lessons learned from my winter hike

[ednotmilkman]

This trip had lows of 10 degrees once and 14 degrees twice. I estimated that half my steps were in snow over the 2 weeks with 4 days in snow over 2" deep.

#1 

It's better to sleep with your water filter and just pour out any left over water each night and filter some more in the morning if the water source is close enough.  I forgot to keep my filter warm at the beginning and minute amounts of water left in the cartridge after draining will freeze and it will not pump at all till you warm it up inside your shirt. Sleeping with a liter or more of water in your sleeping bag makes it too cold in there, plus the danger of it leaking.

#2

Don't forget to take off the Microspikes and loosen up the laces and open fully after taking boots off in freezing temps or else you can not get your feet inside them the next morning when they freeze solid.

#3

warm up batteries for your headlamp or other gadgets or they won't work as long as they should below freezing.

[Uncle Wayne]

Wow, I've never hiked in those kind of temperatures or conditions.  Congrats and my admiration to you.  With experience being the best teacher, thanks for sharing those lessons your learned.  Would love to read your journal of the trip.

[ednotmilkman]

Well,  I'm just not very good at journalling because I'm a "just the facts, m'am" guy. And it's hard to stop what I'm doing to take interesting pictures also.  I did enjoy the nights where there were others in the shelters. There were about 25 guys (no ladies anywhere on this trip except a couple day hikers) staying Saturday night at the shelter closest to the summit of Mount Rogers. That was interesting sleeping like sardines and made it a bit warmer for sure. All of them but me were just out for the weekend. That was one of the 14 degree nights !  With a very strong wind in the open bald plus overcast, dreary, snowy conditions making it a challenge to find the trail in the morning to hike out of there.  The wild ponies were the 1st welcome "souls" I saw that morning after being the first one to leave camp.  If I could only figure out how to insert my picture in here ?

Edwin

[Ewker]

nice pictures, thanks for posting them.

I have stayed at Thomas Knob Shelter before in the winter and it gets cold. Have they fixed the broken windows upstairs. It get awful cold up there with the wind and snow blowing in through it. Did you guys put up a tarp over the opening to the shelter to help keep the wind out?

[ednotmilkman]

Somebody had left a tent there, so we tied that up over the opening.  I didn't go up in the loft but I didn't hear any complaints from the other guys so I'm guessing the windows were in place.  One guy in the picture messed with the fire for three hours at least and never could get enough wood to dry out and keep itself going. I climbed up several dead fir trees to break off limbs to use but they are tough to break off.