Nights 37 and 38 - The Tent Comes Down...

Hello!  Sorry that I didn't post last night to tell you about Wednesday (night 37).  My mom, my dad, my sister, and I went skiing right after school and I needed to go straight to the tent when I got home.

This afternoon, sadly, I took down my tent...but I did it to put up a different one!

Ready for the Storm

I set up my dad's Sierra Designs Polaris tent, which is a 4-season tent.  The Alps Mountaineering tent had a wide top and fewer poles, which makes it lighter, but also less sturdy.  The Polaris is heavier, but unlike the Alps, it has more ripstop nylon vs. mesh.  It's shape is also made to shed snow.  That makes it less prone to collapse.

I am glad we have it, because tonight into tomorrow we are supposed to get high winds and 6 inches of snow. I was afraid the other tent wouldn't hold up under the weight.

Before I forget, I would like to welcome the Indonesian viewers and say thank you to the Smiths for my most recent care package!

I just bought and tried out my Black Diamond Contact Strap crampons in the snow that we got last weekend.  Crampons are metal spikes that you attach to your boots.  Normally you attach them to mountaineering boots (which are almost like ski boots), because they are less flexible and better for walking on ice and packed snow.

I bought these particular crampons because of their great reviews. Someone that reviewed them said that they were able to wear them with foam Crocs, which told me that I could wear them with my flexible hiking boots.

Me Strapping on my Crampons

My only complaint with them is the strap that attaches them to my boots is long, but that can be fixed easily. When I tried these crampons out I found out that they were perfect for slippery hikes in the snow because they are flexible enough to be comfortable yet firm enough so they don't pop off.

This morning when we woke up, dad and I noticed that there was frost on the outside of the Marmot sleeping bag that we were under, and we wondered how the heck it got there. Then dad realized that it was from the moisture (sweat) under the sleeping bag.  The bag moved it to the outside to keep us dry, where it froze. I was blown away by how well the big bag moved moisture!

Right now we're about to embark on a snowy hike.  I'll get to wear my crampons again!  Later, I will take the sleeping bags out to the Polaris and see how it holds up (I think it should hold up pretty well).

Thanks for reading!