Just before the end of the year, I had a chance to go on a mid-week s24o with two friends. I had been wanting to try sleeping outside in winter again. The last (and first) time I tried it was a downright uncivilized -32C. Tonight it was forecasted to be -14C. Much more to my liking.
So a plan was hatched. Meet at 7pm, ride 35km of rail trails to our usual cross country ski warming hut, and sleep outside. Staying at the hut would provide an 'insurance policy' in the event something didn't work out and one (or all) of us needed to get inside to warm up. My two partners, Ian and Hal, had snowshoed out the night before to build snow pile for a Quinzee. They were keen to try hollowing it out on arrival and sleeping inside. In doing this, they were also able to explore the trail conditions: deep snow in places, drifts, best to ride a fat bike. Would a (f)Atlantis do? Time to find out. Departure day came and we rolled out into the dark at 7pm. I was peeling off layers within the first few KM. It's amazing how the world can look like a frozen wasteland and yet all I need to stay warm 'up top' once I'm moving is a merino wool sweater and thin base layer. Leaving the city limits was easy. Trails were hard and fast. Then we hit the wide. open. bald. exposed. prairies. Riding here at night is weird. Everything is pitch black in all directions except the beam of your headlight. I struggled to stay on the bike as we hit drifts and my 2.2 tires cut through the soft snow. Forced to walk, I followed Ian, who also dismounted from time to time even with a fat bike. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-csXU-e1gRok/VowvBag_tJI/AAAAAAAAO40/zQfKzQd0f1Y/s1600/23513559904_53459aa01e_k.jpg> I had to push my bike the last 3-4km through snow just below my knees. That was exhausting. That brought us to the beginning of a field. Our cabin was on the far side. No trail, just snow. So Ian and Hal traded breaking snow, which enabled me to roll the Atlantis a bit easier in their tracks. We arrived and made a fire in the shack. Success! Flasks were passed around, chocolate consumed, spirits high. A couple of skiers popped in with a beautiful husky named Mika. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iQPpQYc1f6M/VowvuSP1IqI/AAAAAAAAO5E/KLthIsIt-yQ/s1600/24044234856_edccd3d2c3_k.jpg> At about 12:30 or so we headed outside for sleep. That is hard, leaving a warm cabin to lay down in the snow for the night. But I was excited to try my 'new' winter setup: - Big Agnes ground sheet from my tent - thermarest z-lite SOL - thermarest prolite on top of the SOL - North Face -30C synthetic bag - tent rain fly on top to minimize the moisture on the bag. Frost was forecasted, so this was an experiment to stay a bit dryer. I don't own a bivvy, so this was the next best thing. For the most part, I slept quite well. My feet got a bit cold through the night, but the rest of me was just fine. It was nice to look up at the trees. Too bad there were no stars. I was glad to be outside though - the last time I slept in one of these small cabins I got a minor 'bout of carbon monoxide poisoning. Being outside, I had nothing to worry about but staying warm, and that seemed to be going just fine. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pgvfUVowK64/VowyiVskOpI/AAAAAAAAO5o/FlciFJTHru0/s1600/24033666502_d43c08fb5a_k.jpg> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fFes2uHP260/VowwLXW0XzI/AAAAAAAAO5M/eoT68IB1yow/s1600/_DSC6243.jpg> Morning came and we made coffee and breakfast before heading out. The push through the field was much easier going back. After pushing so many KMs the night before, I elected to stick to the gravel road heading home. We saw an eagle soaring above a stretch of open river. Pace was comfortable. Humidity was high. My beard quickly became an ice fortress, drawing some amused looks as we passed walkers and other cyclists. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JK6lkG7YlCM/VowyMCE1r_I/AAAAAAAAO5Y/Ys9bL2A9wWo/s1600/23846061730_01229c19c0_k.jpg> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K1PDPiEabj0/VowyeyeMG-I/AAAAAAAAO5g/DiONoVI8HzA/s1600/24033587152_5cadf0fc67_k.jpg> Home by 12:30. One of my favourite things about these kind of trips is laying on the couch afterward, having a coffee, reflecting on the fact that only a few hours earlier I had woken up in the middle of the woods in the winter. That's pretty cool, I'd say. Enjoy the ride! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
