Tried all my equipment for the A/T on a quick overnight in the northern part of Kettle Moraine. I was expecting the weather to be decent but turn into freezing rain - so thought it would be a good test for the Smokies. Didn't get the freezing rain I wanted but that turned out okay because I got off to a late start and ended up at the Parnell Tower Shelter just in time for the sun to set.
So...parked the car at Butler Lake, which is a 4.4 mile trek to the Parnell Tower Shelter. Got there at 3:15 and scrambled to get on the trail hoping that I would have the time I needed to set up camp. I was hoping that the trail would have been packed down after the two feet of snow we have received over the past few weeks.
Unfortunately I found that there have been only a few brave souls deciding to hike/pack pack the trail after the blizzard. The trail still had a base of two feet or more snow which in some cases requiring punching through step by step while in other places I was able to trek on top of the snow pack. As such my pace was relatively slow - about 22 minutes per mile. I felt like I needed to get to the shelter prior to 5 pm to have time to set up the tent, make dinner, etc.
My new pack is great. It weighed in at 36.4, including a week's worth of food and 2 liters of water, so I feel pretty good about my goal to get it down below 36lbs. I hardly felt the weight and it was very comfortable. The only discomfort during the hike was related to plowing through the snow; in fact, one thing I did notice is that I developed a small blister on my heal. This is very unusual for me because in all of my years I have never developed a blister. I hope it is related to the challenge of working through the snow rather than my new boots.
Once at the shelter my first task was to find a flat place to set up my new Squall 2 tent. I was wondering how it was going to go knowing that I would be setting it up on top of 2 feet of snow. I found a spot, kicked off a layer of snow, laid down my tyvek ground cloth, laid down the tent and tried to stake it out. I knew this was going to be a problem given the depth of snow and the frozen ground and I wasn't surprised with the problem. After several false starts (when it began to rain), I poked the stakes into the snow as deep as I could and then piled snow on top of the stake and stamped on it with my boot. The stakes held but any tension caused them to pull out. As a result, the tent was set up with sagging sides. Best I could do given the circumstances - snow, rain coming down and it getting dark. More time would have allowed me to figure it out. Got my pack into the tent, blew up my new NeoAir pad and spread my sleeping bag out.
Time for dinner...got the MSR pocket rocket up and running quickly, used my new GSI Solo to boil some water - took about 5 minutes. Started with some instant chicken noodle soup - was ok - followed by some instant mashed potatoes, combined with a tuna packet. That was very good and hit the spot. Cleaned up as it was getting cold and was in my tent getting everything organized by 6:30 pm.
Now what do I do? After changing into new long underwear and socks, put on my down jacket and got warmed up in my sleeping bag. Felt very good. Pad was comfortable, bag was warm and outside of the sides sagging, felt like the tent would give me lots of room. Organized my pack, pulled out my book and read for a bit. Tried to doze off at about 9 pm but couldn't quite get comfortable (will take a while to get into the groove). Sleep overall was tough even though I was warm and the pad was comfortable.
Got up in the morning...slept in until about 7 am, had hot granola and Starbucks coffee, packed everything up and was off at about 8:00 am. Beautiful and warm morning. I took my time to enjoy the woods and the snow. Saw a ton of fox tracks along the way, but was very quiet overall.
Lessons learned:
- Steripan Journey - battery was dead! Couldn't believe it - complicates my decision on what to do about water;
- Using freezer bags works pretty darn well; but will want to go back to my old system of packing each day in one big bag;
- have to sort out my boots - do I go back to my old pair?
- gloves - pretty sure will need two sets - one for hiking and one for camp
- pants - 8 years old from when I was heavier - should I buy a smaller pair?
- cooking and eating gear works very well - good shape
- should I bring my sleeping bag liner afterall - night was in the late 20s but could feel like by bag would fail if it got much colder
- add 2 extra stakes to tie down the sides of my tent
- should I include a winter cap that covers my head and neck?
- do I have enough trail mix - maybe add one provisional bag
- should I get rid of all the straps on my pack that are too long to reduce weight and simplify?
Think those are some of my lessons. Was hoping to include some pictures but was running behind due to some MSO things and forgot to bring it!
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