Night 66

Hi and welcome back!

Last night it was extremely windy, and I forgot to guy out the front of the tent, which let the fly be blown up about 3 inches above the floor. I then had a hard time sleeping, because this let the strong winds and blowing snow get in the tent and in my sleeping bag.

Snow in the Valley

I was cold in the first place, but once the wind went down my back I felt almost as if I was going to freeze solid. My dad came out at about 5:30 to wake me up, but little did he know that I had been awake for the past 20 minutes.  I don't keep a watch in the tent, and I didn't want to go inside because I was so cold only to learn that it was only 3:00 in the morning.

My dad and I had windy and cold hike today. Once we got up in the woods there was no wind whatsoever which was surprising, because it was blowing at about 15 miles per hour at our house. Our time of 13 minutes 45 seconds was not the best, but I had an excuse because when the winds got fast I stopped and leaned on my trekking pole for a couple of seconds to wait them out.

LRC Hiking in New Snow

A few wet days ago I tried out my new Outdoor Research Verglas gaiters.  Gaiters are coverings for your lower legs that keep dirt and/or snow out of your boots and are water and at parts abrasion resistant.

You would wear gaiters when there's snow on the ground or when the ground is wet or muddy.  Another time that you would wear them is when you have crampons on, so you don't shred your pants.

I really like these gaiters, because you can adjust them so they get really small.  For example, mine are an adult small, and I can adjust them so they fit perfectly.  I also like them because the part that covers my inner leg is Cordura, which is an extra tough material to protect me in case a crampon might hit me.

Here's today's trivia question: In what state is the highest point in North America?

Thanks for reading!

Nights 64 and 65

Hi and welcome back!

Welcome to the new reader from Venezuela!

Sunset while Skiing

Tuesday night it was very windy, and I had a hard time sleeping because of it.   We were supposed to get at least 2" of snow, but when I woke up I was surprised, because there wasn't even a dusting.

Last night was a bit warmer (around 30 degrees), and we heard the owls yet again.  I heard two, but dad thought he heard at least three at one point about 3:00 in the morning.

Today I went skiing again, and the conditions were not good.  Instead of staying later, we came home early.  That's why I was able to post tonight.

It's 37 degrees outside, and I'm about to go to the tent.  I think I'm going to sleep in the double 20 degree bags.  We'll see how that works!

Thanks for reading!

Night 63

Hi and welcome back!

The answer to the question from yesterday's post is Tenzing Norgay. Tenzing was born around May 29, 1914 in Nepal and died on May 9, 1986 in India. In 1996 his son Jamling summited Everest with Ed Viesturs.

Tenzing on the Summit, 1953

It was in the mid twenties last night. I slept in the 20 degree degree sleeping bag, which was perfect inside of the Alps Mountaineering Zephyr in stead of the Polaris. Since its fly isn't too tight, it was flapping around in the wind, which kept me (and dad) up for quite a bit of time.

This morning it was in the high twenties when we hiked. My dad and I both wore too many layers, so on our way up the hill we unzipped our jackets and were freezing on our way down, so we zipped them all the way up again. Our time was 12 and a half minutes, which is pretty good.

We are expecting a pretty bad snowstorm tonight and tomorrow.  I hope it doesn't amount to too much and make the tent collapse under the weight of the snow.

Thanks for reading!

Night 62

Hi and welcome back!

Before I forget, welcome to the new readers from Mozambique, Italy, and Portugal!

Overnight last night it was around 20 degrees. When I went out to the tent it was windy, and that wind kept up all night. At around 2:00 in the morning my dad came out with a sleeping bag and said that we should zip the two 20 degree bags together.  We did, even though I thought we would be hot in them, but when we I woke up I was warm but not overheated.

My dad and I went for an extra early hike at 5:30 this morning. When we left it was 25 degrees ambient temperature with 15 mile per hour winds that dropped the windchill to 13 degrees. Our time up today was about 13 minutes, which is definitely not our best.

Today when I got home from school I saw that the tent had somehow come unstaked and been blown over 150 feet across the yard! Since spring is coming I decided this was a perfect opportunity to put the 3-season tent back up.

Because this year is the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest, I decided to have a trivia question about it. What was the name of the Sherpa that summited with Edmund Hillary?

Edmund Hillary (right, before he was SIR Edmund) and _____ in 1953

Thanks for reading!

Night 61

Hi and welcome back!

Last night it was around 30 degrees, so instead of sleeping in the 40 degree sleeping bag (which I probably would have frozen in) I slept in the 20 degree North Face bag. I was glad that I switched sleeping bags, because I was perfect in the 20 degree one.

My dad and I didn't hike this morning because he was leaving at 6:00 in the morning to go to my sister's gymnastics competition. My grandparents watched my brother and me today, so I went on a hike with my grandpa and Maisy.  We did not go the whole way up the hill but just around the field, because my grandpa his having a hip replacement in a little over a week.

As soon as my dad got home we went for a hike. We figured out that our hike is .52 miles up and 1.04 miles round trip. We had a time today of 12 minutes and 45 seconds which is good but not nearly as good as yesterday.

Thanks for reading!

Night 60

Hi and welcome back!

LRC Ready to Drop in on Widow Maker Last Night

Last night was colder than Thursday night but still sort of warm (low thirties). I fell asleep while I was reading Eiger Dreams with my headlamp still on as bright as it could get. I woke up at about 5:00 this morning and saw that the headlamp was still on and was surprised that its batteries had not died yet.  On that setting it's supposed to last 8 hours, but these are still the original batteries (I got it for Christmas), I've used it almost every night, and it's still going!

I slept in today so my dad and I didn't hike in the morning. Maisy was getting antsy this afternoon so I took her for a hike. As usual I timed myself, and I had a time of 8:38 minutes up. This time was not only a personal best but the best between my dad and me. [Dad says he has to see this in person before he will believe it.]

I hiked again with my dad after dinner.  We were trying to have a sub-12 minute time today and ended up with times of 10:15 (dad) and 10:40 (me).

Today my dad downloaded an app on his phone called Theodolite that gives you your elevation, GPS coordinates, the percent grade of a given slope, and lots of other things.  Theodolites are tools used for surveying (dad didn't know that), and it's amazing to think that an iPod or iPhone can do the same work...for just $3.99!

Antique Theodolite

Theodolite App Screen Shot

We found out that when we hike we gain about 375 vertical feet between home and the top of the hill.  It will be fun to take it on other hikes and see how they compare.

Thank for reading!

Night 59-end of month 2

Hi and welcome back!

The Christmas trees

It was very warm in the tent last night (about 40). Since it was so warm I decided to sleep in a 40 degree Slumberjack sleeping bag. At first it was perfect, but overnight I got cold and the only other sleeping bag that I had in the tent was the -20 so I just stayed in the 40 degree bag. When I woke up I noticed that my wool socks had come off during the night and that I could barely feel my feet they were so cold.

The field

Not too much happened on our hike today except there was a thin layer of snow covering the ground which was weird because there was no snow at our house. Our time today was 14 minutes up and 28 minutes round trip.

Thanks for reading - I'm off to ski!