Lonesome Lake Cozy Cabin (1/12/2018-1/14/2018)

Lonesome Lake Cozy Cabin Trip (1/12/2018-1/14/2018)
[Email from Mr. Chen]
We had 3 days with three completely different skies.
Friday: 60 and misty in Hopkinton; less than 30 and pouring rain in NH
Sat: snow storm and cold during the day; transitioned to windy and very cold at night
Sun: truly beautiful skies with a crisp -8 degrees at wake up. we could see across the lake and the gaze at mountains
Everyone learned the value of the following:
– Keeping gear dry is critical in winter conditions
– Use a pack cover for the outside of your backpack so your pack doesn’t get soaked
– Use a liner (garbage bag) for the inside so your gear doesn’t get soaked
– Make sure your sleeping bag is in a garbage bag since sleeping in a wet bag is not fun
– DON’T WEAR COTTON on camping trips
– Make sure to bring Nalgene bottles so you can have hot water bottles for sleeping
– Use gaiters / snow shoes / ice cleats if you have them and are going on a snow trip
– Stick together and look out for each other
– A warm fire in a cozy cabin with plenty of food and friends can help ease many discomforts
Other notes:
– Thank you to Evan Packer for being the trip SPL and doing the planning as well as managing through the weather challenges.
– HUGE thanks to Juan Lopez for the insightful Philmont discussions
– The Philmont participants discussed the pros & cons of the various activities and identified their top 3 picks. This will allow for aggregating the data and identifying which treks are best aligned based on interests and will help to figure out the crews.
– Due to Saturday’s weather conditions and wet gear, many scouts opted out of the hike and elected to work on rank requirements, tying knots, and playing various card games. Several scouts were also grateful for the wood stove.
– Big thanks to the cooks, Ethan and Aidan, who each served meals to 11-12 guests and who each cooked 2 breakfasts, a lunch, and a dinner. Likewise many thanks to the teams of dishwashers who cleaned after 23 people and 2 sets of cooking gear
In the photos, you might observe people enjoying themselves as well as various bits of gear (boots, clothes, sleeping bags, or jackets) drying.