Hiking 100 Miles in the Deep Cold

The Good News 

In January 2016 I set off on a 100-mile trek on the AT from Harpers Ferry WV to Boiling Springs PA. On departure from Harpers Ferry, it was foggy and in the mid 40’s. Very pleasant hiking. The next day started off warm and pleasant but to paraphrase Gordon Lightfoot in “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald”, T'was the witch of January come stealin. The temperature dropped to close to 0 that evening.  

Now for the bad news. 

Thus began my journey north in deep cold. Day time temperatures did not get out of the single digits for the rest of the trip. I was prepared with a 0-degree sleeping bag, a bivy sack and a tarp. I stayed at shelters as I traveled north and there was great solitude.  

The oversight that would be the new discipline for the rest of the journey.  

My canister stove which used Isopro fuel like MSR Isopro or Jetpower from Jetboil, no longer operated. This is due to the physics of pressurized fuels at low temperatures. The liquid fuel under pressure in the canister cools when it vaporizes. The vaporization happens when you operate the stove, and the vaporized gas is ignited, and you cook on the flame. At cold temperatures the cooling of the vaporization cools the already cold canister preventing the fuel from vaporizing so it can burn. 

No stove, no warm food 

Warm food is important in cold weather. Warm food helps boost the metabolism of the body and helps warm the body. Without a stove you cannot have warm food. Thus, a little thing like the wrong fuel in the wrong weather can put in danger of hypothermia.  

Then there is water 

The first 2 days of the trip I could use my sawyer filter to treat all the water I would need for the day and then all the water I would need for overnight into the morning. Drop the temperature to 0 and your filters do not work. I had no alternative like Aquatabs or Micropur Tabs to treat water. In deep cold you need to stay well hydrated so that your body will metabolize correctly and keep your core warm. Drinking untreated water will make you sick so that is a nonstarter. 

The New Discipline 

No stove, no water filter and 75 miles on foot to catch a train in Harrisburg.  

Here is what had to happen every day: 

• 2 Liters of purified water that will last all day so you can hydrate yourself through the day. This had to be done each morning. 

• Keep that water warm enough to drink. 

• A warm high caloric breakfast 
• Enough snacks to keep the metabolic fire stoked through the day.  

• A good warm dinner with 2 Liters of treated water to use for eating and hydrating through the night and to use for breakfast. 

The Good News: 

The good news is that a deep Canadian cold high pressure had set in over the east coast. Though this made for very cold air, it made for dry air, so I did not have to deal with snow or rain. Dry cold is easier to deal with than wet cold. 

A good Sleep System: 

I had packed a good sleep system. A good 0-degree bag is only as good as the pad under the sleeping bag. I employed 2 sleeping pads one a close-cell pad and the other an open-cell self-inflating pad. Between these two pads I put my day hiking cloths to keep them warm and supple. Never sleep in your hiking clothes.  

A Fire Twice a Day: 

Around 3PM in the afternoon I stopped hiking and prepared camp. I stayed at the closest shelter. 

• The first thing I needed to do was fetch wood for my fire that I need to purify 2 Liters of water and cook my meal. The shelters in Md and southern Pa have fire rings so you can build a fire that will heat the coals of past fires and build a nice cooking fire. Gather the wood you will need for the evening fire and the morning fire. 
• Once you have a good coal depth you can set a liter pot of water to boil. Roll the boil for 5 minutes. Pour the boiling water into one of your water bottles and bury it in your pack to keep it insulated.  
• Get more water and boil the water for your food.  
• Get more water while your meal is re-hydrating. Boil this liter to be the water you put in a bottle to keep between your legs to warm blood going to your feet. If you get thirsty during the night this bottle is between your legs and has warm water for you to drink. 
• In the morning start the fire and cook your breakfast. A warm high caloric cereal and boil 2 Liters of water and put the water in what you are using to carry water through the day. Keep a water bottle in your pack buried to stay warm and one in an insulated bottle bag. 

• A word about hydration reservoirs- A boiling hot hydration reservoir is nice against your back in your pack. Just be careful that the fittings stay secure as warmth makes things very supple and can result in leaking. No leaking in your pack! Another thing, your hydration hose will freeze even if there is an insulator covering the hose. Drop the hose inside your jacket and make sure the valve is off, so the mouthpiece does not leak on you.