today i got to spend some time out in the woods with a group of like minded peers, alot of fun and some good memories for sure :thumbup:
first we went caving in this cave...i forget what its called. the locals might know about it. its in new milford just off route 7...
because of the snowfall and the slightly above temps of the last day or two, it was very very wet in there, like small waterfall/river throughout kindof wet.
the mouth:
none of the pictures of the inside came out, it was way too foggy inside. the flash just caught all teh water in the air.
some cool ice:
a couple of the guys went way down deep into the cave, two or three levels down from the main room where i hung out. with the water and everything, i didn't really feel like getting too far into it. just my thing. maybe next time.
after some time spent back at the cars warming up and changing and grabbing some snacks, we were just about ready to head out to a hike 10 minutes down the rode up to the top of a small mountain. we didn't end up making it to the top because of time restraints, but we got pretty far up. fresh deep snow and big icy rocks make for a slippery time. we took turns leading and breaking the trail in the snow. only half the group went up the mountain, the other half went for lunch. i guess we know who the true woodsies are...
four of five (i'm not pictured) at a view on the mountain:
the whole group that went, back at the park and ride before breaking up and heading home:
some things that i learned from this trip:
caves are very cold and wet, especially with the ice. after being in the cave without any hand protection at all, and especially after the climb out, my hands were so cold that i had to ask someone else to untie my shoes back at the car. it took me about 1 hour to get all the control back in my fingers. a little scary going to do something and not being able to like that. it was also interesting that i was able to do things based solely on muscle memory, with no feelings in my fingers, like retying my head rag.
so what i will do in the future; bring waterproof gloves. bring plastic bags to put my wet muddy caving clothes in after i change. hike first, then go in teh cave.
from teh hiking portion in learned; get some gaiters! get some nice warm mittens. get some of those ice walkers (tame crampons)?
but that's not all ladies and gents!
after the hike and another change of clothes back home, i headed out back to work on the snow shelter that i started yesterday. yesterday i made a snowpile and let it settle overnight.
today i hollowed it out (with my dog bowl cereal bowl) and made it shelter like.
from the back (nice camo eh?):
the opening side:
next time i need to make the snowpile bigger. my sister posing in the house. i'm about 7 or 8 inches taller than her, and it was a tight fit for her. this would fit my little brother well:
with some creative bending, i can get everything but my head inside. not exactly my goal here...next time i will make it alot bigger.
first we went caving in this cave...i forget what its called. the locals might know about it. its in new milford just off route 7...
because of the snowfall and the slightly above temps of the last day or two, it was very very wet in there, like small waterfall/river throughout kindof wet.
the mouth:
none of the pictures of the inside came out, it was way too foggy inside. the flash just caught all teh water in the air.
some cool ice:
a couple of the guys went way down deep into the cave, two or three levels down from the main room where i hung out. with the water and everything, i didn't really feel like getting too far into it. just my thing. maybe next time.
after some time spent back at the cars warming up and changing and grabbing some snacks, we were just about ready to head out to a hike 10 minutes down the rode up to the top of a small mountain. we didn't end up making it to the top because of time restraints, but we got pretty far up. fresh deep snow and big icy rocks make for a slippery time. we took turns leading and breaking the trail in the snow. only half the group went up the mountain, the other half went for lunch. i guess we know who the true woodsies are...
four of five (i'm not pictured) at a view on the mountain:
the whole group that went, back at the park and ride before breaking up and heading home:
some things that i learned from this trip:
caves are very cold and wet, especially with the ice. after being in the cave without any hand protection at all, and especially after the climb out, my hands were so cold that i had to ask someone else to untie my shoes back at the car. it took me about 1 hour to get all the control back in my fingers. a little scary going to do something and not being able to like that. it was also interesting that i was able to do things based solely on muscle memory, with no feelings in my fingers, like retying my head rag.
so what i will do in the future; bring waterproof gloves. bring plastic bags to put my wet muddy caving clothes in after i change. hike first, then go in teh cave.
from teh hiking portion in learned; get some gaiters! get some nice warm mittens. get some of those ice walkers (tame crampons)?
but that's not all ladies and gents!
after the hike and another change of clothes back home, i headed out back to work on the snow shelter that i started yesterday. yesterday i made a snowpile and let it settle overnight.
today i hollowed it out (with my dog bowl cereal bowl) and made it shelter like.
from the back (nice camo eh?):
the opening side:
next time i need to make the snowpile bigger. my sister posing in the house. i'm about 7 or 8 inches taller than her, and it was a tight fit for her. this would fit my little brother well:
with some creative bending, i can get everything but my head inside. not exactly my goal here...next time i will make it alot bigger.
