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  1. #11
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Oct 2006
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    Winston-Salem, NC
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    Nice trip! I thinks that's a bit colder than I care to spend much time in
    But looks & sounds like you guys did well! Thanks for sharing.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  2. #12
    Senior Member lonetracker's Avatar
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    Oct 2009
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    another great hang.its not often you get to share freezeing your butts of with fellow hammock enthusiest but thats just what we did.we went into the woods trying to be negative,and we did it!!woohoo!!!
    we drove into the woods on an ice covered gravel road(i think it was gravel you could not ever see the road surface)leaveing the ice covered blacktop 15 to 20 miles behind us.parking was along the road at the end of another road that was gated off.there was 12 to 16 inches of snow awaiting us,luckily a lone snowmobiler had drove down that road a few days before and provided a solid trail of packed snow that made pulling our gear in the 3/4 mile to the site easier.we knew we arrived when we saw the warm up tent that four dog and firekeeper had set up the day before.the area we set up in was a state forest area there was no campsite,we just camped in the woods,miles from the nearest house.my kind of place.the woods was mostly open hardwood,maples,and ash with a few birch and young balsam mixed in.plenty of good hanging choices to be found.the snoweshoes that everyone had became important now as we all wandered through the woods looking for those perfect two trees.they were also handy being used to stomp down all the snow between and around the choosen trees.the snoweshoe trails all eventually joined together,as people wandered to each others spots to check out set ups,and created a neat path system that joined all the hammocks together.the paths hardened up after a short while and the snoweshoes became unnesesary around camp.it was like a small hammock city each hammock with its own driveway.
    a small part of the hammock city
    [IMG][/IMG]

    the parachute shelter that four dog and firekeeper set up.it was a parachute suspended with ropes and a long pole above the main fire area.it held in some heat,some smoke.and kept the snow we got fri off us.it was kind of neat when the fire was really going the chute would fill with heat and blossom right open.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    our fire under the chute.we were allways melting snow to make water.the big pot has the left over chili in it.and there is some bacon cooking on a stick there.a lot of effort was put forth by all hands collecting and cutting firewood to keep this fire going.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    four dog and macentyer in front of the super shelter that fourdog set up to demo for us.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    me in my hammock chair.this was sunday morning and still below zero.i had on about 6 layers of wool.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    heres my rig.a clark na.i pulled everything in in that tote.i used a -20 deg alps synthetic bag.for under insulation i stuffed the clark pockets full of spare cloths,like wool pants and sweaters.half the pockets were stuffed with pieces and parts of down vests and jackets i bought at goodwill and rendered down to useable sized pieces.i also had a fleece blanket that i put atop my sleeping bag under the zip up clark weather shield.i only used that on sat nite.i also pulled the sleeves inside my large wool coat then buttoned it around the foot end of the hammock.behind the clarks pockets i hang a large fleece waist pack filled with cloths,tp or anything else that will not fit in the pockets but might help keep me warm.(shows up better in next pick)i wore wool socks,thin poly long underwear,wool long undewear,wool pants,poly turtleneck,three wool sweaters,wool balacava,wool hat,large fleece balacava.was warm both nights.slept 8 or 9 hours and woke with a sweaty back both mornings.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    here is what it looked like after i got up sun.morn.notice the frost spot on the tarp.i slept with the tarp open on the coldest night and had the clarks liner unzipped so it would ly on my chest,leaving my head outside.everything around my mouth was covered in frost.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    second morning low temp.i had -6.4 on fri.night.my thermo seemed to read a little higher then others did.we figured it was because my hammock was set up the furthest south.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    me all packed up and strapped into my rick-tote.heading out.my snowshoes and fleece blanket are slung over my back and my big coat is atop the tote.pots and pans hang nicely from the handles.
    [IMG][/IMG]
    packing up around the warm up tent
    [IMG][/IMG]

    this hang was excellent as per normal.i enjoyed meeting some more of my hf family and was happy to be reacquainted with some i met on other hangs.i got to see lots of neat gear/cloths and am now filled with a little gear envy.
    special thanks to fourdog and firekeeper for all their hard work,setting up and teaching.they rarely stood still the entire weekend as they made sure things got done and all was in readyness for everyone.
    hope to see you all again.
    bill

    found this track on the drive out when i stopped to look at some wolf tracks.a small bird maybe blackbird sized.
    [IMG][/IMG]
    diyin to hang

  3. #13
    Senior Member BlazeAway's Avatar
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    May 2010
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    Best trip report I have seen thus far. Love seeing all the setups. Super.
    Thanks a mill.

  4. #14
    Senior Member
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    Looks like it was a wonderful trip everyone! Nice report!

  5. #15
    Senior Member
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    Dec 2007
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    Mountainside, NJ
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    Excellent trip and trip report! Thanks for sharing.

    Fourdog, Crash and I discussed your exact "super shelter" hammock shelter concept on a cold Pennsylvania night in December. Okay... it was balmy by your standards, but it was chilly to us (mid-twenties). I was really happy to see it in actuality. And thanks for explaining it. And thanks to Pizza for taking and posting the video.

  6. #16
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Great trip report, great adventure! Man I bet that was fun!

    Quote Originally Posted by pizza View Post
    3. Frost is unavoidable. You cannot eliminate it but as fourdog says...you have to learn to manage it. If you get a lot of frost on your quilts after the first night and can't dry it out properly your down insulation will not work as well for you on night two.
    Did any one experiment with vapor barriers? Wisenber has had some impressive results with VBs lately.

    4. As much as I like the two quilt concept for three season (underquilt/top quilt combo I came away impressed by the peapod style quilt system after seeing a few rigs set-up that way. Not to say that the traditional underquilt/top quilt combo system doesn't work, it obviously can and does however from what I saw the full wraparound style quilt is whole lot more foolproof and much less hassle to keep you consistently warm than than having to squirm around doing the tuck. A zip up mummy bag would work too but unless it has a top zip it still has more fiddle factor than a full wraparound quilt. I'd like to see some of the other quilt manufacturers come out with wider quilts that allow for a complete wraparound enclosure with lots of loft and maybe with a zipper on top .........
    Thank you for confirming ( at severe temps) my long held theory! As long as the pod is warm enough OR it is big enough to close around any added insulation you might need, it just seems the easiest- or at least most draft free- approach to me. But, I have used the other approaches with great success also( though my extremes with either approach are only ~10F).

  7. #17
    Senior Member canoeski's Avatar
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    Nov 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyBob58 View Post

    Did any one experiment with vapor barriers? Wisenber has had some impressive results with VBs lately.


    T
    I tried. Believe me, I tried.
    I'm a believer in VBL's and they have worked well for me in cold-weather ground mode. I modified a urethane coated nylon VB liner sack with arms to increase mobility and decrease claustrophobia.

    The first night night was 8°, and the second -10. Without the VBL I had a lot of frost in the outside of my overquilt. I used a Mylar blanket on top of the UQ, so no problem there. I suspected that some if not all the frost was do to the fact that I had the bug screen on my WB Blackbird zipped shut.

    The third night was predicted to be colder, and I thought it might be a good time to compare with the VBL in place. It did get to -14°F. Getting into a sack in a hammock is always a challenge. I knew from experience that I needed to get into the VBL from a standing position, pull it up and secure it, then sit in the hammock and swing the legs in. So far, so good. Then the Houdini act started and with a lot of grunting I could not get my legs into the footbox of my JRB High Sierra Sniveler. I could have undone the footbox, but it works so well, I didn't want to risk cold feet. There was no way I could get my feet in. You'd think it would be simple, but in the cold with all the layers everything is an effort. After 10 min I scrubed the plan, and went back to standard mode.

    I left the bug net zipped back and had minimal frost the next morning despite colder temps. It was mostly from exhalation vapor.



    I like the JRB High Sierra Sniveler a lot because it is extra wide and can be tucked in around both sides. Sooo cozy!

    Here is my rig:



    Here are all my pics from the trip:

    http://picasaweb.google.com/canoeski...LvJgtCTgvbBOA#

    (can anybody but me see them? 'cause I'm getting zero views on the counter)
    Not all who wander are lost.

  8. #18
    Senior Member SmokeHouse's Avatar
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    looks like ya'll had a blast,,, nice pic's and video

  9. #19
    Senior Member KerMegan's Avatar
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    Irving, TX
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    I stand (shivering) in awe..!

    hope I can learn from your experience without having to get that far north my self..KM

  10. #20
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by canoeski View Post
    I tried. Believe me, I tried.
    I'm a believer in VBL's and they have worked well for me in cold-weather ground mode....I used a Mylar blanket on top of the UQ, so no problem there....... I modified a urethane coated nylon VB liner sack with arms to increase mobility and decrease claustrophobia........... pull it up and secure it, then sit in the hammock and swing the legs in. So far, so good. Then the Houdini act started and with a lot of grunting............ After 10 min I scrubed the plan, and went back to standard mode...I left the bug net zipped back and had minimal frost the next morning despite colder temps. It was mostly from exhalation vapor......................
    For me, a sack of any kind, whether VB or fleece bag liner, inside another bag/quilt, always sounds very claustrophobic. This coming from a guy who closes Pea Pods down to a small vent- or rarely even closing it all the way- with no comfort problems! I think I would have abandoned the VB also.

    I have always wanted to try the Warmlite VB clothing with "fuzzy stuff" liner. A shirt with full sleeves, for example.
    Wisenber has been experimenting with the tops with what seems to me like really good results. I may have to finally break down and try them.

    Sounds like your Mylar under blanket worked as planned, functioning as a VB. Sounds like you didn't have much trouble with the top condensation if you left the zip open. But there was probably some that would have started showing an effect after a few more days. What I wonder is was there any condensation inside the bag, even if not enough to effect loft so far?
    Last edited by BillyBob58; 01-11-2011 at 17:25.

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