Low is 27 degrees (above zero).
Postscript: It was indeed cold, but I was pretty comfy. Learned a few things:
- I need to wipe off the bottom of my canister before putting it into my pot. Otherwise I get a bunch of dirt in my pot. Or cut a piece of tyvek to be my porch. Or maybe both.
- I can lean my pack against a hiking pole. Kind of.
- I can fit my backpack (the gregory z65
) in my tent. Hurray!
- The SteriPEN Adventurer Opti
my brother & sister-in-law got me for my birthday is the bomb! Especially now that I have the pre-filter
that fits a wide-mouth nalgene; I can submerge the nalgene in water and then treat the non-silty water with the UV lamp. Super easy.
- I need to brush my teeth immediately after eating, *before* getting in my bag. Otherwise I want to just go to sleep/stay warm!
- I don’t need my puffy vest.
- I probably don’t need half the shit I have in my first aid kit.
- I definitely need to get a handle on my food – I’m packing way too much food and it is weighing my pack down.
- Also I need to trust the water supply – will be easier with a guidebook on the AT to know where reliable water is at. But water is also super heavy – at 2.2 lbs per liter – so if I can carry only what water I need it will make a big difference in pack weight.
- Putting a hot water bottle in my bag before sleeping is the key to success. (And I managed to stay cozy warm the entire night).
- Sleeping in smartwool compression socks
is the way to go.
- My camelbak won’t freeze if i wrap it in my jacket and put it between my bag & my sleeping pad. I blew out the water in the hose back into the reservoir, too. (Not sure it was really cold enough to freeze, anyway, but it sure didn’t with my precautions!).
- I get claustrophobic in my bag if I cinch the mummy hood up. (Like, waking up in a suffocating panic). I was a little panicky going to sleep – it was cold, and I had trouble breathing earlier because of the cold – and I had a “what am I doing, I should be at home in bed with E. while I have the chance!” moment. But I tied a bandana over my mouth which helped me breathe warm air. I still woke up panicky – figured out it was the mummy hood – so once I un-cinched the hood I was ok – and still warm. And the bandana ended up above my head, so I didn’t really need that, either.
- My super thick sleeping pad (the Big Agnes Insulated Q-Core Sleeping Pad
) is AMAZING. Best sleep I have *ever* had while camping. Serious.
- Right now – when it’s cold – I want to have a cup of tea and hot oatmeal before getting up. But maybe that will change when it gets to be “less cold”. Even with a very leisurely waking process/breakfast/camp breakdown, we were on the trail by 8.
All in all – it was a great trip. I can’t wait to go on our 3-night hike next weekend!
, which is a synthetic bag. I don’t want to be cold, but I especially don’t want to be wet AND cold. (Down bags lose their insulating properties when they get wet). I have a silk liner I’ll use inside the bag, which should add another 5-10 degrees of comfort. I also purchased the 
, which is a 3lb 4oz single man tent. It got a lot of great reviews, and I like it because I can sit up in it without bumping the top of my head. It’s a little tighter than I’m used to (2 man tents have plenty of room for 1 person!) – but I’ll get used to it. I set it up in the living room – laid in it for a while – this shit’s getting real, yo. Discovered that Emo the Cat will not make a good hiking companion – he was far more concerned about the tent taking up his sunbeam space than he was in doing any exploration.