Thinking Wintery Thoughts

  Spectacular sunrise this morning, but with the calendar changing to November it's no surprise that the days are colder. Oddly enough, this seems to be the first November sunrise I've ever posted!

I've been hoping for over a year to get this pair of snowshoes for my hike. I wanted them last winter to test them out. Nope. Out of stock. I figured I was going to be up the creek, and wasn't sure what I would do about it. I was checking the web site about once a month all year. At the beginning of October, they suddenly said they could ship on October 18. Got me a pair!

These are Crescent Moon Luna shoes. They're made of foam. In fact, the pair weighs under 2.5 pounds!

I made sure they will work with my small feet, but it's all good. No way to predict if I'll need them in Ohio, but I don't want to awake some morning to deep snow and not have this option. They are light enough that I can just bungee them on my pack if I hit a space where they aren't needed.

I also broke down and bought a 15-degree liner for my "sleeping system." I did add a zipper to my Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt, which turned it into a sleeping bag. But I just don't think that even with removing the draftiness that it's going to do the job on really cold nights. The liner is Sea-to-Summit Reactor. It weighs 9.4 ounces. More than I'd like, but then again, I don't want to freeze at night.

The real issue may be that it's polyester. If you've been hanging around me long enough, you know that polyester tends to give me a rash. But I'm hopeful that my pajamas will keep me separated from it enough to be OK except for maybe my neck. I currently have a rash on my neck which I suspect is from wearing a 50/50 cotton/poly sweatshirt, so this is a real issue. I suppose I can tie my bandana around my neck.

It feels slightly fuzzy but not like fleece. I will sleep outside one night this month when it drops below freezing to test everything out.

In other news: I did accounts and trail food all morning (with, of course, another trip to the store), and worked on the trailer in the afternoon. I unrealistically thought I might be able to cross off the next big thing in the trailer, but it really was too much to expect. I made good progress, though, and worked till my hands were so cold they were clumsy. Then I did three of the small jobs from my list, which included putting away the hoses- a miserable job that I hate, so I get to pat myself on the back. High of 42 degrees today. Same predicted tomorrow. OK to work on the trailer for a few hours at that temp.

28 BIG ITEMS to do (34 done) and 21 small ones to do (17 done). 29 days to go. I need to start adding stuff to the list of small things. I'd REALLY like to get the big ones done with enough days left to actually think about being ready to leave. But, that's not looking good, right? I'm already thinking about which of those items I can ditch and "blow off" for a whole year.

See Enlightened Equipment Revelation Review