Cold & Bright Over-Night in the Piney Woods of Minnesota

[Shug]

Making all these How-To Hammock videos in my back forty was making me feel like a "Back-Yard Hack" so I took of Friday morn' for the Piney Woods of Minnesota. Just one night ...... projected to be 4º.
Snowshoed in a couple miles made camp ... kinda.
Went to film the Tarp Section of the videos so did a lot of that. Realized I was starving and made a small dinner, had a wee cigar and dinked around camp.

Got cold fast. Moon was on bright. Woods were lit like a Hollywood stage set. Coyotes howling. Owls hooty-hooing back and forth. The trees were popping, cracking and exploding all around. Not falling over ... just doing that winter ice pop thing. You gotta hear it!

Had my DIY hammock, Winter Yeti UQ, Black Mamba TQ, pad under feet. Wore on noggin ... balaclava, Black Rock hat, down hood. Light SW top, another light SW top and my 100 fleece Titanium top with Napoleon zip pocket. Long johns. Possum down socks and my new Hot Socks ..... synthetic and fleece.
Good to go. Went to sleep early ...7:30 ... drank a There-Flu night-Time as I have had the loogie. Had to get up and pee a couple of times. Excited as always.

***** IMPORTANT UQ INFO***** Was sleeping good and kinda got cold butt ... never had that with the Yeti ... seems in my haste to slumber I did not adjust my hammock up. I keep it down for sitting sometime and my UQ was just touching the snow. Got out ... peed ... why not? ... and fixed it. Was good for a while but butt was cool not really cold. Here is what I think .... I was close to the snow pack, more-so than usual and I thing that was it . Really just inches away from the snow. Also, I ate real early and by now it was 1:30AM-ish. Also I think my Winter Yeti is so over-stuffed that on the shock-cord and channel system ...it starts to droop. Yeah ... droop. So a gap maybe. I am going to add a couple of loops where my butt sits at the top of the channels and start hooking to my hammock ridgeline. That I am. I know the WY is warm. Shock-cord was tight tight. Maybe I need tight tight tight.

Had a weird dream that something pushed me upward from under my hammock and in the dream .. that I thought was real ... I heard tons of morning birds. I woke myself going "Arhhhhh" ... and realized it was just a dream. No birds confirmed it. Man, it felt real.
Got up and peed. I may need a check-up!
Back to restless slumber. Woke around 4AM with really cold feet. Again I think it was de-hydration and not eating enough. To much Tarp Play!!!

Thought the Hot Socks would do the trick. They get another chance though. Usually have the JRB down sleeves over my feet but was trying a different way. Next time I go back to the old way. Slipped my SW Expedition socks over the other two pair but to no avail. Once the feet are cold the only way I know for sure to warm them is get up ... make a hot drink and walk around. The rest of me did not want to do that at 4AM so my feet lost to the rest of my self.

Woke at 5AM and went ahead and put on my ThermaWrap pants and a down vest with short sleeves and my pullover top and crawled back in. It was 1º. Now I was ready for morning.
***** Slept with the balaclava pulled over my nose and mouth. First time I have done that.
NO FROST ON THE TQ! Yeah ... soggy balaclava ..... Ohhhh. Good deal though.
Awoke at 6:30AM and had a fine "breakfast from the hammock" and all was peachy. It was really cold. I slept with the tarp in "porch" mode as it was so beautiful inj the woods and I wanted to just be there in that beauty. Could have added to my slightly colder sleep than usual. I felt like I was living on the edge!!!
No breeze at night ... or I would have hunkered.

Shot some morning tarp stuff ....... packed and went.
MSR EVO Ascent snowshoes are super-dooper ....
My new Columbia zip boots were warm and comfy and light and warm.

All secure in sector seven,
Shug
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Breakfast from the Hammock Set
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MSR Whisperlite ... only way to go in snow!
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