View Full Version : 3 Nights out, first with hammock, in Northern Minnesota tomorrow
Happy day all,
Heading to Northern MN in the a.m. for three nights solo. Temps at night in low teens and single digits. Excited to test some hammock theorys. As I have read in this forum, winter hammock hanging has it's own particulars. I have my dyi hammock and cat tarp, BA insulated pad and GG thin pad. As well, I am eager to test the down underquilt in made. It has 4" loft with the intent of MN winter camping. I will use my REI sub kilo 0 degree bag as a top quilt. Thought about the WM 20o Alpinelight but with the weather changes and artic fronts out of the cold north, it is best to go safe. Feel secure in my clothing and body insulation as I backpack in winter often up here. Trying out the Marmot Thermawrap pant and jacket in hopes of adding them to my "first-string" camping line up! For fun I am testing out a J. Falk compact wood stove I built from his excellent instructions. Great guy. So far in my back yard it's performance suprised me as it burns man! As back-up I am also toting my SnowPeak Gigapower stove. Sleeping with the canister to keep it warmish works everytime. Lotsa new stuff on this trip... it certianly adds excitement. Going on the Superior Hiking Trail around the Finland, MN area. Love the Manitou river and terrific views of Lake Superior. My favorite though are the inland views of forest. Somehow it reminds me of NC mountians where I cut my backpacking teeth with scouts, friends and my Dad.
I will file a report on my return.
Hope everyone ate good today..... it is dehydrated from here on for me,
Shug
Be looking forward to your trip report with your new gear. Mule
slowhike
11-23-2007, 07:00
sounds like a great trip! and sounds like a good set up.
but i have felt cool laying on the BA insulated air core in the 40s. but maybe w/ the under quilt & GG pad that will still do ok.
looking forward to hearing about it when you get back. ...tim
johnnyquest
11-23-2007, 11:12
im testing my new spe setup tonight in the backyard in 38 degrees. i feel like a poser next to you!
beamarshall
11-23-2007, 19:16
Then again, even 38 degrees is pretty unusual for Texas this time of year, especially when it was 80 degrees a couple of days ago!
have fun, and keep us posted!
Betsy (from equally chilly DFW)
trailgear
11-26-2007, 18:41
Greetings, I'm Jim Falk inventor of the Compact Wood Stove at www.TrailGear.org. Here's a tip if you're going to use the stove in damp weather. Lay the lid from the top can on the ground. Place the assembled stove over the lid then start your fire. This not only will this minimize any ground scarring but also acts as a vapor barrier.
headchange4u
11-26-2007, 19:19
Greetings, I'm Jim Falk inventor of the Compact Wood Stove at www.TrailGear.org. Here's a tip if you're going to use the stove in damp weather. Lay the lid from the top can on the ground. Place the assembled stove over the lid then start your fire. This not only will this minimize any ground scarring but also acts as a vapor barrier.
Hey Jim,
Glad you made it to the forums. I just have to say that I just built one of your wood burning stoves (my first wood burner) and I love it. It's a killer design. Good tip with the lid.
FanaticFringer
11-26-2007, 19:21
Greetings, I'm Jim Falk inventor of the Compact Wood Stove at www.TrailGear.org. Here's a tip if you're going to use the stove in damp weather. Lay the lid from the top can on the ground. Place the assembled stove over the lid then start your fire. This not only will this minimize any ground scarring but also acts as a vapor barrier.
Welcome to the site trailgear.
www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1965&highlight=forum+rules
slowhike
11-26-2007, 21:12
welcome to HF Jim. great web site you have there. i've been checking out several of the videos.
i hope you can drop in from time to time.
thanks. ...tim
I return from the forest happy and feeling successful and fulfilled. My trip report will follow soonest. Quick note .... J. Falks compact wood stove was impressive and a ton of fun to use. Cooked most of my meals on it and it warmed me so while using it.
More to follow...... and some pix of my hammock set-up. Hammock sleeping is the best!
A smoky Shug
slowhike
11-26-2007, 23:04
glad you had such a good trip. looking forward to hearing more.
FreeTheWeasel
11-27-2007, 11:23
Shug,
I am very interested to hear how your trip went as well. It is getting cold here in MN as you have noticed. Down to 8 degrees F last night. How cold did it get up north on the trail? I'll be heading into the backyard to do some more testing as well. I am particularly interested to hear what combination of insulation, top and bottom, was sufficient to keep you warm into the single digits.
FreeTheWeasel
johnnyquest
11-27-2007, 13:13
poser here. i slept out friday night in the middle of bumf&@k, texas. the temp outside was 40 degrees at 10 pm. the temp inside the hh explorer was 45. i saw that 5 degree difference stay consistent thruout the night and following day. the coldest temp outside, just before dawn, was 35.
i hit the rack with my spe 4X4 and walmart pad under me, a kelty RECTANGULAR 15 degree down lightyear above me, and my home made sleeping outfit on my body. within an hour i was shedding a layer of clothes but by 1 a.m. i put them back on. i never got cold after that and slept great!!! i was amazed that my back never got cold,with nothing but the walmart blue under me.
Wow, ya get back from the forest and right into life..... so..... here is my report.
The full moon gave me light every night like a headlamp from Heaven which is a blessing as darkness falls in the woods of N. MN at around 4:30 pm. I left home around 6 am morn after Thanksgiving and drove 3 hours 45 minutes north to the trailhead off of Sonju Lake road in Finland MN. Hit the SHT at around 11:45. Took it pretty easy walking the first day to have time in camp to dink around with the hammock and tarp. Got to Sonju Lake camp, a favorite of mine, and commenced to hang. Took me three ties to get it right but the learning curve makes it fun. Cooked a dinner of Fancy Mac and hit the hammock around 8:30. Read bit and enjoyed the comfort. Not much wind and temps of 18/19o. Woke to wet the earth about 3 ish and had snow flurries. Nice man. Slept very well. Hammock, 0o down bag as quilt, BA insulated air mat and my DYI underquilt. Around 3 when I got up tp to wee, I was a bit chilly on top but not underneath. Surprised me. Slipped into my Mont-Bell Down half-sleeve jacket and was so good I did not awaken until 8:30 am. Never sleep like that in the woods. I like it! Also, no condensation in the hammock. I used my homebrew SPE with 6 wings ... upper two and bottom two with thin foam and I put socks and stuff sacks in the middle two. Goes in my smallish pack easier with only 4 foam pieces.Sonju lake was frozen but got water from creek at end of lake. Love that J. Falk woodstove (5 stars), used it every evening to boil dinner with joy. Also the warmth from fetching wood to stoke was fun and warming as well. As I was solo it was my buddy and pal. I ate breakfast, packed and headed to Horseshoe Ridge on the SHT and cut it close getting there before dark. Had a terrific night there as well. I wee bit colder so I added my Gossamer Gear thin foam pad under my SPE with BA pad and slept cozy. Again, no condensation on pads or me. I think it was adding the BA insulated mattress for in test in my yard with GG pad and Prolite Thermarest I got condensation. Maybe the colder weather, but you never know until you really get in the real woods how things are gonna work. Turned out goood. I must say that that thin GG pad worked like a champ. Using on the cold, frozen ground to cook and lay around and sit around... could not feel the cold through it .I'd sit for 20 minutes on it and smoke a cigar leaning on my pack and really felt no chill through my clothes. Excellent new piece of gear. 5 stars.
The hammock worked terrific and the tarp was steady. Not too much wind on Horseshoe but gusts would come but I got lucky and had set the tarp up broadside to the wind and was protected. Credit goes to the SPE as I feel it really keeps those sides warm. I will always use it. The underquilt was a huge warmth factor as well. It had to be as it is 22 oz and has a 4 inch loft or more. Glad I over did it. If your gonna do it, over do it!
I woke at 8 ish again, felt great. Ate breakfast without ever getting out of the hammock. Had my grits, hot sauce, poptarts, coffee (instant espresso),pork jerky and chocolate for me breakfast buffet. Had it all in an oder proof bag and the water in a pot with windscreen around it that I fill with leaves and cover with leaves and it did not freeze. I think I backpack just to wake refreshed, confident and consume breakfast. Heightened even more by swinging ever so gently in a hammock.
Packed and walked to Camp # 12 in George Crosby Manitou State Park, a backpack only park with awesome camping and is under maintained. I personally like that. There is an $11 fee but the SHT is free and I like to support the park . It is also some of the nicest forest IMHO. Quiet and woodsy. Yes my hanging amigos..... fun so far. Got to camp #12 set up, felt warmer out and no wind. But that changed around 1pm. I was nestled in reading and staring at my sloppy flat felled seam on my tarp and suddenly the wind came screaming in like a banshee right through the open ends of the tarp. Temps dropped to around 14o with the wind it was seriously c-c-cold. I had to get up around 2 am and I put on almost all my gear . I did put on all my upper body wear as I got cold on top but underneath was the UQ, SPE, GG pad I had put in again that night and BA pad. I am proud to say I did not get cold under the hammock. SUCCESS! That was my concern. I will make a hammock sock ala Just Jeff and also add end flaps to my dyi black cat tarp and I feel I can go colder. That wind though blowing over the top sucked the warmth right outta me body on top. I wanted to add the flaps on the tarp anyway and I like the ones on J. Anders site. Swedish bloke. A master builder. Any ways, I put my JRB down sleeves over my feet and that cured that. I never go out without those down sleeves as they are so versatile. A pillow, sleeves, foot warmers, hand warmers and so on. 5 stars for them. And let me say that my new un-tested Mont-Bell ThermaWrap pants performed outstanding. I could feel Immediate warmth upon slipping them on. Really, get some..... 5 stars and then some. Also never took of my GoLite Wisp windshirt. It feels so good but also invisible all at once. Outstanding piece of gear, also give credit to my body warmth to my REI spandexy balaclava, always have it on cooler trips and my old fleece wrist warmers that my wife got for us both years ago, I have never seen a pair like them again and up here they seem to add heat to my entire body and soul. Footwear was Keen Growlers. Insulated, light , warm and never any blisters. But bliss though! I was warm enough to sleep yet again to 8:15 ish. Rip-Van Shug! What a treat though. I pack 'er up hiked out and was on the road by noon. I tested and tried a lot of new stuff but felt safe and was in familiar area. Also, I always have an out plan. At least I try to. Made this trip really fun and I know that you folks on this forum care to hear the details. Many of my family and friends think that I am a bit off to pursue solo camping. You folks seem get it. Obsession hurts people and yourself, I am passionate. Much better.
Final thoughts: I adhere to the lightweight principles and was skeptical about hammocking. It seemed fidgity and fussy and I thought would add a buncha weight. Wrong, It is exciting and fun and I have NEVER slept as well in the woods. Maybe a bit more weight and stuff but it is all surprising light especially if you make your own and it seems to have more advantages than disadvantages. My goal is to thru hike the AT before I get too old and I now plan to hammock with the tree people. I truly am glad I came upon this site and lurked and learned from all of you. Every post I have read seems sincere and the interest real. Keep it real and a restful night in hammocks to you all.
Thanks for indulging me
Truly,
Shug
BillyBob58
11-27-2007, 21:42
Great report and quite the adventure!
You mentioned end flaps and a J. Anders site. Could you post a link, please?
I hope to learn from your experiences all that I can. I would love to ice fish the BWCAW again but hanging this time around.
slowhike
11-27-2007, 22:35
thanks for the report Rip-Van Shug! that was great to read.
sounds like we have some similarities in our camping style. when it's cold, i love to lay in my hammock & eat breakfast & drink mocha too.
i've got a pair of the montbell pants (full side zips) & a pair of the JRB green sleeves too.
i also have a montbell half sleeve vest on it's way. my clothes are an important part of my sleep system.
thanks again. ...tim
GrizzlyAdams
11-27-2007, 22:46
You mentioned end flaps and a J. Anders site. Could you post a link, please?
I hope to learn from your experiences all that I can. I would love to ice fish the BWCAW again but hanging this time around.
The Anders site is mentioned in this post (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showpost.php?p=29580&postcount=1). Follow the link there and you'll see a picture of a tarp with doors. Learn to read Swedish and you can follow DIY instructions :)
Grizz
slowhike
11-28-2007, 11:04
that's a neat site. i could figure out a few words on the backpack instructions:rolleyes:
i think i still need to revisit my un-finished experiment w/ my last tarp.
it has attachment points (inside & out) for adding side walls & end covers.
I am gonna fool around today with some end cap ideas and how to hook and unhook easily for egress and entrance. First I have to get some "real" work done.
Shug
DougTheElder
11-29-2007, 09:03
You da man, Shug!!!! While some of us venture out to the dark side of our backyards or maybe the wild side of our decks to do our testing, you do a real test. Good work!!!! DTE
'Preciate the kind words everybody out there in cyber-sway!
Shug
If I lived where he does I would do that too. Looks like a good trip. ;)
FanaticFringer
11-29-2007, 16:52
I'm jealous of him......he get's to hang in temps as low as -20 or something like that.:p That would be some braggin rights for sure.:eek:
NCPatrick
11-30-2007, 08:33
He's welcome to those bragging rights. :eek: