I've been wanting to do the 12 in 12 challenge for a long time just never got around to doing the winter months of it. My goal is to do it this starting in January. However I will not be able to afford the UQ that I want until Xmas and it has a 6 week lead time (Loco Libre 0* Ridge Reaper). So unless I can make something myself or Cannibalize some of my older sleeping bags..
Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul
Good luck , man! You're in a colder zone than me, but I used sleeping bags and pads for my first winter. Got down to the teens with moderate comfort! Or wait until January! I started in September, myself..Originally Posted by ParaJosh
Hobo Off The Ground All Year Round: 8 7
consecutive months since the start, 9/2015 through 11/2022
Month 51 in the books. Took a different trip this time, and it was a mistake. A couple of guys mentioned a local state park, so I gave it a try. Turned out to be aimed mostly at trailers and RVs. Luckily, it was pretty empty so I had the solitude I was after. No wood for sale, was specifically told there were fines for collecting deadfall....so no fire. The only other campers in the park were hunters, so most of the critters I saw were hanging from trees.... Not an issue for me, but I prefer to see them running around.
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Finally found a site fit for a hammock.
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Temps down to about 22F, so it was nice.
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On the bright side, they had a tornado shelter!
Hobo Off The Ground All Year Round: 8 7
consecutive months since the start, 9/2015 through 11/2022
Had my first backyard overnight in my Eldorado recently as we've just now gotten to civilized temperatures here in swampy NE FL. I slept "ok" using my DIY Costco down throw TQ/UQ in 48-49 degree weather with no wind to speak of and no rain at all. I sleep very hot so my TQ was fine but I got cold spots in different places throughout the night with my UQ as I moved around regardless of how I adjusted it, so I think I need to spend some more time during the day tweaking the suspension tension with someone else in the hammock.
I'm also not adjusted to sleeping with silence as I normally sleep with ventilation noise (at work) and a fan (at home), so the lack of that coupled with more cars than I expected on the nearby road made for a less than ideal night. It was nice hearing everything wake up though, even the two hawks squawking at each other for 30 minutes just as the horizon was getting light.
All in all, I rate it as a 5/10 although the two cups of Trader Joe's instant coffee in the hammock were 11/10.
I'm still sort of on the "every-other-weekend" trip schedule. The gas charges are adding up and so are the miles, so I do need to cool it!
But I recently took advantage of some early, deep snow up north. Heading back this weekend but it will be weak after 40° and 3/4" of rain. It will be too warm, but may still try the vapor barrier liner again.
#51...backyard hot tent plus an outing in northern Michigan.
Deep in the Everglades National park. Mid December. The tensa4 gave me front row seats
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#52. 5 nights out spread over two trips to northern Michigan. Seems like it's getting pretty routine but it's nice to get out and enjoy the woods. Plus I got to mix it up with a traditional hammock/tarp trip and get another night in the hammock hot tent.
Well, we've been at this for 52 months now. For me, this "challenge" serves 2 purposes.
1) To check my gear in as many different types of conditions as possible
2) To serve as a kick in the pants to get me outside as often as my schedule allowed.
Well, December looked pretty bleak...Busy holidays and incredibly mild weather here in Central Ohio. It was in the mid 60s a couple days ago!So it got down to the wire for me. Last night it was only supposed to drop to the low 50s, but it was supposed to rain all night. Well, it's something.
Turned out it was a pretty wild night. Nice and comfy under my Tadpole in my no frills Freebird. Then the wind picked up. Got pretty wet going from porch mode to a tight tie down. A great reminder that even in moderate temps, a high wind on wet skin is miserable, at best. Finally got warmed up, and then, the wind REALLY arrived. I was holding each side of my tarp to keep it down! Luckily the rain stopped after that and I put the tarp back in it's skins and hunkered down to 30+ MPH winds with gusts in the 50s! I don't know if I couldn't sleep because of the winds or the amazing cloud show!
What I thought would be an easy, boring hang wound up being one of my top 5 WX extremes.
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Hobo Off The Ground All Year Round: 8 7
consecutive months since the start, 9/2015 through 11/2022
53...and quite a frustrating one.
Construction, closed roads, frozen wood that wouldn't stay lit, futzing with a zero degree underquilt that left cold spots at 27F. And on my dry week! A few hits of Uncle Jack would have been welcome!
But, I suppose that's the point of this...testing skills and equipment. So, now I have a couple of skills to improve.
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Hobo Off The Ground All Year Round: 8 7
consecutive months since the start, 9/2015 through 11/2022
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