So previously I posted a picture of my hammock setup. Unfortunately, it got cold and windy a few nights which means the wind just sucks the heat off of you from underneath. I had an underquilt which was supposed to prevent that but it wasn’t as effective as I had hoped. So I also had something similar to those mylar car window screens which did a super duper fantastic job of blocking the wind, unfortunately, it didn’t let my skin breath so I ended up sweating which then got my down quilt wet and wet down is useless. So…thanks to my father and sister I had some of my old gear and some fantastic new gear sent to me in the glorious metropolis of Palmerton, PA.
Now I’m sleeping in a tent with a 0° bag which should be warm enough to complete this journey. I also received some scrumptious homemade brownies which sadly didn’t last very long…it appears I am on the verge of developing “hiker hunger” which means you are always hungry no matter how much you eat. The other night I ate an entire 16″ pizza by myself along with some broccoli bites which were more dough than broccoli and filled with some cheese like substance.
Below is a picture of the new tent…notice the paint can…funny story here…
The tent needed to be seam sealed because it wasn’t and we were expecting rain the next day. The sealant has a very strong, noxious odor. So I was staying at the Palmerton City Hall/hiker hostel/gymnasium/former jail and asked if I could set up the tent outside for a few hours, they said no problem. The problem is the gravel you see is compacted so I couldn’t get a stake into it and had to improvise. Well…I finished seam sealing and was in the basement and occasionally looked out to check on the tent, at one point I looked out and it was gone…I ran outside and discovered the paint can was bubbling over, the tent was on its side and well, it was a giant mess.
So I took the tent to the boiler room to let it finish drying and then tried to scoop up the paint with my hands and paper towels…I spent about 30 minutes cleaning it up then trying to soak up the last bit with leaves, then another 30 cleaning my hands as well as every door handle, faucet handle and all the droplets on the floor. Learn from my error, don’t leave a mostly full gallon of latex paint in direct sunlight on a warm day no matter how good of an idea you might think it is…