Cold Canadian Hammocking!

**Wentworth** · 12-04-2009, 16:22

Hi All,
just returned from a 2 week trip in Canada. It got down to -6C but I was toasty in my 30 degree peapod with yeti underquilt and JRB Stealth top quilt. So warm infact that I had to vent the peapod down to my waist!
The setup took up half my pack, but it was a comfort to know that no matter how cold it got, I would be fine.

The only problem was that towards the end of the trip, I stank so much that I couldn't bear to seal up the peapod, the smell was awful!

The trip was centered around primitive skills rather than hiking, so the camping took place in base camps. I also tested out a 10 by 10 winter tarp made up for me by our own forum member Hitchhiking, this also added a lot to the warmth. With the doors of the tarp closed, lying in the sealed peapod with both quilts, I had quite the little microclimate going on

**mbiraman** · 12-04-2009, 16:36

cold canadian hammocking -6c LOL. Next week its going down to -15 here in the kootenays ( southern BC ). Whereabouts where you in your primitive skills course?? Glad you had a good time.

**SuperTramp** · 12-04-2009, 23:16

Originally Posted by mbiraman

cold canadian hammocking -6c LOL. Next week its going down to -15 here in the kootenays ( southern BC ). .

well i say good for you for getting out there and giving it a go!a lot of Canadians are starting their semi-hibernation right about now.-6c cold? well it's only -2 where i am right now and it is cool if you are not used to it.i have yet to dig up my winter coat and gear as it has been said what a very warm November it has been.now about cold temps-where i live i am right inbetween Lake Erie and Huron but most of my outdoor adventures are where my wife comes from between Timmins and Chapleau where it is very cold in the winter.that said ,to me our -10 is equal to her -25 to our damp cold compared to her dry cold.the dampness in Southern Ontario just chills you right through where as up north i can roll around in the snow all day and just brush it off-all this to say that all temps are not the same regardless of the numbers and to me i'll take the cold north anyday over the warmer south-but -40 is just plain too cold and i don't care who you are!-can anyone relate with the north south cold?

**Ronnwell** · 12-04-2009, 16:49

Got any pics? Curious to see your set-up in action.

**Rug** · 12-04-2009, 17:05

I'm sure Supertramp & Turk will find the assumption that -6=cold to be funny too.

Heck us most of us Canadians can't even hack our way out of the Igloo until it warms up to -20!
Mbiraman: You must live in the high Rockies for it to get that cold in BC. (I am in the banana belt of Southern Ontario, it usually stays between +2 & -10 for Jan & Feb.
hehe jk, I am happy to hear that you had a good time. The survival course thing sounds cool.

**BillyBob58** · 12-04-2009, 17:45

Originally Posted by Rug

I'm sure Supertramp & Turk will find the assumption that -6=cold to be funny too.

Heck us most of us Canadians can't even hack our way out of the Igloo until it warms up to -20!
Mbiraman: You must live in the high Rockies for it to get that cold in BC. (I am in the banana belt of Southern Ontario, it usually stays between +2 & -10 for Jan & Feb.
hehe jk, I am happy to hear that you had a good time. The survival course thing sounds cool.

What is that ( -6C), low 20sF? Well, I guess that was fairly cold at least for the time of year, even in Canada and certainly cold compared to summer hanging. I wonder though if that qualifies as super cold in Australia? No idea! Sounds like you did well, but I'm not surprised with both a PeaPod and Yeti under you, plus a light top quilt. It's obvious you'll be able to go a lot colder with that setup. A lot colder.

Using some of the long johns and liner socks containing small amounts of silver, or Merino wool, has really made the terrible stink a thing of the past for me, on trips up to 1 week anyway. Plus, I have used some of that space age no rinse body wash and shampoo on a couple of trips, when I can afford to take along an extra oz or three. It works like magic, really great when the water is just to cold to hop in.

**mbiraman** · 12-04-2009, 18:07

Originally Posted by Rug

I'm sure Supertramp & Turk will find the assumption that -6=cold to be funny too.

Heck us most of us Canadians can't even hack our way out of the Igloo until it warms up to -20!
Mbiraman: You must live in the high Rockies for it to get that cold in BC. (I am in the banana belt of Southern Ontario, it usually stays between +2 & -10 for Jan & Feb.
hehe jk, I am happy to hear that you had a good time. The survival course thing sounds cool.

Actually i live in the Selkirks in the Nelson area, half way between Vancouver and Calgary. Generally our winters are about -7c to +5c and we usually get a cold spell for a week to ten days of -10 to -17. I guess thats coming next week. The coast and southern BC get moderate temps but northern BC and the East Kootenays ( right next to the rockies ) is a different story. Oz is pretty warm compared to Canada.

**BrianWillan** · 12-04-2009, 20:03

Originally Posted by Rug

I'm sure Supertramp & Turk will find the assumption that -6=cold to be funny too.

Heck us most of us Canadians can't even hack our way out of the Igloo until it warms up to -20!
Mbiraman: You must live in the high Rockies for it to get that cold in BC. (I am in the banana belt of Southern Ontario, it usually stays between +2 & -10 for Jan & Feb.
hehe jk, I am happy to hear that you had a good time. The survival course thing sounds cool.

This is coming from the guy who lives in the Southern most point of Canada. Windsor practically has a tropical climate. I am a little further east and North (Oshawa area) of you and the last couple of winters it has been colder than usual. Temperatures in the -20C range for long stretches. One has to admit that this November has been rather mild for the area.

As for the Aussie who left in the beginning of his summer at +40C, a swing to -6C in temperature is pretty extreme. But I have to admit that a peapod with a yeti and then a stealth top quilt would be a bit much for most. Probably could have gotten away with out the peapod or the Yeti. One or the other would have been sufficient. As the old saying goes, better to have it and not need it than the reverse.

But you are right, -6C is hardly calling it cold. Those below the 43rd parallel (North latitude) really don't know the meaning of cold. And even some of those above the 49th parallel (southern coastal areas of BC) don't know what cold is either. ;-) Bah at -6C most Canadian are just beginning to think of putting on a light jacket over their T-shirt. ;-)

Cheers

Brian

**BillyBob58** · 12-04-2009, 20:17

Originally Posted by BrianWillan

........ One has to admit that this November has been rather mild for the area...............

Brian

It has been crazy. My daughter called a day or two ago, from NH, to say it was 71*F. As we spoke, it was 41*F here, in MS, 34*Latitude! 31*F warmer at the same hour and same day in MS than in NH? That seems quite unusual!

At the other extreme, the trailhead at my old stomping grounds in the Wind River Mtns in WY had a high of 6 yesterday with a low of minus 17F. Kind of chilly, but any backpackers got a break today with a huge warmup to 22*F for the high. Makes me wonder what it was up in Canada where it really gets cold! Brrr!

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/get...n=m&banner=off

**Wentworth** · 12-04-2009, 18:57

I'll load some pics today.
Hey! -6 is cold! It was 40 degrees in Australia when I left! Freezing is about as low as it gets here.

The only downside of teh trip was that a mouse or something similar chewed my JRB quilt and peapod to take some down for its next presumably. I'll have to sew them back up. At least I'll recognise my quilts in a lineup...