[pct-l] Face Protection While Sleeping

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Paul:  "one thing i definitely need is some kind of face muff;  i felt like
my nose and
lips were going to fall off, despite having sweaty feet."   ... anyone have
good suggestions on how to keep the face warm without feeling suffocated?"

Good morning, Paul,

This is in regard to you request for suggestions for keeping the face warm
in the sleeping bag without feeling suffocated.  Being rather lacking of
top-of-the-head hair I carry, and almost always sleep in, a knit stocking
hat, but I have a relatively high resistance to claustrophobia so my methods
may not be appropriate for others.

I haven’t found the PCT to be particularly cold anytime during a normal
three-season hike:  Certainly frost-on-the-bag cold when I sleep under the
stars, and maybe dropping from the low thirties F to the mid-twenties, but
at those temperatures I do not pucker the top of the mummy bag; I only wear
the stocking hat.  That’s mostly because I like to have my head out to see
and listen rather than being something done to avoid claustrophobia.

In much colder sleeping conditions – I’ve slept out under the stars in
winter temperatures as low as -22F – I pucker the bag top to an approximate
4” diameter hole as well as wearing the hat.  My medium/cold weather
sleeping bags have the resulting hole nominally on the top of the bag, while
I am primarily a side-sleeper.  I could twist the bag around to have the
hole near my face, but I don’t.  By side-sleeping with the hole on top I get
sufficient air while not having any skin directly inside the hole.  When/if
I feel the need for more air I just lift my topside arm a few inches which
increases the inside volume of the bag by sucking in more air through the
hole.  On cold nights I also wear my fleece or wool gloves.  I don’t really
need the hand warmth, but I usually sleep with one hand near my face, and
the glove helps keep my nose warm.

For sleeping I’ve tried several styles of hat, but none seem to beat the
combination of light weight, versatility, and top protection provided by a
standard, cheap-o, single-thickness, knit hat.  I have several balaclavas
and ski masks – both knitted and fleece – but I don’t find the extra
coverage necessary, and invariably during the night they get twisted around
causing me aggravation.  I also have several fitted, cold weather, skullcaps
normally worn under a helmet or hardhat.  They work OK, and I sometimes
carry them on the trail, but their bottom edge is contoured to cover the
ears and when twisted around out of place they cover my eyes while exposing
my ears, which is a nuisance.

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09