Lows in the 40's

My Church held a Men's Advance (not a retreat, we ain't retreating from nuthin') last weekend out in western Maine up on Blueberry Mountain.  It was a fantastic weekend and I always enjoy Blueberry Mountain Bible Conference Center.  Bob and his wife who run the place are a couple of the best people in the world. 

View of Webb Lake, looking down the mountain from the Lodge.  It's like this every AM.

Three of us decided to spend Sat. night hammocking rathern than in the nice, toasty warm rooms.  The lows were supposed to be in the 40's with rain by early morning.  Since I"ve sold out of tarps I had to use my old, old DWR (Durable Water Repellant - a far cry from "waterproof").  It worked great, by the way. 

It was also an opportunity to test out my homemade underquilt.  Fourty isn't all that cold, but I'm an extremely cold sleeper so my gear has to be up to the task to give me a comfortable night.  Good news, I was snuggly warm all night - and slept way better than the previous night on a bunk bed (and much better than on my bed at home for that matter). 

The underquilt was basically free.  I had bought a really crappy sleeping bag for the zipper (it now separates the bugnet on my latest hammock).  I payed less for the whole bag than it costs to purchase just the zipper.  So I cut the bag in half, bound the cut edges and added some suspension lines - and had two underquilts.  They're nothing you'd want to take backpacking (2lbs apiece, and fairly bulky), but for $10.00 for the pair of them, I was pleased.