Hiking and Camping in Cold Winter | Hammock Sleep System Test for my Appalachian Trail Thru Hike

Рет қаралды 1,489

Күн бұрын

Finally had the opportunity to test out my new 20 degree underquilt and I gave it a run for its money in temperatures that dipped into the single digits. My thermometer read 3 degrees when I got up. This was a valuable shakedown experience that I am so glad I did! I also completed two hikes in frigid temps with snowshoes on. It was a very productive trip up north in the White Mountains!
I’m hitting the AT starting in Georgia in late February. If you’d like to follow along with my daily vlogs when I’m on trail, please subscribe! ⁠⁠
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#thruhike #vlog #appalachiantrail #winterhiking #wintercamping #shakedown #hammockcamping #training #extremecold #atclassof2024

Пікірлер: 41

@sheilahenry7279 5 ай бұрын

Beautiful winter wonderland. I’m so glad to see many more AT hammock campers than in years past. I’ll be doing this in 2025

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Awesome! Hammocks are the best!

@RhodySeth 5 ай бұрын

Only the bold sleep in the cold. I never go to bed without my hot water bottle. And jumping jacks before bed go a long way to warm the body up before sliding into the hammock. I just got a 0° top quilt and it is marvelous.

@sticktheeagle 5 ай бұрын

That is dedication for doing a shakedown in those temperatures!! I have gloves that work well for vlogging where I can just flip the fingers down without taking off the whole glove so that I can keep my fingers warm. I find them very useful in recording in the cold temperatures!! Snowy and cold, but so pretty as long as you can keep yourself comfortable!!

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! Yeah, those gloves seem pretty sweet. I might get some in the future.

@flowerpower1980 5 ай бұрын

What a great shakedown! That was hardcore! Can’t wait to follow along on your AT adventure! My husband and I are section hiking the AT….we’re up to Northern VA and headed up there this weekend for 4 days of hiking…..but not expecting any kind of weather like you had. And that post hike meal…..yum! #hiketoeat

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! Have a great hike! I’m so looking forward to the warmer weather and Virginia!

@wingmanhoy3999 5 ай бұрын

Beautiful vlogging, hiking and scenery, looking forward to following your adventure and journey on trail, all the very best, health and happiness.

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Thank you very much!

@ervinslens 5 ай бұрын

Absolutely gorgeous winter scenery, this looks and feels amazing! 👏👏 Your content is simply fantastic!

@appalachianwanderseeker 5 ай бұрын

Good test of your gear and your ability to handle the cold. Personally my vote is plan on going to town if it gets that cold. One reason is that weather can vary greatly and there will also be nights that you will roast with a 0 degree underquilt and a 10 degree top quilt. I'm using a 20 degree underquilt and a 20 degree Western Mountaineering Ultralight sleeping bag as a quilt in my hammock, with a pair of insulated synthetic pants, a Montbell down jacket, and a thinlight type pad I can place under me and sleep on if it gets colder, but plan if the forecast is going to be under 20 to get to town. I'm not into suffering. Beautiful hike!

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Thanks. That is my plan too!

@micah6-8 5 ай бұрын

Something that I was really impressed with on my section hike was the Cloud 71 hammock/quilt sleeve that I got from Dutchware Gear. It’s Dutch’s Anaconda minus the dyneema compression sack. That would allow you to install your mono colored underquilt once and just leave it on. I hope you have a blessed thru hike!👍🏼🙏🏼

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Took out my hammock setup again this past weekend and was able to keep it all together inside the sock so I'm thinking it won't be an issue. Nice to know that other options exist though!

@sueb860 5 ай бұрын

Wow, that looked sooo cold! Good to know about the year round sites in NH in case I ever get that bold. Nice views, winter has a beauty all its own. You must be counting down the days at this point!😊

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

It seems to be getting exponentially close! Yeah, there are two year round campgrounds I know of in NH: Hancock which has drive in and hike in sites, and Fourth Iron which has hike in sites. Both are great!

@iwnlis4347 5 ай бұрын

Brrr 🥶 I was cold watching this and I’m in Arizona lol

@Rabid.Turtles 5 ай бұрын

This is a must watch for me! Wonderful views, magic thermos, and an actual real world hammock experience. Soon enough I'll be heading out locally with my hang and get dialed in. Really appreciate your vid and a point well taken to "test" before commit. I used to live in Rochester back in the early 80's so you inspired some very great memories to include my first New England winter. It's going to be great to follow along with your journey

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for your support! I learned a lot through trial and error with hammocking!

@Rabid.Turtles 5 ай бұрын

Pretty soon now all the many many weeks of planning will become actualized!!! I am so happy for you making your dream happen. I just placed my top quilt order and I could see your wheels turning when you were back at your ride, It's just a darn shame that there are no perfect solutions just compromises you can live with. A great night's sleep is not an option. Thank you once again for vloging your journey@@HikingwithJenny

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

It's all good! I was fully aware it was possible that night wouldn't be comfortable or might not even work at all. It was just a test, so I know the limits of my gear when I go out on trail, and can plan accordingly. The conditions I experienced will likely be rare, or may not even happen at all. But now if I do encounter those temps, I'll know I should try to get to a town if possible.

@lovetohikenewengland1748 5 ай бұрын

Love the sugarloafs! Beautiful snow covered! We are heading to Hancock next week to try out gear also😂

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Hancocks are great in the winter!

@JohnnyMac76 5 ай бұрын

Omg Jenny I was up there 2 weeks ago in the northern presis and don’t know how you did it. I had a -25° bag. Your tough 💪

@williamlush1912 5 ай бұрын

Great video

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@unicornv007 5 ай бұрын

Great shakedown with the hammock. A few suggestions... next time, string up the tarp. Its good coverage for added wind protection (the winter sock isn't enough by itself). The other thing is you can either scoot to town if it looks like its going to be > 20F *or* just pack the 40F underquilt in addition (this is what I'm thinking of doing). The 40F underquilt should be under 1 lb which would be much better than more winter clothing and will definitely address your cold concerns. I've taken a 20F+40F+Winter Sock down to -14F overnight. The other thing you could do is a 1L Nalgene bottle with boiling hot water wrapped in a sock. I've done that a few times and its heaven in the hammock. The downsides are Nalgenes are fairly heavy compared to Smartwater bottles (4-5 oz) and you have to deal with heating up the boiling water but it *does* work. I've been debating on using a 0.5L Nalegene as its lighter, smaller but would only take 1 boil from my pot. Just not sure if the 0.5L cools off too fast overnight. The 1L lasts all night though for sure.

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the suggestions! I have 3 underquilts: Wooki 0 Degree (24.3oz), Wooki 20 degree (15.67oz), and Yeti 40 degree (7.51oz), so the 20 and 40 together would save me about an ounce and would probably be less bulky than the 0 degree by itself. But I think what it comes down to is, I don't really want to be doing all the camp things in temps that cold. So I'm thinking more along the lines of trying to get to a town if I know the temps will dip below 20. Which hopefully will be fairly rare!

@unicornv007 5 ай бұрын

@@HikingwithJenny Good call going to town if it dips below 20. That was my line in the sand as well. I just wasn't sure about the 25F camping temperatures and whether I needed to take extra steps there or not. I'm going out for a 'shakedown' this weekend that will dip to around 30-32 (if you can believe the 5 day forecast). Ideal for me to check my cold weather gear. I'm very similar to your gear in setup.

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

@@unicornv007 those will be good temps to try out your setup! I just did a similar test for my next video that’s coming out this week.

@chaosncheckt9356 5 ай бұрын

Nice test. I wonder if you had put your tarp up and the sides extended close to the ground, it would have blocked the wind more and kept your underside a bit warmer. Just curious. When I was planning my hike, I was on the fence regarding hammock or tent and went with a tent. Look forward to seeing how the hammock system works for you.

@sticktheeagle 5 ай бұрын

I agree with this, the tarp would almost certainly give some windbreak

@sticktheeagle 5 ай бұрын

Know that you tested the extremes; you likely will not see 3 degrees on the AT down south. You could see 15-20 degrees for sure, but I am expecting that to be somewhat rare. I hope that can give you some comfort. I am hammock camping too and I am using a 20 degree underquilt with a windsock and tarp for insulation, which adds about five degrees. With that, a good bag, and a liner, I am hoping to stay warm. Still considering whether to invest in those booties or not; I do get cold feet but if they weigh a lot, they are a luxury item when I am trying to cut down weight.

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

Have you looked into the enlightened equipment torrid booties? They are very light and I believe 20% off right now…

@sticktheeagle 5 ай бұрын

@@HikingwithJenny thanks for the recommendation!!

@randypeterson4146 5 ай бұрын

A underquilt protector is very lightweight and will get you another 10 degrees and won't be carrying much more weight...Trust me I use one all the time...If for any reason your underquilt is not sealing up good on the ends the protector will cinch down snug and keep the air out...Also put the tarp up and put it low as you can and tight down to the ground...It keeps lots of heat in...A few weeks back i was out and it was 29 outside when i got up and my other thermometer hanging on my Ridgeline was 42...Set up correct and you will be ok at 10 degrees with the 20 degree underquilt...And probably middle teens is all you will be facing starting the AT...

@randypeterson4146 5 ай бұрын

It seems you really don't care about someone giving you advice on how to hammock camp...I think this is the second time I have given you some advice... Good luck hiting the AT still guessing what to do...

@hope2someday691 5 ай бұрын

Yow, that’s getting pretty cold!! I’ve only done one snow camping trip and that was enough. Kind of spoiled here in So-Cal as I’ve got to travel a couple hundred miles to get into deep snow. Does a tent make for a lighter load out?

@HikingwithJenny 5 ай бұрын

It depends on the tent. You could have a lighter load out with a trekking pole tent, but I find that my hammock is lighter than most freestanding tents.

@sheilahenry7279 4 ай бұрын

I’ve seen 2 other hikers w/ that cute thermometer & both didn’t get accurate temps. Have you had yours long & is it accurate enough