Wintergeddon XII: Who's ready to be miserable? Jan 27-29th

[DropZedFred]

Next weeks forecast:
Thursday: Showers. Cloudy, with a high near 44.

Thursday Night: Showers. Cloudy, with a low around 31.

Friday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 42.

Friday Night: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 31.

Saturday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 42

[Hammer31]

I am not going to be able to attend. My kids decided that the weekend of the trip is the weekend that they wanted to come visit. I tried to talk them into coming but we just do not have the equipment.

[Big B]

A little update on the weather.

Fraiday- we had snow and freezing rain. Temps in the 20's.

Yesterday- it warmed up to 36 degrees and we had some rain

Today- Rain in the AM then temps droped and we had more snow.

Forcast calls for a mix of snow and rain for the rest of the week. High temps around 38, lows in the mid to high 20's.

We still have 6 to 18 inches of snow on the ground (its hard to tell due to wind and snow drifts). Goodel Campground, where we stayed last year, is probably a better place to stay than the range. I almost got stuck trying to get into the range, so I would only go in there with 4wd and good tires. Goodel is still possible to get into, I left a trail today w/ my 4x4, even with the trees that fell.

Shoot me a PM or post here with any questions.


ETA: We may be faced with another Slushaggeden this year. If anyone's gear fails, gets sick, or needs a break my house is just down the road and my wife already offered up our basement and guest rooms for anyone that needs to warm up or dry off.

[DrGonzo]

Ok, we have an exact where and when? I want to hit the road Fri afternoon, PM me details if need be.

[Big B]

Ok, we have an exact where and when? I want to hit the road Fri afternoon, PM me details if need be.

Since I haven't heard any objections to my last post in the thread I would say Goodell Creek Campground is it. The Campground is just west of Newhalem, where we did Wintergeddon last year and where we all met before going to the range last time I hosted a shoot.

What time are people planning on being there on Friday?

[DrGonzo]

I'm shooting for around 4 pm, barring any delays. How are the roads looking now?

[pasha]

Is anybody interested in carpooling?

[d.riley]

Can't go this year. Will be working on my car, replacing the transmission. Good times...

[Dietrich]

Pasha, I'm planning to go up Saturday am and leave Sunday afternoon (trial on Monday) so if you want to go with me either of those times let me know.

[DrGonzo]

Ok, so Goodall Creek Campground it is. According the web, it's car camping with water, shitters and garbage, looks like it's $10. Fine with me, since the weather is going to be iffy. According to previous posts, it looks like we'll have:

DrGonzo
BigB
Pasha
Dietrich
DropZedFred
Falman
Weaselkeeper
Marktaff (?)
Seanwins (?)

BigB, I assume we'll have range access? Saturday afternoon for the ZSC:005 Soggy Snowy Shootoff?

[Big B]

BigB, I assume we'll have range access? Saturday afternoon for the ZSC:005 Soggy Snowy Shootoff?

Yup

Also, no camping fees during winter months at the campground. The water is also turned off at the campground, but the toilets are open.

[DrGonzo]

BigB, I assume we'll have range access? Saturday afternoon for the ZSC:005 Soggy Snowy Shootoff?

Yup

Also, no camping fees during winter months at the campground. The water is also turned off at the campground, but the toilets are open.

Is there snow on the ground?

[Big B]

Is there snow on the ground?

There is, but it's 36 degrees and raining so it's starting to disapear.

I was hopeful. Yesterday it was 29 degrees and snowed all day..... then last night we got freezing rain.... this AM there was a layer of ice on top of the snow.... now, like I said, it's 36 and raining....

[pasha]

Pasha, I'm planning to go up Saturday am and leave Sunday afternoon (trial on Monday) so if you want to go with me either of those times let me know.

Thank you Senior, but I'm heading up on Friday.

[DrGonzo]

I'll bring some wood, but it won't be enough for 2-3 days of continuous burning. I'm also trying out my new toy:

Mr Heater Portable Buddy

Should help keep my tootsies warm while I get tipsy under a tarp. I'll have to be careful that I don't melt my tent in the process!

Do we have a confirmed list of attendees?

[DropZedFred]

DrGonzo - Fri-Sun
BigB
pasha - Fri-Sun
Dietrich
DropZedFred - Fri-Sun
Falman
Weaselkeeper
Marktaff
Seanwins (?)

MEANTREE is a possible "day trip", but otherwise working.
"Range time" is best for the afternoon on Sat - gives people time to settle in and drive up.
Pushing it later makes for a good show with the tracers as we depart...

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Light southwest wind.
Friday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 28. Light and variable wind.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 42. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 34.

Sunday: Rain. High near 42. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Sunday Night: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 33.

[marktaff]

I'm not going to be able to make it guys. I was sick for a week, followed by the snow week, in which my mother's condition deteriorated. As a result, I am way behind on my studies, and I have a midterm that Monday. Looking forward to photos documenting your misery.

[Black November]

Hopefully you guys remembered to bring wood for the camp fire?

[Big B]

Hopefully you guys remembered to bring wood for the camp fire?

I have some wood at the house we can use, but I don't think it will last us all weekend. I'll try to track some more down up here.

[DrGonzo]

Hopefully you guys remembered to bring wood for the camp fire?

Are you coming?

[Black November]

Unfortunately I won't be able to attend this year.

[Dietrich]

I'm not able to come either. Crap.

[Doc Maker]

No posts since Saturday morning...

Search party? I have corpse-handling gloves.

[DropZedFred]

No posts since Saturday morning...

Search party? I have corpse-handling gloves.

We're good - everyone survived the weekend. If anything happened it was on the way home.
Friday and Saturday were nice; cold and snowing.
With a foot already on the ground and an inch or so added over night.
Saturday night we started to get grapple, then sleet and finally rain - the suck ensued.

Sunday morning we didn't even light a fire - by 10 am it was time to bail.
Last year it was similar, only it was raining the whole time, the snow blocks drainage, but also the rain flows in rivers on the surface beneath the snow in areas - that is how I got soaked to the bone in my sleeping bag.

This year it was a larger tent with a cot. Getting off the ground is crucial, as even with a good set up (dry surface, tarp, ground cloth, tent, sleeping pad and bag) there was moisture build up between the layers from your body - with rough outlines of your sleeping position.

Firewood - DrG brought 2 packs, I added a 1/4 truck bed full and that was mostly gone the first day. We saved the two commercial bundles for BFast, but managed to scavenge some more from BigB and a hookup. You can probably plan on a half pickup bed for two days with a decent fire - add more if EtOH is involved.

We did a late shoot (waiting for possible stragglers) and that worked well with the tracers for a finale. Green Mountain .22LR Tracers were AWESOME, my 5.56 AE were OK, but weak.
Tannerite in stuffed animals made for some exceptional fun and festivity. I only wish I hit "save" when the video completed. Suck. It was a 28 second hailstorm of lead with the ultimate ending - KaBoom! Good stuff.

As always - cold and snowy was fine.
Cold and wet was miserable and literally sucks he life out of you.