Even the best of us can be unprepared

[Moondog55]

Not even a walking post
I was in the car
I made a delivery to Wagga Wagga and stopped at Pretty Valley on the way home to see if I could locate/find/pick-up my old sled.
Despite there being no weight limit on what my sleeping arrangements were I had a very cold nite
I know my US army bivvy with the LW US Army patrol bag and my old Swiss Army summer sleeping bag combined is good to freezing I was cold and shivering even with 3 layers of warm clothing on my torso
I woke up to find the water frozen solid in my billy and a really thick layer of frost over the whole area.
Most of us know that PV camp site can be much colder than the weather station at Falls Creek; often by 5 degrees or more and that night it was -2.2c at the weather station with a windchill factor of -12C
Funny thing is that while I was chucking stuff into my bag for the trip I chucked in my LW Mont-Bell Thermawrap parka and LW vest rather than the DAS I had in my hands
And to forestall any comments on food and hydration I was fully hydrated and well fed and not exhausted although driving for 11 hours is tiring I was OK in that regard, I should have got out of the relative warmth of the bivvy and put on a pair of longjohns
It was simply $(^!*# freezing that nite, even a tarp would have made a big difference but I like falling asleep looking at the stars
I think I really need to look for a middle of the range down bag when funds permit

[photohiker]

If you can see the stars, you know that the heat is being sucked out to space. No cloud insulation. That can be really cold in the mountains even in the middle of summer.

Any sort of shelter would have helped, but a good tent would have done the job without adding more inches of insulation, you already had heaps. Fine to watch the stars, but when you get drowsy or cold, bale into the tent.

[Gadgetgeek]

I've done the same. some nights just get cold. Funny how even though sometimes you know how to fix it, you still don't. I will hit a point where I'm not quite cold enough to bother getting up to fix anything, but am cold enough to be annoyed.

[stry]

Funny how even though sometimes you know how to fix it, you still don't. I will hit a point where I'm not quite cold enough to bother getting up to fix anything, but am cold enough to be annoyed.

Good to know I'm not the only one

[MeanderingFlyFisher]

Funny how even though sometimes you know how to fix it, you still don't. I will hit a point where I'm not quite cold enough to bother getting up to fix anything, but am cold enough to be annoyed.

Good to know I'm not the only one

Me too
Lovely spot to car camp though and hopefully catch a trout or 2.

[Moondog55]

I've done the same. some nights just get cold. Funny how even though sometimes you know how to fix it, you still don't. I will hit a point where I'm not quite cold enough to bother getting up to fix anything, but am cold enough to be annoyed.

Exactly
Too cold to leave the warm pit but not cold enough to freeze to death.
Maybe it's time to wash that Swiss bag and see if it re-lofts any
I wasn't the only cold person, all but one couple amongst the horseriders said they had a cold nite, the warm couple were in a campervan

[wayno]

it s a nutty summer. christchurch got completely carpeted in hail yesterday... keeps snowing in the mountains

[paidal_chalne_vala]

We had fierce wind driven freaky flash hail storm on Fri. night 11/12/15 at Sealers' Cove. I was warm and dry but others, less experienced walkers in my VNPA walking group were not. I always plan for the worst and carry the extra gear. It will always be worth it. My summer sleeping bag is good down to minus 1 , I would say . I always takes thermals. I always sleep in a good tent which traps heat.
There was ice everywhere like snow on the tents, sand, campsite etc.

[Moondog55]

I've given away or sold cheaply several down bags over the years, not because they weren't warm enough but because all of them were too short. Time for me to start saving for a decent and warm down mummy for car camping

[paidal_chalne_vala]

I bought a really long down exped SB rated to neg. 9. It kicks buttockial matter when snow camping. I am 188 cms tall and this winter down filled SB ticks all the boxes.

[Xplora]

I wasn't the only cold person, all but one couple amongst the horseriders said they had a cold nite, the warm couple were in a campervan

I wasn't cold. Didn't notice any campervan but there were 3 horse floats a Mazda SUV and a Nissan patrol besides your ute. I know the horses water bucket was frozen in the morning. None reported to have had too bad a night but all thought the morning was chilly. I checked the forecast and new it would be cold. I think the wind did the most damage to the temperature early evening but then it dropped in the middle of the night. Love the mountains.

[Moondog55]

You should have walked over and said "G'Day" I thought most members would know my ute from last winters PV thread
I stopped on the way out and had a chat with the couple on the other side of the track, could have sworn that was a camper-van but those I spoke to on their way back from the loo told me they were cold that nite so I just made an assumption all were cold
Yes I should have put my long-johns on
I'd taken the cheap polyester out of my ute for the drive up too, I would have been sweating if I had used that as well

[walkon]

Don't worry MD, a few weeks ago for the first time in... well I can't remember doing it before really I left my sleeping mat behind. While highly annoyed I took consolation that at least I had a soft pillow. That is until it deflated on me. Murphy's Law I suppose but I still finished the walk with a smile so all was good, especially after a sleep on a soft bed that night.