Stormy Weather

[Andy]

I'm guessing we'll see a full write-up on that Dragonfly soon?

Glad you had a good night out there Jim. It looks like you're using a Tyvek ground cloth, but what type of bivy is that?

[Hikin_Jim]

I'm guessing we'll see a full write-up on that Dragonfly soon?

There's always that possibility.

Glad you had a good night out there Jim. It looks like you're using a Tyvek ground cloth, but what type of bivy is that?

Wow, sharp eyes, Andy. Yes, that's a Tyvek ground cloth.

The bivy is an old REI brand Gore-Tex bivy. It's probably 10 years (more?) old. It's got the old green REI label on it. It's light, and that's its one redeeming value. It's actually pretty tight for a sleeping bag + pad + person. I think it would be OK for a less puffy sleeping set up and a thinner pad, but for my set up that night, my down was getting compressed which isn't good.

The real purpose of this quick overnighter was gear testing. I bought a pair of Western Mountaineering Flash down pants. I wanted to see if I could sleep comfortably in mid 20's F weather in a 32F sleeping bag. I could, but the bivy I used was too small for the amount of insulation I was sleeping in.

Partial Gear List:
Pack: Golite Pinnacle Pack
Shelter: REI Gore-Tex Bivy with Tyvek ground sheet.
Sleep system: Western Mountaineering Summerlite bag (32F rating), Patagonia hoodie down sweater, Western Mountaineering Flash down pants, mid weight fleece mittens, 2 pr wool socks, capilene 3 base layers (top, bottom, and balaclava), light weight fleece cap, and a Thermarest Prolite 4 full length.
Stove: MSR Dragonfly (white gasoline/kerosene)
Kitchen: Primus Litech 0.9L, a personal favorite, Sea-to-Summit aircraft aluminum spoon, "squishy" bowl, plastic cup with lid from Asian market.
Boots: Lowa Trekkers
Pants: REI Sahara
Shirt: Sportiva Nylon
Poles: Komperdell light something-or-anothers
Shell: Marmot Precip jacket and pants.
H20: Input = Nalgene 1.0 L HDPE bottle. Output = Gatorade 24 oz bottle.

Probably way more than you wanted to know.

HJ

[John H]

Saturday went up to Miller with Helen, and Sunday just followed the hoard. On Sat. it was cold the snow was powder and made it harder to follow a boot track than just break trail. Sunday it was a conga line to the summit in clear sky's and mild breezes. Here's the link to the photos.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1170959980 ... shoe22711#

[Hikin_Jim]

Awesome. Looks like "Helen" had a good time too.

HJ

[Ulysses]

[quote="Hikin_Jim"]

Where did yopu camp Jim? Looks like fun.

[Hikin_Jim]

Where did yopu camp Jim? Looks like fun.

I just went local (to where I live) in the San Gabriel Mountains. In this case, I went to what I call Oak Grove Camp in Haines Canyon. We don't normally get much snow that low (2600'), so I thought I'd do some ultralight cold weather gear testing.

It's a pretty little spot.


HJ

[Hikin_Jim]

Just for fun, here's what the same oak grove looks like without snow.



HJ