[at-l] the Official Brief GA RUCK report

[patv@ukans.edu (Pat Villeneuve)]

Um, not to be too tacky here, but couldn't you have handled nature's call
directly from the Hennessy?
Give Me Chocolate

Nighthawk wrote:

> It was 2:30am when nature's call and a slight chill on my back awakened
> me. I surprised to have slept comfortably in my Hennessy Hammock that
> late into the night considering the strong winds, freezing rain, and an
> occassional snow flake or two. But nevertheless, there I was trying to
> decide if I should get up and answer nature's call or simply wrestle
> with my discomfort for as long as I could.
>
> For curiousity's sake I took a peek at my zipper-pull thermometer,
> wondering what I would have to deal with once I left the comfort of the
> hammock. I read it once. I read it again. 15 degrees (later reports
> suggested a low of 18). Sure enough, I stepped outside and it was cold.
> This was to be expected, though. This year's GA Ruck at Amicalola Falls
> State Park saw more than its fair share of nasty weather.
>
> My car was frozen with ice, the doors nearly stuck. I set my water
> bottle on the trunk, took a short walk, answered natures call, and by
> the time I returned, most of the water turned to ice. After enjoying a
> Snickers bar that nearly fractured a tooth, I jumped inside the hammock
> and slept like a baby 'til 7:30am.
>
> I slept in the hammock utilizing a sleeping pad made from a truck-sized
> car shade with a thin layer of fleece glued to it (big thanks to Rob for
> letting me test it). My sleeping bag was a North Face Cat's Meow 3D
> rated to 15-degrees. My clothing consisted of smartwool socks, 100-wt
> fleece pants under my hiking pants, a polyester mesh T-shirt, a 100-wt
> fleece top and a Moonstone Cirrus jacket. I also wore a North Face cap
> with wind-proof earflaps. The clothing items I wore were essentially the
> ones I was wearing that evening around camp and at the GA Ruck
> festivities. I simply kicked my boots off crawled into the hammock and
> sleeping bag and dozed off.
>
> During my 2:30am wake-up call I noticed my back did get a bit chilly
> (I'm a cold sleeper), however, after eating a bit and having some
> fluids, I warmed up quickly and opted not to add a Mt Washington
> sleeping pad to the set-up. I also tend to sleep on my side with less of
> my back exposed to the hammock's surface underneath me. This may have
> contributed quite a bit to my overall comfort.
>
> Also, I noticed that my feet were cold due to the wind blowing across
> the hammock. I covered them with a trash bag, slipped them back into
> the sleeping bag and the make-shift vapor barrier warmed my piggies
> up nicely.
>
> There are a couple of things I would have done differently now that I've
> had some time to think:
>
> 1) lower the angles of each side of the fly to decrease the amount of
>    wind blowing into the hammock. I admit it: I was too tired and lazy
>    to make the adjustment after I initially laid down. Made the testing
>    more interesting, though.
>
> 2) replace the 100-wt fleece top with a thicker fleece vest (or just add
>    it). Fleece's lack of compressibility would have added an effective
>    extra layer of insulation under my back.
>
> 3) maybe add a vapor barrier lining or VB socks/pants/top.
>
> Keep in mind that this test was performed while having several back-up
> plans available to me in case of failure (i.e. the car, a cabin and the
> laundry room). Also, as a disclaimer, clothing and other items and
> combination of items utilized for this test were those that have worked
> for me specifically, with the exception of the truck shade. This test
> serves only to suggest that in the event of unexpected low temperatures,
> it may be possible to spend a relatively comfortable evening in the
> Hennessy Hammock.
>
> -Nighthawk
>
> --
>
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