https://weather.com/forecast/regional/n ... nter-chill
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Old Man Winter is paying a strong visit to the Midwest and Northeast this weekend, bringing the coldest air of the season so far, smashing daily records from the Northern Plains to New England.......................According to the National Weather Service, Saturday morning's record low in Washington D.C. was their first in November since 1976................
Thanks to fresh snow cover, clear skies and light winds, International Falls, Minnesota, plunged to a low of 14 degrees below zero Friday morning. This was the earliest-in-season the "Nation's Icebox" had ever been that cold, beating the previous record from Nov. 12, 1966, when they were 15 degrees below zero......................This is quite an abrupt reality check for the Northeast, parts of which had seen their record-warmest fall-to-date.
Thanks to fresh snow cover, clear skies and light winds, International Falls, Minnesota, plunged to a low of 14 degrees below zero Friday morning. This was the earliest-in-season the "Nation's Icebox" had ever been that cold, beating the previous record from Nov. 12, 1966, when they were 15 degrees below zero......................This is quite an abrupt reality check for the Northeast, parts of which had seen their record-warmest fall-to-date.
I also have been playing with my bridge hammocks, particularly the JRB Bear Mountain UL, with my JRB MW3 convertible(full length or mid thigh length) under the large JRB 11X10 rectangular tarp. There sure is a lot to be said for that set up. The insulation is so easy to achieve. Rectangular quilt, rectangular hammock, no diagonal lay needed. The curve of the hammock is well matched by the curve of the UQ, so everything is covered with no gaps. It comes up in a U shape around and above all parts of my body, with my TQ sort of naturally sliding down the steep hammock sides(but not as deep or steep as my original BMBH, which I still prefer for serious winter). I just felt toasty head to toe, didn't even need a pillow for insulation as I have several inches of down from head to toe. But, amazingly, even with the huge tarp, which gives great coverage from above and of the ends(much better than the little HH tarp), I still felt the wind coming through the ends(even trying to lift the tarp), and when it did I could feel it! I would go from toasty warm to a hint of cool, even at temps 10 or 15 above the quilts rating!
This obviously would not be tolerable all night, especially if temps were closer to the UQs rating. I would have to get more aggressive with finding a sheltered site, or hanging so the tarp would be better oriented to block the wind, staking it closer to the ground, etc. But it just has me thinking I would be better off with some version of the HH undercover to block the wind and even sideways rain. Maybe better off even if I went with a smaller tarp. If using an UC- much as with the HHSS- being IMO far better at blocking anything that comes in the ends or sides than all but the largest tarps, or at least tarps with doors, all I really need from a tarp(with UC in use) in protection from straight down rain- protection over head. And it really doesn't take all that big of a tarp to accomplish that.
So I think next step for me is is to look into some sort of UC for my bridge hammocks. Actually, I think I have one for my WB Ridge Runner, I have just never used it.
So, any one braving the cold? If so, what are you using, and how well is it working?
