborne Bend exchange. Have fun and I hope you can keep your boots free of the mud.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Sodapop]

Thanks for the heads up.

Hey C.C. How was the valentines outing? Don't know how y'all withstood those temps and wind. I was freezing 2/14 just walking a downtown Louisville street that night!

[CorrosiveCookie]

It went well I was warm and was hard to leave the hammock Saturday morning. Unfortunately I took a new hanger out for the first time even with plenty of insulation, he had trouble keeping his body warm. So we headed back early on Saturday afternoon. I am proud of him he survived and enjoyed the trip beside the cold so he will come back out when it warmer. I am half polar bear and usually wear one to two layers less than most people. Normally just wear a hoodie to stay acclimated during colder months, kind of what Cody Lundin does, makes your body produce the heat needed to survive rather than an insulation layer. I still haven't had to use everything in my pack yet. Down jacket and merino wool base layer have yet to be used this year.

[J3bags]

You are fortunate CC for I chill at the slightest breeze…especially the hands n feet. Fortunately a toasty fire cures this.

[CorrosiveCookie]

You are fortunate CC for I chill at the slightest breeze…especially the hands n feet. Fortunately a toasty fire cures this.

First off Jackie3bags you need to eat some pancakes with extra helping of biscuits and gravy on the side. Cause you could hulla hoop through a cheerio, fat is great insulation. Bears, whales, fish use fat to keep them warm in lower temps. Pack on some extra poundage just for the winter. A trapper during the season will burn around 5 to 6 thousand calories a day just from the environment because they are outside 2/3 of the day. Your basically doing the samething while backpacking in the winter.

I used to work outside year round, before that in the military with month long combat training your body adapts in all temps, when all else fails you just learn to embrace the suck factor. It is all temporary a week a day in the scheme of things it is but a speck of time out of your total life. Main thing is to make sure your spending time outside, if you are in a controlled environment that is 60 degrees warmer. Then you head out backpacking at 0 degrees your going to freeze and even get sick due to the shock on your body. But if you get outside and let your body adjust then you will be fine, your acclimated to your environment.

A trick I use, to not have to wear four layers of clothing to sleep in, is boil a liter of water and pour in a Nalgene or waterproof metal container. Then wrap it in a shirt or sock and place it in your hammock insulation to warm up everything 30 min prior to entry for the night . The water should stay warm till about 5 to 7 am depending on the temp, place it where you get any cold spots through the night. You can also use this trick while at camp if your having trouble keeping warm, slip it in your jacket, hold it if your hands if they are cold, and even put your feet on it if they are cold. Boil two if if need be.

Another method is instead of sitting around, cut firewood, body squats, do jumping jacks, pushups, the body movement will increase your body's core temp. Instead of car camping in the winter put in some miles and that activity will help your body temp stay higher while the environment temp decreases over the night. In the summer I usually don't use insulation because my body is burning up from walking all day.

Feeling a chill or a little numb is ok, what you need to watch for is a burning sensation, thats bad.