Sunday, February 16th 2003

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Sunday February 16th, 2003
Mount Nittany - Up to the top in a blizzard, or, Testing out my cold weather gear

Well, as you may know if you've read some of my entries that Mount Nittany is where I hike when I can't get to other spots, or if I just want a quick jog up a hill to get some exercise.

On this hike, the temperature was about 9 degrees at 600 feet altitude, and somewhere around 2 degrees at 2000 feet, which is how tall Mount Nittany is at the summit.

With a full-scale blizzard coming (that would eventually dump 18 inches) I knew I had to do something quick, or I might be staying the night, so Mt. Nittany it was.

I was a little excited to check out my new cold weather gear. Specifically, I purchased a pair of 'fog proof' goggles, and a USGI Hood, Extreme Cold Weather. I had worn the goggles (a pair of Scott brand, purchased from Dick's Sporting Goods) before, and they worked well. They had not been tested in extreme conditions, which is really what I bought them for. When the air is below freezing and there's a howling wind, a few seconds of exposed skin around the eyes can be devastating.

I have never been able to hike Mount Nittany without seeing anybody else, and I figured that this would finally be my chance. Nope. A father and son were trying out their new snowshoes . . . they made it up about 150 yards before turning back. They must have thought I was crazy for hiking in a blizzard at that temperature. Truth is, though, I was quite comfortable in my multiple layers.

As it turns out, the goggles fogged up fairly quickly through a combination of 8 degree air and extreme sweathing on my part. I always sweat buckets, so I can't really blame the goggles. After a while, though, the goggles got so much moisture on them that they became useful again. I couldn't keep them on long enough to decide if they were worth it or not--I couldn't see the trail blazes.

On the top of the hill, I sat down for a break and put on my extreme cold weather hood, which can be worn by itself as a sort of hat/balaclava. To my amazement, it worked far better than the neck gaiter, bomber hat and goggles I had been wearing. The heat from my body created a warm pocket of air in the tunnel of the hood, and visibility was much better than with the goggles. Go figure . . . military surplus stuff wins again.

From now on, I'll take the USGI hood and leave the other stuff at home.

I got back to my car to discover a dead battery from having left the lights on, but a quick boost with my handy battery booster got me on the way through the start of the blizzard and on to Taco Bell for a stuffed burrito :-)