First Hang - Cold too...!

[bmike]

Got my first overnight hang in last night.
Temps got down to 35... I think colder by the look of the freezing water on the drainage ditch behind the house.

Set up in the dark. Stock HH Exped Asym. GossamerGear Thinlight 1/4" pad. Old ragged Kelty syntehtic 30? bag. Wearing my Sporthill XC ski pants, Ibex mid weight woolie, wool socks. I brought an extra fleece with me and a skull cap.

All in all a good night.

Tree huggers + biners + ring buckles to my stock susp rope worked great. Easy to set up, but lots of stretch in the HH system - hopefully this will work itself out. I bounced around alot getting situated. Took me quite awhile to figure out how to get in my bag and on top of the GG pad. Must have looked funny if anyone was watching - wrestling match going on in that thing. I got in and out 2-3 times throughout the night - 2 for nature calls, 1 to adjust some slipping. By the third time I figured out how to get comfy.

Managed to get my tarp relatively tight using some shock cord I made into tensioners. It flapped around a bit in the wind through the night - I'll have to work on this. (going to upgrade this with a DIY blackcat in the spring)

After reading about sliding into the exit, I ended up hanging my feet too high - but decided to live with it. I should have dropped it a few inches - I would have been more comfortable.

Was comfy with minimal gear to the 35*. Definitely frosty this morning where I was half on the narrow pad. (I thought I ordered the wide one... so I'll have to improve this a bit) Slept off and on from about 6-6:30 by rolling into a tight ball on my side to warm up. Worked well enough. Got up @ 7am and headed into the house for breakfast. Ended up needing the fleece and the hat after a nature call @ 2am. It was cold! Got snuggled back in and warmed up fine - was very comfortable!


I see where an UQ is a huge advantage - but glad to know I can go cold if I need to with limited gear and $$. Also see the advantage of the SS system or pockets under the hammock - would have made the pad (the GG is 'sticky' - so it stays put - not sure if that is good or bad) issue easier to deal with.

Tarp worked OK. No rain - but there was alot of open area. I thought about doing a storm pitch in the middle of the night to cut down on wind - but decided to get back inside. This would have kept me a bit warmer.


Going to do a S24O hike sometime this week up to Nebraska Notch. Planning on staying at the tenting sites or near the lodge in case I need to go to ground. (It's going to be colder up there...!) I'll take my thick thermarest pad which should add another 5-10* (if I can stay on it), add my Thermolite Reactor to my sleeping bag, and carry a ground cloth / space blanket I can rig for an undercover if needed. Confident I won't freeze...

[Iafte]

Grats on the hang.

I've been thinking of doing a cold weather hang with my boys soon. Nice thing is, they both have soccer on Saturdays so I can take them out on Saturday night into Sunday for a hang. Maybe this weekend if there is no raid forcasted.

[Cannibal]

Is that a highway you're stealthing next to? Looks like the guard rail is on the opposite side. Keep the headlights off of you that way, but wasn't it noisy? Either way, congrats on your first chilly hang.

[bmike]

Is that a highway you're stealthing next to? Looks like the guard rail is on the opposite side. Keep the headlights off of you that way, but wasn't it noisy? Either way, congrats on your first chilly hang.

not a highway, but a 2 lane road that runs right into town. only place i have a flat spot with decent trees, without heading down into the ravine.

noisy until about midnight... then picked up again about 6am.
not ideal, but only 10 seconds from the front door.

[txulrich]

not a highway, but a 2 lane road that runs right into town. only place i have a flat spot with decent trees, without heading down into the ravine.

noisy until about midnight... then picked up again about 6am.
not ideal, but only 10 seconds from the front door.

If you hang there again, or anywhere else for that matter, try moving off the crest to the leeward side. It will help block the wind and keep you warmer. The nice thing about a hammock is that you don't have to have a level spot!!!

If the leeward side happens to be away from the road, you get the added advantage of a natural noise barrier as well.

BTW, you're right about underquilts being better than trying to lay on a pad.

[bmike]

If you hang there again, or anywhere else for that matter, try moving off the crest to the leeward side. It will help block the wind and keep you warmer. The nice thing about a hammock is that you don't have to have a level spot!!!

If the leeward side happens to be away from the road, you get the added advantage of a natural noise barrier as well.

BTW, you're right about underquilts being better than trying to lay on a pad.

i'll get more creative with my hang spots - but this was the first time i set up to sleep (aside from rigging the gear in the living room).

i knew it was going to be windy - but i wanted the option of being able to stumble around in the dark and adjust things without tripping. the ravine in there is chock full of roots and water and i didn't feel like dealing. would have been warmer though!

[neo]

with a claytor jungle going below freezeing is so easy,24 in wide pad half inch thick cut down 60 in length is all you need,you cant tell you are on a pad except that you are warm.no 250 dollar under quilt needed neo

[Rapt]

Hey neo... Question for ya... In the summer is the double bottom on the claytor jungle enough to keep you warm underneath or do you still need some sort of thinner pad?

[Lorethian]

Gratz on the hang, I agree on the feet too high, it is a juggling act to get them to the right leve.

[bmike]

nother pic... wow, i am close to the road! just up and down that little gully.
was really loud this afternoon when i was taking it down. don't know how i slept!