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  1. #1
    gunner76's Avatar
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    Aborted Test Hang, but still had a good time

    Mama Mia, Its a cold out side or CBS time

    Along this section of the NC coast, snow once a winter is unusual and already we are on our 3rd snow fall of the season.

    As temps are going to drop into the low 20's Saturday night I figured I would set up my rig in the back yard and sleep under my new Warbonnet Big Mamajama.. I am on blood thinners right now so I really feel the cold in my hands and feet and I wanted to have a place to retreat to if needed.

    I set up everything in the early afternoon and and the dogs decided they had to help by grabbing sticks and running under the tarp while I was trying to set it up. It was snowing hard and very windy the whole time while I was setting up making for a fun time trying to stake out the tarp. Had to take a hot chocolate break as even with gloves on my hands were very cold.

    This will be my first time sleeping out in the hammock in the snow. The forecast called for up to 2 inches and we got closer to 6+ inches. It stopped snowing about 8PM

    The set up:
    Big Mamajama tarp from Warbonnet
    Black Bird 1.7 double
    Arrowhead BBO
    WallyWorld blue waffle pattern pad
    North Face Dolomite Sleeping bag spread out open as bottom insulation in the hammock
    37+ year old North Face Ibex sleeping bag used as a top quilt

    I wore long pants, cotton socks, t-shirt, fleece jacket, a 550 fill down coat, fleece gloves and a fleece pull over on the head.

    Its about 10:00 pm now and I will be heading out to test out the rig in a few minutes knowing if it doesn’t work I have a warm house to retreat to.

    Results in the morning.....................

    Things did not work out as I hoped. I spent about 3 hours in the hammock and then my hands and feet got really cold (due to blood thinners) so I decided to be safe and go inside. As I was leaving the hammock I checked the temp and it was 18 degrees, several degrees colder than the 22 low predicted.

    I got the BBO for my wife and this was the first time I have used it. I thought I might feel confined with the BBO but that was not the case although I missed being able to look out thru the bug net.

    Also need to work on the tarp set up. I used Amsteel as a ridge-line for the tarp and hung the tarp over the line as I was worried about snow building up on the tarp. For the most part the snow slid off the tarp as we had a very dry powdery snow which is in contrast the wet snowball making snow we normally get here. Ended up with more sag in the Amsteel ridge line than expected. Should have used one of my Figure 9 biners to get a tighter ridge-line so there was not as much sag.

    Conclusion...If it had not been for the blood thinners I believe I could have spent the whole night outside as I was nice and warm except for my hands and feet. So all in all I figured it was a good test and I did get to hang out in the snow for a few hours.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  2. #2
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    Whoooo Yeah!
    Hey ... my 1˘ is to pitch that tarp a bit steeper in the snow.
    Happy your out there.
    I would bet the blood thinners would make the extremities cold.
    Take a blood thickener!!!!!
    Shug
    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  3. #3
    gunner76's Avatar
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    Take a blood thickener!!!!!
    I want to to but the doctor won't let me.
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    I'm with Shug. I would go with a steeper pitch on the tarp. Always good to experiment.

    Bat
    Bat
    Beginning my NOBO trip on the AT on 2/28/12.

  5. #5
    gunner76's Avatar
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    I would go with a steeper pitch on the tarp.
    I agree. Part of the fun in testing is playing around with the gear to see how it works (or doesn't) in different configurations
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  6. #6
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
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    Sometimes things don't work out as planned but as long as we learn something its a success, knowledge you can use next time. Maybe some kind of down mitts and booties will help the extremities and if not you might need to add some hand and foot warmers. Others have already talked about tarp pitch. Good luck and thanks for sharing
    " The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."

    “The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.” ~Wayne Dyer

    www.birchsidecustomwoodwork.com

  7. #7
    Senior Member StumpJumper's Avatar
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    Better luck next time!!

    Gorgeous piece of property you've got there though!

  8. #8
    New Member gates's Avatar
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    Congrats on being open to new experiences. Glad you had fun. That 1st pic is awsome!

  9. #9
    Senior Member
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    I was out Gunner's way this weekend as well (full report on the frozen coast coming soon!) and with some help from his family started on the Neusiok with predictions of a 'dusting' and lows of 24F.

    We aborted partway in had a long evac to get back to the vehicle which had 7-8 inches on top of it. We stayed in a nearby hotel last night and when I got up this morning it was 14F outside.

    The weather forecasters missed it BIG time on this one. We got to really test our limits and while none of us would want to repeat the trip without being much better prepared we learned a lot about what we could endure.

  10. #10
    Herder of Cats OutandBack's Avatar
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    Enjoyed your report and pictures.

    A wally world blue pad is a bit light for those temps, IMO
    Other things you might want to try is down booties in place of cotton socks,
    leave all cotton items in the house. Fleece, wool, and down would be much warmer.

    Looking forward to your next report.

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