Warmth on a cold night

[victorcharlie]

Me and the missus are headed for gizzard gulch this weekend......night temps are predicted to be in the high 20's......our new, yet untested, Kelty lightyear 25's are rated for....yep.....25

Most sleeping bags are rated rather optimistically IMO.......not sure about these yet....

So, we are taking a Thermorest foam pad to go under our Insl mat max thermo inflatable......

Planning on picking up several of the chemical type warmers to go in the bags....

Might boil some water to put in the bags as well.......

Planning on wearing sweats and a balclava (ski mask).......

Any other tips?

Anyone used one of the light years in cold weather?

[.54]

I think you'll be fine with the equipment you have. I know what you mean as far as the optiistic temp ratings of bags though.
Sometimes I'll take along a pair of insulated Carhart bibs to slide into when I climb inside my bag. That and a hooded sweatshirt usually do the trick.
That's great that you have a missus that will cold weather camp with you. Enjoy yourself. 

[burntmuch]

Hot water bottle. I use a military 1 quart canteen. Just before you climb in the sack boil some water fill the canteen. You ll be amazed it stays hot for 3-4 hrs. Just make sure it dosnt leak.

[Ridgeviewer]

You are definately on the right track keeping your heads covered, and using mats. 25 degrees is not all that bad, but often forcasted 25 equals actual 10 or 15 degrees.  Personally, I'd never risk water in my bag. The consequence of a leak is too severe in winter camping. One trick I have used while winter camping is to hang a backpackers lantern in the tent. If you wake up shivering you can light it and warm the tent quite a bit. I always light it 15 minutes before I climb out of the bag in the AM...
Good luck and have fun! Hope to hear about your trip, Ridge

[targshooter]

I use polypropylene undergarments with an immediate overlay of soft wool pajama bottoms and top with wool socks. This keeps me warm to about 20 degrees F or so in the sleeping bag. If it is getting colder I wear a British army wool sweater pullover and a pair of heavy soft wool pants over the above clothing. This keeps me warm to about 0. Below that I and consider going home if the weather is not going to change in a night or two. I have a polypropylene ski mask for cold at about 10 degrees or so, but usually a wool cap suffices if the temp is below 30 degrees F and above 10 F or so. A hat is important, as a lot of heat bleeds off one's head as you sleep. I also take a pillow if it is going to be cold. Seals the air around the top of the bag. Wool gloves are useful if it drops below 20 degrees F. My measure of a good night's sleep is a full night's sleep, with no awakening due to discomfort from the cold.

[Daveinthebush]

I pack one set of Under Armor and dry socks with the sleeping bag.  A hat is a plus under 30 degrees.  I have never had to use gloves.  A large, Body Warmer, chemical heater will bring you up to toasty. 

[victorcharlie]

We had a great trip....

We started our hike a 10 am....temps in the 50's, perfect for a hike......as the day progressed the wind started to blow....I mean, it blew hard, and steady at around 30 mph.  The wind settled a bit that night but not much and blew hard all day Sunday.

Coming in from the north end of the gulch the difficulty wasn't that bad.  After we got to the bottom of the gulch the trail ran near Gizzard creek, off and on, for the first 2 miles.  From there we took the dog hole trail back up to the top of the rim.  This was a fair climb, but still not to bad.  From the top of the rim the trail was easy.  The trail was flat for the most part and crossed several small streams. 

We got to Raven's point about 2pm.  Not a fast time, but okay for two folks in their 50's.......

After setting up camp we took a side trail to Andrews falls and pumped water.  Then watched the sun set from Raven's point while eating dinner.

We got into our bags around 9.  I slept warm until around 2 am.....the wife got cold......she was up and down all night, and finally wound up sleeping in her coveralls and coat.  I didn't really get cold, but slept cool until sunrise.  I slept in a union suit and sweats over that, along with the ski mask.

It dipped below freezing saturday night, as we had ice in the water bottles.

No camp fires allowed at Raven's point, and that didn't help.

We started out about noon on Sunday.  We took the Fiery Gizzard trail out from Raven's Point which is a very steep, difficult decent into the gulch.  For the next 3 miles, the trail was rocks....rocks of all size.......the walking was hard......and the trail narrow in places moving up and down the side of the gulch.  It's hard to describe the trail.   Did I say there were rocks.....which made the footing tricky as the rocks moved under our feet. 

We made it out at around 5pm.  Again, not a fast time.

I'm proud of my wife.......she's had 3 foot operations in the last few years......She did great, didn't complain much, and humped more weight than I did.....(she got a new osprey 65 which is a larger pack than the cheap one I've got).

I'm thinking the next over-nighter might be to Big Frog mountain, or maybe from Kimsey highway to Reliance........

[jgalar]

You may want to pick up a couple of the flannel sleeping bags from wal-mart type places. They help with the colder temps as well as keep your sleeping bag clean. They are also good as a blanket.

[victorcharlie]

You may want to pick up a couple of the flannel sleeping bags from wal-mart type places. They help with the colder temps as well as keep your sleeping bag clean. They are also good as a blanket.

I've been looking at those......and as the weather warms, that's probably all a fellow would need.......

I'm looking for a new water filter as well.......the Katalyn pro hiker looks good........

What's everyone doing in the water purification area?

[no guns here]

Winter camping with the Boy Scouts in Germany can get cold.  We tend to use foam pads and to wear polypro long johns with sweats over them.  Good wool socks help.  I wear a watch cap with a hooded sweat shirt over my head.  Don't ever get cold down to about 10-15.  We are truck camping most of the time.  We only hike and camp in the summer.  My truck camping bag is a big Coleman rated for 0.  Works great but much too big for hiking.  Depending on where we hike, sometimes I end up with the same night clothes in the summer (the Alps get cold at night).  I never wear cotton as a first layer, if I sweat then I will get really cold.  Definitely don't want to drink much of anything after about 7pm.  No sense getting cold to go for a tinkle at 0300.


ngh

[victorcharlie]

I was wearing a cotton union suit, and a cotton sweat suit......maybe that was part of it......

I also had a full face ski mask on and the sweat suit hood over that........as well as dry smart wool knee high boot socks.....

Also, a Thermarest ridge rest foam pad on the bottom with an insla mat max thermo 2 and a half inch pad rated at +15 degrees on top of that.....and a footprint under the tent......and 2 large chemical pads inside the bag with me......

While it was quite windy that night the tent wasn't drafty......

I really think the Kelty light year sleeping bag was rated optimistically.

[corbanzo]

get a polypropyline bag liner, one of the little ones which packs up to the size a little smaller than a softball.  It will raise your rating 8 degrees (per what the packaging says)  I have been using one in my lightyear for the last couple of years, and it is just the ticket.  small light and really does make a big difference.  I was never a big fan of heaters inside the sleeping bag, cause they only heat one area, having an coverall liner (interior or exterior) makes for a much more comfortable sleep.

[tbull55]

This is what we do on cold nights.  Find DRY rocks and heat them in the fire once hot as can be we put them into some towels wrapped up and lay in tent, they act like radiating heaters all night.  Be sure to take leather work gloves to handle rocks, leather welders gloves work best!

Tbull