New England-area GTG #2: Winter Wonderland

The Prospect Mountain XC ski area is less than two miles from the trail head at a base elevation of 2250'. You can see the current [unhappy] snow conditions at:
http://www.prospectmountain.com/ConditionsPage.html

I say we all heed Jeremy's advice then and do some snow dances!

My post about hopefully a foot of new by the weekend was for Northern VT not Southern VT. Souther VT, is looking at more winter mix/ snow based on elevation I believe. Light snow through the weekend so they "should" get about a foot by mid next week at the top elevations, down low who knows. The temps keep bouncing back and forth above and below freezing.

I am headed to Killington, VT today. When I am on top of the mountain tomorrow I will do my snow dance there, for proximity to the snow gods and to Glastonbury Mountain.

It has to snow, Santa brought me new snowshoes!

It is incredibly crude and a work in progress. I don’t have weights for a lot of things, heck some things haven’t even arrived yet, so don’t even bother looking at the total weights. :p I also have multiple options for certain things in there as I haven’t decided which one to take yet (PL Base vs. PL100 gloves for example).

In any event, I’m open to critiques to improve on my list and hopefully everyone else is planning similarly as I don’t want to be odd man out. :p

gear grams list

Thanks!

congrats! I haven't been able to use my new ones either (Nov birthday gift) so I'm with you there =)

I like it Bryce, just a few comments, I am a little nervious about your pads. What is the total R value of the 1/8 ccf pad and neoair?

I also think bringing a narrow mouth platy will make you mad when trying to fill it. I would consider the soft sided wide mouth nalgenes. Easier to fill and almost as light as the platy. I use one of these in the winter, and one hardsided nalgene. The anoying thing is the plastic that nalgene uses is more brittle than the plastic that platapus uses so it does require some extra care.

http://www.rei.com/product/670588/nalgene-wide-mouth-cantene-32-fl-oz

Last one, are you going to wear your quilt with the sleeves while in camp? What is your top puffy for at night?

Winter Pad thread

R value is 4.25 give or take. A little light, still mulling that one over. May drop the GG 1/8th thinlight and go for 1/4in Walmart blue pad as a temp fix for this trip.

I wanted to keep the lightness of my platys if possible, and in mulling over wood stove options, the idea of a “dipping cup” came up as a way to take boiling water out of my Ti pot and transport it into the narrow mouth platy. I agree, having the Vargo Ti pot w/ no handles and trying to get that into a narrow mouth platy, even with a small funnel would be a beotch, but I think I’ll be ok with the “dipping cup” idea. This will allow me to keep the Ti pot nice and hot on the fire instead of removing it every so often to dump into a platy.

Wood Stove Test Thread

My Summer JRB Sierra Stealth quilt has a head hole and will be my in-camp puffy layer for my torso. Should be nice and puffy!

I checked your pad thread out. based on your photos I, would go with the a thicker closed cell then the neoair on top and your pack and any clothing you aren't waring under your legs. I would leave the klymit pad at home. Three pads would make me depressed. BUT I think you could make it work with the three pads closed cell first, klymit second, neoair on top and pack under legs somewhere in there.

I don't have a bushcraft log in so i couldn't see the photos but the water cup works, I have one as well that I will bring but I don't think it is on my list. You can pour into a platy mouth I know a guy that does it. It just looks like a PITA to me. You do have to keep the platy close to your body so that the cap doesn't freeze.

What do u mean by depressed? Just a lot of "paddage" to deal with?

The Platys will come with me in the bag, or at least one of them…and then the other will be set on the ground straight up and down such that the mouth of the platy has no water in it to freeze. Then in the morning, pour boiling water in there perhaps to thaw things out? Gotta think that one out a bit more.

I meant really sad.

You actually want to store it the exact opposite. Leave it about 3/4 full, dig a small snow hole about 6" deep and bury it nozzle down so that when water does freeze it freezes at the bottom of the container and not the lid. Picture a lake, it freezes from the top down. It would take a really cold night to freeze 2L solid in 8 hours.

Like I said both are totally doable, I just personally don't like doing it. Worth trying you might not have the same annoyance that I do.

Just bring a standard nalgene, then you can boil water at night and snuggle with it in your sleeping bag. two-fer!

I'm thinking Z-Lite and Pro-lite pads to sleep on…

I will be sleeping with at least one of the Platys… to keep me warm (if I boil water) or to keep it warm (prevent it from freezing).

Bryce, have you seen the Stephenson socks?

I used Google search to crawl BPL for references to them. As I recall they are heavier than the RBHDesigns liners. For this trip I need to pick up oven roaster bags still. Will c how they do.

I should have been more attentive. I live in the Albany area, not far from your get together. Is there room for one more person?

Roleigh

the more the merrier, especially for those with winter hiking experience!

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=55433&skip_to_post=476535#476535

I have the full stephensons vbl suit that will complete its maiden voyage on our trip. I posted the weight of each item with bad photos and a quick first impression.

vbl isn't really necessary on such a short trip as this, but smaller trips are a good safe time to test it out.

Yup, that was the one. His socks are 3oz. The RBH socks are 4+oz but insulated.

I know RBH used to make a non-insulated VBL (saw it in BPL articles) that were lighter than the Stephenson ones (I think).

If the turkey bags don't work, I'll request RBH uninsulated ones:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00064.html
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/rbh_designs_vapr_thrm_socks_spotlite_review.html

Bryce, buy a "family pack" I'd be interested in trying them out as well, I'll split costs or offer a trade of wares.

All I know is my feet always get stupid hot when hiking, thus my ability to hike in my Sanuks' in 20deg weather a few weeks ago and still have "too hot" feet, but I am also interested in seeing how a VBL works with feet.

I have and have used snowshoes and microspikes. I also have crampons but have never had to use them yet. I was taught the use of snowshoes and microspikes by experienced hikers this last winter. We just never needed the crampons yet.

Crampons are heavy and I'm hoping we only need snowshoes and microspikes for this hike. Are others bringing crampons? Or just the snowshoes and microspikes?

I think most of us are waiting to see if snow happens or not, and in general what the conditions turn out to be. We're all hoping for snow though so we can get some snowshoe action in.

Lupus, regardless, will be sporting his 4Paws nature designed all terrain walking gear =P

Well I got the last two bags in the store…figures as they prob don't need many after the holidays…sorry Steve. Anyway, these things are HUGE, not sure if others trim them down or what. They certainly are tough though.

I got to play with some firestarters n my new (to me) Littlbug Jr. Some more:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/57543/index.html

Fun times! :p

Bryce I haven't trimmed the bags before, I just fold them over the top of my socks. It helps hold them in place, some people (myself included) never really have much of an issue with them staying in place for a days worth of hiking. Others, can't keep them from sliding down to their ankles and toes to save their life. I don't think there is a science that proves it one way or another but I wouldn't trim them until you know which camp you fit in.

My bad I didn't realize you bought turkey bags. I read turkey bags but my mind changed it to bread bags. I have never used turkey bags before so ignore what I just typed.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Last year when I tried them, I just had them go up to mid-calf. I figure if you want the VB for your feet, why not have it go high up as well? I found some slightly smaller ones at the store the other day, though, so I'll try these for our trip.

Speaking of stoves, I have my old whisperlite, but haven't tested it yet to see if it still works. I'll do that soon, and I'll have to get some white gas before testing. Anyone else need white gas? I'll just bring the whole jug in my car.