Phew

I'm certainly glad I decided to field test everything today. While the pack is great and was a lucky buy as it was discounted $30 from its original $150, my inflatable bed roll proved to be a bit of a hassle to keep inflated. Once done and in position it worked out just fine. Folding it up and getting it back in the pack was easy enough. I didn't use my emergency blanket, but I figured if my bag couldn't deal with mild cold last night then I should probably invest in a new one. I'm thinking a 0 degree bag would be best and if I'm still cold after that then the emergency blanket can be used. Though my black sweater/jacket/thing proved to be quite toasty. I also found that I'll need a good pair of gloves and I'll have to layer my socks some as well. My next purchase will be a new pair of boots. I don't know if I couldn't sleep because I was freezing or for some other reason, but I got to bed at 1am and was up sometime soon afterward with me finally getting up at 6am. I'm certainly glad I was unable to sleep as I watched the sunrise on the dead trees and snow. The light produced was something else. I imagine the sunset on a scene like that would have been better as the light produced would give things a purplish hue that would last longer than a sunrise. Well, I'm sure that I'll have more opportunity to see it pretty soon. I'm hoping I can get myself to wake up early more often to get used to long days. Well, that was my New Year's Eve.