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  1. #1
    Herder of Cats OutandBack's Avatar
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    Kenosha Pass, Colorado more than we expected

    So Mr Clockwork, food, and myself has a 3 day two night snowshoe hang planned for this weekend on Kenosha Pass, 10300ft.

    We planned to hike in ~2 miles, setup a base camp, then day hike/explore from that camp.
    Since we were arriving at different times it was decided to sty the first night in the Kenosha Pass campground.

    Forecast temps were daytime Highs 35-43F and evening temps 24-16F, winds mild to breezy.

    I was first to arrive Friday @ 11AM so I pulked in a load of wood for the evening fire.



    Perfect snow for X country skis.


    Started setting up camp.



    The view from my hammock.



    Seemed a bit cold so I walked back to the car to check the temp. It was 5PM and the temp was 13F with gusty winds.



    Hard to see the snow blowing in a photo but trust me it was whipping good.



    By 7:30pm the wind had died down and it was a clear cold night.



    Jefferson Colorado had a new temp forecast of -3F for that evening. OH MAN ! I did not come prepared for those temps.


    About 8pm Mr Clockwork showed up in camp. So we got his hammock and tarp setup and since it was so cold we went right to bed. Talking for about 30 minutes from the hammocks.

    In reviewing my picture from the day I noticed a blur in the center of the photos. I inspected the camera to find a piece of trash stuck to the inside of my lens. So I did not take anymore picts sorry guys...

    About 10PM the wind picked up. We had 15mph gusts blowing thru camp. Fine powdery snow was landing on everything. Burrrr.

    With a 20 degree full length UQ a 20 degree TQ, 2QZQ UQP and All the cloths I brought I was able to sleep pretty well.

    Since the wind was not letting up and it was 20 degrees colder than we were prepared for it was decided to abort the rest of this trip.

    Congrats to Mr Clockwork for surviving his first Colorado winter hang with a new PB of -3F (-22.4C) I'd hate to guess
    what the wind chill took us down to.
    Last edited by OutandBack; 01-28-2012 at 21:22.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Fronkey's Avatar
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    Geez! That's nuts. I don't blame you for bailing under those circumstances. Cold wind with snow is just nasty, especially in a hammock.

    Really cool photos. It's nice to see some snow.

    Fronkey

  3. #3
    Herder of Cats OutandBack's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fronkey View Post
    Geez! That's nuts. I don't blame you for bailing under those circumstances. Cold wind with snow is just nasty, especially in a hammock.

    Really cool photos. It's nice to see some snow.

    Fronkey
    Thanks fronkey.
    I did learn many lesson on this trip so I am still quite happy with going even though we cut it short.

    Lessons learned:
    I did bring widemouth nalgene water bottles.
    I installed an orange lanyard and burred one deep in a snow bank.
    Since I heard that would keep it from freezing. It did not.

    I took the other one with me in the hammock wrapped in a shirt and stuffed in a bag that I used as a pillow.
    I worried all night long it would start leaking but it did not and it did not freeze.
    So I was able to have "shug style" coffee from the hammock.

    The caldera cone worked great in the wind two cups of water boiled in 6 minutes.
    I did have issues with my bic lighter lighting the alky stove.
    They don't work in high winds. The sparks are not hot enough to get the alky burning.

    The caldera cone did have to be staked to the ground or it would have been blown into the next county by morning.

    All ditty bags had to be tethered to something like a Tarp line or hammock whoopies unless the content was heavy.

    Tarps that can not be staked to the ground are almost useless since the ground level wind blow just as much snow on you.

    Never set your gloves down. Tether or stow them in a good deep pocket.

    And my last tip is:
    When you pull your head under the TQ to get your nose warm.... never fart :-0

    Last edited by OutandBack; 01-29-2012 at 12:50.

  4. #4
    Senior Member MrClockWork's Avatar
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    It WAS pretty nasty. Prusiks were not holding on the CRL on my new tarp so I had an 11'x9.5' sail over my head for most of the night. I was really impressed with how warm I was with just a piece of a RidgeRest, a summer UQ with 2oz over stuff, an IX lined sock and 2 20* TQs. Granted I wasn't toasty but I was far from hitting the panic button.

    Thanks to O&B and Food for letting me borrow some pieces for the night. Glad to finally meet some CO hangers and see some beautiful countryside.

    O&B, next time we will definitely get to the overlook!

  5. #5
    Senior Member Fronkey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OutandBack View Post
    I did bring widemouth nalgene water bottles.
    I installed an orange lanyard and burred it deep in a snow bank.
    Since I heard that would keep it from freezing. It did not.


    And my last tip is:
    When you pull your head under the TQ to get your nose warm.... never fart :-0
    I saw that video too of that guy who put the water bottle in the snow. I figured it was Bs and glad to find out you confirmed it.

    That last part made me laugh out loud.

    Fronkey

  6. #6
    Member Meriadoc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrClockWork View Post
    It WAS pretty nasty. Prusiks were not holding on the CRL on my new tarp so I had an 11'x9.5' sail over my head for most of the night.
    Why didn't the prusik knots hold?
    "Not all those who wander are lost."
    Appalachian Trail Thru Hike Blog

  7. #7
    Senior Member Walking Bear's Avatar
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    Glad you made it with the gear you had. If the truck is going to be close I like to have some extra gear if needed.
    Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

  8. #8
    Senior Member MrClockWork's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meriadoc View Post
    Why didn't the prusik knots hold?
    I think it was just an issue of the lines I was using. My soft shackle prusiks were made of braided mason's line and my RL was made of the 1.9mm tech line from DIYGS. The tech line is really stiff and feels like it might have some sort of coating on it so I think a combination of that and just using two small diameter lines paired with the crazy wind it just gave up the ghost. I am going out tomorrow to switch out the tech line RL for an Amsteel RL (overkill I know but its all I have right now) to see if it fairs any better.

    My prusiks had two wraps on them, which I assumed would be enough. I might make 2 more SSPs from the mason's like that are longer, try and get 3 wraps out of them and give that a shot before I switch out the RLs... More info to come.

  9. #9
    Herder of Cats OutandBack's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Walking Bear View Post
    Glad you made it with the gear you had. If the truck is going to be close I like to have some extra gear if needed.
    Hi Walking Bear thanks for posting.
    I actually don't have any warmer hammock gear.

    I really love winter camping but not in those conditions.
    Give me a Colorado Bluebird Day with 4 foot of snow on the ground, no wind and I'm in heaven.

    O&B

    MrClockwork,
    I did want to comment on how much I liked your tarp.
    You now know your seams and tie outs are going to hold thru anything. Well done.
    Last edited by OutandBack; 01-29-2012 at 11:14.

  10. #10
    Senior Member MrClockWork's Avatar
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    Thanks O&B. I am going to get to the park tomorrow to figure out the RL and get some pics to post up. Hopefully the wind coorperates so I can get a nice drum-tight pitch.

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