[at-l] Question #2

[infpeace@yahoo.com (Nina Baxley)]

--- Russ Drake <skcs2003@juno.com> wrote:

>    Not that I am afraid of snow, I grew up in
> Wisconsin... believe me I
> know snow.... But I want to be prepared...

Hee hee ... I'm from Louisiana and was in knee-deep
snow. What a SHOCK to my physical and (especially)
mental system that was! :)

> 
>   So what type of gear did you all bring to get
> through that?

I had pretty much the same gear that I had for less
cold weather, only I wore a Red Ledge Rain suit, a
balaclava, and midweight capilene. I wish I had had
ski sunglasses (is that what you call them?) because I
ended up with frostnip between my eyes where the
balaclava didn't protect the skin. I think one of my
most valuable things was my OR shell mittens--they are
waterproof & seam-sealed, and you wear them over glove
liners. With those shells, my hands were able to warm
up relatively quickly, and they really did stay dry
throughout the day. Other people didn't have the
waterproof ones, and their hands were cold and wet and
uncomfortable all day. I learned that if I could just
get my hands (and feet) warm, that my mental attitude
would be much more fit to deal with the bitter temps.

> What kind of tent?  

I was using a borrowed Nomad Lite when it got really
cold, but if I had to do it again I would use
something with a full fly. The tent was light, but the
bitter cold air would come into the tent (plus it
snowed in there and I had icicles--weird).

> 
> The rest of the trail sounds like a dream...  yes,
> even walking in the
> rain... It is freezing to death that sort of is a
> show stopper.

I much prefer to hike alone, but when it got really
cold (in SW Virginia, NC, TN, and GA), I switched to
the "safety in numbers" mentality. If you're hiking
solo, you may want to pair up in a "buddy system" type
thing with one or two other hikers, and hike more or
less together. I had one really close call with the
cold weather, and was happy (and lucky) that someone
else was there to help me out when I needed it.

Walking on the AT--whether in rain, snow, sleet, hail,
thunder, lightning, or sunshine and cool breezes--is
indeed a dream, a very good one, if not always easy.
I've been "awake" from it for a little more than three
months. Can I go back to sleep now? :)

Nina
"Waterfall"
ME-GA 2000

=====
Visit the Louisiana Hiking Club at http://www.geocities.com/louisianahikingclub
Visit my ME-GA 2000 thru-hike updates at http://www.gorp.com/gorp/activity/hiking/thruhike/ninab_at.htm.

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