Hello 2016! Let's start the year off right with a bikepacking trip. Myself and Zack decided to tackle the Cohutta Death March loop from King's Slough. It's also my first time camping in sub freezing temps in a long time so trying to get the gear figured out was a bit of a challenge. The bike weighed in at 53 lbs. loaded with food and water and I felt like I was taking way too much. I used every piece of gear I brought except the bear snag and a pair of underwear and I ate all the food except 3 peanut butter pies and 3 PB&J rolls. So I guess I packed just right. My only complaint about the gear was on the way out I had 2 bags strapped on my handlebars and they kept coming loose. On the 2nd day I strapped in on the tail pack and didn't have a problem. Monica, Beth, and Thom met us on the first day and road the first 20 miles with us. I had ridden most of this before except the section from state line to Dyer Gap. The first day did not disappoint. The climbs start small and got steeper as we went. I was expecting about a 40 mile day and we hit 40 miles with the toughest climb still to go. Finally we made it to Jack's River Fields to set up camp. We were about an hour behind what I though we would be and the temp was dropping. I set up my tent as fast as I could an changed clothes trying to get warm. Made good dinner of rice and salmon while Zack tried to get a fire going to no avail. I was so cold I had to just get in my tent and try to warm up. My feet were so cold they were starting to hurt and I was a little worried for a while but I finally dozed off. Woke up about midnight and was kinda warm, not really comfortable but I knew I was going to make it through the night. I slept in 3 hr blocks all night waking up to shiver a little and then doze back off. Really I was fairly warm except my feet. At about 7am I decided to start moving around. I awoke to find the top of my sleeping back and the inside of my tent coated with ice. Once I got out of the tent and started moving around I warmed up a bit. Everything had frozen during the night. All my food, water, and my phone. Got the Garmin to turn on and it said 27 degrees. Lit the stove and boiled some water to thaw things and have something warm to drink. Zack came to life at about 8:30 and we started to tear down camp. The 2nd day instead of having all the climbing at the end of the day we had it all at the start, with a pretty solid climb out of camp. After the first couple miles I started to get warm and by noon I was feeling fine. Temps were much warmer and the terrain much more friendly the 2nd day. By the last 5 miles my legs were shot and when I saw the truck I had never been so happy. The MVP of the trip were these toe covers that I made out of some scraps of Tyvek. I put them in between 2 pairs of socks and they kept my toes toasty while riding. Also it was my first tour on my new Selle Anatomico saddle and Catylast pedals. Both performed very well. Probably the first long ride I have had in a while without being sore in the saddle. Yet another great trip in the books.