Field Notes: Careening into Winter

Being sick in the backcountry is miserable. Thanks for getting out a good field report despite the bug.

Couple questions for you, Ryan:

Do you often drink coffee late in the afternoon? I’m guessing you are adapted to it, but man, I can expect fitful sleep, or no sleep, if I drink coffee late in the day.

And… what thermometer are you using?

Doesn’t sound fun. It makes a good story.

I’ve tried using a small tarp between the inner and the fly. Mainly for shade. It may help with the cold. It’s an odd shape though. Perhaps something could be cut to fit and help keep the heat in. Some polycro or a space blanket.

I’m curious; does your HRV increase or decrease with an oncoming illness?

I’m curious what you use for “expected temperature” vs. “season”. Lately, I’ve been playing with using the worst-case MeteoBlue “Cold Nights” value for the month of the trip, and the two months before/after the trip for “season” on the assumption that seasons don’t always line up nicely with historical averages. “expected” is whateverthe forecast calls for. I think this should be sufficient to thrive under reasonably-expected conditions, and survive the new historical low.

Chris – I can drink a *small* cup of coffee in the afternoon with no impact to my sleep. Maybe 4 to 6 oz, and I try to make that cup a darker roast (lower caffeine).

The sensors we are using for tent testing are SensorPush HTP.xw’s.

Terran – that’s an interesting idea, I like the idea of a space blanket, nice and light. But fixing it to the shelter so it doesn’t flap in wind may be an issue…?

DK – HRV decreases as your body becomes stressed. You want high variability. Think about it this way: a happy heart skips around, and is “jumpy” (high HRV). A stressed heart beats steady and laboriously (low HRV).

Eric, I usually use Meteoblue’s consolidated models feature to look at the models predicted the worst (lowest) temperatures – which are often in the range of 10 to 15 degrees lower than model averages. I plan some type of contingency for this extreme and if it gets worse than that, I have a bailout plan.

Shoulder season, I plan for record lows which are pretty easy to find.  Late Sept last year 2 weeks apart I woke up to unexpected record lows but was ready.

Looking at your picture of your tent pitched. I see the tarp on the right side of it? Which tarp is it and how did it fair in the winds? That area looks fantastic!! Just Gorgeous!!! Any video to share?  I don’t feel bad for you at all that you had to move your desk away from the window,  just so you know!! Haaaaa.. Awesome! Thanks for posting this.

@Chris K.. How about decaf coffee?? I usually make a hot one in the evening with a packet hot cocoa.. Im actually at work right now and decided to whip one up..  testing this mug for upcoming trip.

On that, Ryan. Is that your coffee mug I see? Snow Peak?  What are you using?

Totally agree on the temps. Recently did an overnight in Desolation Wilderness and lows were just under 40 but after a couple hours in camp with pants, fleece and 3.3oz down puffy I wish I had torrid pants and my 4.7oz jacket!

How do you think my Dipole DW would have done on your trip? Looks like similar sloped walls and the solid inner tent appears in pics to have a bit more coverage than the notch?

Dirtbag – the tarp is a 7×9 DCF made by Hightail Designs. I use this when I want to save weight and just need something to get out of the rain/snow in camp for cooking, etc.

Yeah, I like the idea of decaf + cocoa. How is the Via decaf? I’ve not tried it yet.

The mug is a double-wall ti mug that holds about 7.5 oz of fluid (max). Should be available in our holiday merch drop this fall:

Charlie, the Dipole DW would have been much warmer. I’ve been using one this fall as well. I regularly measure temperatures inside the Dipole DW that are 8 to 12 °F warmer than outside temps. There is a small mesh window at the top of each sidewall, but overall, much less mesh than on the Notch’s solid inner.

Ahhh.. Nice mug there! Very cool. The Starbucks decaff is ok. Kind of is what it is. Its a dark roast,  and I happen to have boxes of them laying around so its what I take. I also mix it with a variety of different hot cocoas, so there’s that too.

I had a visit from COVID back in mid September – I went back and looked at my HRV and didn’t see a big drop. What I do see is a steady rise in resting pulse that starts before overt symptoms, peaks at roughly 10% higher than normal, and then steadily drops back down as I feel better.

Ryan how do you do the heart rate variability (HRV) test in the field?

Ken – I use a fitness watch and chest HRM. Most of the higher end watches have this capability now.

Ryan, what were your impressions of the NEMO Tensor Extreme?  I had my 4th NEMO Tensor insulated fail at a seam, and this time NEMO agreed to send me the Extreme as the warranty replacement.

Thank you for the beautiful pictures and writeup. Sickness sucks, but sickness on trail REALLY sucks!

A little chia in your chocolate will help you out in the morning.

I’m really liking the NEMO Tensor Extreme. It’s more stable (less wobbly) than previous tensor versions and it is very warm. I’ve slept directly on snow now in below freezing conditions and it’s plenty warm! I’m excited to use it through the winter.

So we find ourselves in a world where a camping mat costs $250+ !

It may be a great mat, but Holy Heck! :)