New Years Eve Party...

So I'm part of a group of hammock campers. One of them had the brilliant idea a few years ago to start a NYE get together on top of Springer Mountain in Georgia. Now for those of you that don't know, Springer is the southern start/terminous of the Appalachian Trial. So every year a group of people, both tenters (called ground dwellers) and hammockers get together and spend NYE on top of the mountain.

This was my first year in a hammock during winter. In case you didn't notice, this NYE was REALLY, REALLY cold! I took my hammock, clothes and whatnots up to the top of Springer to hang with these people and welcome in the new year. What I wound up doing was getting into my hammock and sleeping bag and ALL the clothes that I brought with me (6 layers on my chest, three on my legs and three pair of socks) and at 8:30 started praying for the acceleration of global warming, or at least localized global warming!!

No ones really sure what the final low was that night on the mountain, but this is known... at 8:30 thermometers were reading between 18 and 22 degress F dependent on location on the mountain and ridgeline exposure, at ~10:00 it was down to 8 degrees at the shelter (which was about 50 yards from me) and that the winds were sustained at 25 mph with gusts into the 40 mph range. All I know is it took an hour of hiking the next day to feel my left toes completely!

I spent New Years doing day hikes and bagging waterfalls. What a way to welcome in the new year!

(P.S.- I'll post pics once I get them loaded from the camera...its still frozen in my pack which is also frozen.)