lizs: Without the PINK THINGY!

“I had a hankering to go packing, so headed out Saturday afternoon. I knew it would be cooooooold. (It was, get to 18!)

I looked at Big Pink Mattress Thingy and then remembered, "OH YEAH, I have that 3/4s length Thermarest Pathman so graciously sent me!!" So along it went.

It was around 3:30 or 4 when I got to Yellow River State Forest, with about a 2-mile hike ahead. I hiked off like I had on my last trip. This time I intended to camp at the Brown's Hollow backpacker's camp. There are 4 such camps at Yellow River and this was the only one I hadn't been in.

After seeing a freaky dead mouse near the trail's start (like it was sitting up and just died... made me wonder what evil lurked in the forest??), I went past the turn to Camp John Schultz (where I'd seen Omahiker and hubby earlier in Oct.), managed to take a wrong turn (thought a sign was missing, as orange tape on a bush marked a trail... I considered bushwhacking cuz I knew where I was and where I had to go... but it was getting dark, so I didn't)

Got to Brown's Hollow. OMG!! TWO TENTS!! One with two guys by it and an illegal fire they built there. They said "hi." Other tent was lights out. I picked a site and set up. For once, I got the tent up pretty easily.

Changed out of sweaty clothes into dry. Let the Thermarest fill up, plus a couple extra puffs of air. COOOOOOOOOLD NIGHT!! I had the mummy bag pulled tight so only nose and mouth were out.

MAN, WAS I COLD!! Chilly all night. Had on cotton pants, socks, two fleece tops. (No, no gloves or hat) It felt cold where I was on the Thermarest, too. I got up at some point and went outside to visit mother nature (CRISP!! of course... and gorgeous twinkling bright stars in pitch-black sky).. when I came back in, I put the clothes I'd worn into foot of bag to fill space. Still kinda cold.

Also, man, I'm gonna need a Thermarest LE. I get hip pointers laying on my side. And get a back ache laying flat due to my big ole butt (hmmmm, let's make that "J. Lo ass.... LOL)

Morning.. frost all over inside tent despite having roof vent (and also the rainfly vent in roof) open, as well as door unzipped at bottom of tent. I go out and LO AND BEHOLD see the two men are gone, but there's ANOTHER SOLOING BACKPACK CHICK at the campfire.

I'll call her Ape. (LOL!! hope that's OK) Eventually we figure out we met like maybe 4 years ago at a mountain biking race in central Iowa. H3ll, I have a photo of her racing on my computer!! LOL! We built a fire, talked, packed up and hiked out together.

Long hike at a good clip. BUT there was no bridge where I said there would be one over the fast-running, knee-to-thigh deep at that spot Paint Creek. GRRRRRRRR!!! Did a lot of tracking and backtracking trying to find a place to cross, in more than one area. Finally we resolved ourselves to the longer hike we'd have to make. Went up over a cool (but killer hike up) ridge on a trail neither of us had been on.

We cross bridge and go down a trail that has a water crossing, but a shallower one. I walked log halfway across, then tried to go from stone to stone, but got one foot wet... and then I didn't care. LOL! (was not soo bad, for some reason.... NO not suffering from HYPOTHERMIA!! LOL) Ape had better luck, only getting one boot slightly wet.

OH YEAH, HERE IS THE ***BAD*** part about this much-longer-than-anticipated hike!!! I probably had a 30 lb. pack. I WAS WEARING TENNIES!! SNEAKERS!! Geez, no support there cuz they're old to boot!! I was thinking simple hike. And my boots are in the shop, getting torn stitching repaired!!

Will be dead on Monday!!! So there you have it.

By the way, I have a question on proper trekking pole usage. As opposed to every step, I switched sides every two steps. Seemed to let me put more weight on the poles as I carried through with the motion and not have such a choppy rhythm. But Ape moved hers with every step. Ideas?

(yes, I know... stikmon will have both our heads as a lovingly crafted hiking stick is the answer......)

There are four photos, at the bottom of this Webshots page:

Four shots of lizs and Ape at the end (bottom) of Backpacking Friends Album”

“That sounds like a fun trip girl!!!!!

Love the pics by the way!

Very pimp!

8p”

“I vary how often I move my sticks depending on the kind of hiking I'm doing. If I'm moving fast on a flat level trail, I stick about every other step or so. If I'm going up a tough ascent, I will usually stick on each step. I try to plant the stick on the opposite of the foot that's planting, for balance, but it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes I just plant both sticks and push like a skier while climbing too. Basically, it's whatever is comfortable at that time. I don't worry too much about doing it right, I just do it.”

“Oh yeah, forgot to mention... I'd read how cotton balls with Vaseline on them are good fire starters? When I left Saturday, I saw cotton balls, but no Vaseline.

I did see fingernail polish remover. I looked at the label: "Highly flammable." VOILA!!!

Soaked the cotton balls in it, then quadruple-bagged them. Yes, indeedy, HIGHLY FLAMMABLE!!! LMAO!! Great fire starter!!”

“Great trip report there Lizs:)”

“Lizs, try putting your pack under your legs, where the 3/4 thermarest isn't. Having your feet and calves on the ground probably helped keep you really chilly. Also, an empty bladder makes for a warmer body. Crazy but true. Your body uses energy keeping all that pee warm, instead of you, (to put it simply).

I sleep cold but only use a 3/4 Ultralight thermarest. I haven't had a shivery night in a long time, as I have started to figure out little tricks and have learned a few from others. Can't help you with the aches froma thin mattress though. =)”

“OK, I actually had the pack up under my head... which worked, amazingly, as kind of a semi-pillow. lol... I had put the clothes under the foot area, until I moved the clothes inside the bag. But where it felt cold was where the thermarest was. Weird!!”

“I'm glad you were able to survive the various magical trials sent your way. I was worried for you all weekend...glad you saw it through. Keep me posted of more magical happenings from the northland.”

“I'm glad you were able to survive the various magical trials sent your way. I was worried for you all weekend...glad you saw it through. Keep me posted of more magical happenings from the northland.”

“you could use a zrest under your 3/4 pad. it's slightly over 1 lb and will give a little protection under your legs and more cushion where your weight is. the 2 together will probly weigh less than a full length self inflating pad. just a thought. i've slept with that before and it's much warmer than just a thin pad.”

“cotton pants??? tennis shoes???

I feel for you......I started out that way....”

“sheesh! KAPOWEEE upside chili's head! lol”

“hmmm,,,,,was that foreplay????”

“foreHEAD play ;-)”

“lol,,,,,,no comment......”

“attackin my lady like that...dueling hiking sticks at noon...your toast.”

“I prefer a duel of 10 second keg hits”

“Seconds! Ready the Vomitorium!”

“LMAO Chili $ Tilt!”

“I would have to agree that a Thermarest is not much help in warding off cold. I may have to look into a zrest.

Lizs, prepare for the worst case scenario when camping in even moderate cold weather. Hypothermia can set in with relatively mild temperatures, and then there are those vexing little issues with moisture and such. Below a certain temperature the tent is going to collect moisture regardless, vent or no vent.”

“I didn’t see cars in any of those photos.

If you get hip pointers (and cold) with the ultralight, perhaps you need to blow more air into it. I think the directions say a couple of puffs but I find I need more like 8 to get it firm.”

“TMI!!”

“REALLY, Violin. It's just an expression.”

“I figured I could count on y'all.”

“I just blow the thing up. I'm not even sure mine self inflates anymore.”

“liz, nice pics, but they don't do you justice. -LH”

“there was Lizs.”

“They make inflatable lizs dolls?”

“I tried to blow mine up but I didn't use enough dynamite.”