What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

[Spinster]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Winter of '64, last and next to last times it was held. In 2008, the temps stayed in the teens and 20's in 2007, single digits with 30-50mph winds for the entire event. Ask anyone who slept in the stoveless Pine Cottage how warm it was. LOL

Really ? I never knew the temps. But then, I can and did have on three dresses under my coat. Y'all can only wear one wool uniform at a time. :wink_smil

For years, Sister and I regularly did a little event tucked near the base of Lookout that seemed to always hit on the coldest we get down here--somewhere in the 10-15 degree range. On two occassions we occupied ourselves teaching shirt making to fellers when the wind proved too high for drilling. Packing up a frozen 'Beast Butler' chamber pot was always worth a giggle. Until I forgot it was in the vehicle.

Realistically, we consider ourselves good down to 15 degrees (when we have packed and dressed for that temperature, which is not always the case). At 15 we start whining. At 5 degrees, we are going to the house. Once that goal proved interesting, as a winter refugee through the WarWoman area with a full moon enabled us to keep moving. Our pursuers stopped and made camp. We made it out of the woods a good 15 hours earlier than they did while they had a second night of misery.

Still, I prefer cold weather reenacting to hot weather. And the next time I help plan a wagon train, I'm looking for a January campaign rather than an August one.

[Tom Craig]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Winter of '64, last and next to last times it was held. In 2008, the temps stayed in the teens and 20's in 2007, single digits with 30-50mph winds for the entire event. Ask anyone who slept in the stoveless Pine Cottage how warm it was. LOL

I'd have to second your vote on that one Dave! I can well remember the wind blowing fiercely the entire weekend, and as you say the air temperature was in the single digits anyway. Things were ok until the chimney got overwhelmed by the wind, and the smoke was blowing actively into the hut. The stove was doused to prevent a fire, and most everyone else abandoned ship, trying to find warmer quarters. Somehow I stayed warm enough wrapped up in blankets, but outside was another story! I'm very accustomed to the cold, but that one was tough!
Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Hallo!

Minus 6, Minus 8, and Minus 12 (actual). But they were 18th century and do not count.

Never mind. :)

Plus 12 CW.

Curt

[Pvt_Sullivan]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Growing up in the Great White North, the cold at the last Winter of '64 and Duck River line registered but weren't bad. I'd have to go with the last night at Piney Woods. Rob C. and I were spooning, while soaked through and wrapped in rubber and wool blankets. Rob says my body heat saved him that night. I broke down and switched into the emergency dry wool shirt that night and was glad Rob's prayers to survive that night appeared to bring the almighty's intercession on my behalf as well.

I'll take frozen cold any day over wet cold.

[JEBminnesota]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Piney Woods was bad and on my list. When you mixed rain and cold together it's not fun.

A couple of local groups did a tactical in the late 90's were it was in the single digets every night and sleeping on the frozen ground added to it.

Last year at "Raising the first Volunteers" was cold but we were lucky enough to stay in heated barracks at night.

[Spinster]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Last year at "Raising the first Volunteers" was cold but we were lucky enough to stay in heated barracks at night.

:tounge_sm What you mean 'we', white man?:cry_smile


Old, whiney, and with a different definition of 'heated'. :tounge_sm

[PogueMahone]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

I recall a tactical event in Woodlawn, Tn, many years ago that got so cold our canteens froze. We had anticipated this and put them in our blankets with us and yet they froze anyway.

Franklin '89 has always been a benchmark to me. Winds howling out of the north at a steady 15-20 mph and air temps about 12-15 degrees. People started building fires inside their tents and several burned down during the night.

But I was never more miserable than I was the last night of Piney Woods. Wet, cold and exhausted from lack of sleep for a second night. I just wanted to lie down and die and get it over with but I was too mad to succumb.

[FloridaConscript]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Rivers Bridge a couple years ago for me. Slept in the rain and it was about 25 that morning. everything was soaked. miserable.

[Haversack]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

There are quite a few events that bring the word "cold" to mind. I haven't been at an event anywhere near the temperatures that some ave mentioned, but one that really seems to stick out in my mind is the first night at Race To Knoxville back in April of '09. We had walked through a stream, and my feet were soaked. This was my first c/p/h event so I wasn't smart enough to bring extra socks or any such comforts. I remember it getting pretty cold that night, but I do not know the exact temps. Travis Caldwell, Steven Brewington, and I had a spoon line going, and I was right in the middle but still shivered all night. Nothing compared to some of the posts in this thread, but it really sticks out for me.

[Matthew Semple]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Independent Volunteer Rifles (IVR) School of the Soldier 2002. 18 degrees with snow on top of our blankets when we woke up on Saturday morning.

It was warm under the blankets and the snow acted as an insulator to the point that I was actually starting to sweat. We definately felt the cold once we got up and started moving about for breakfast.

[tenfed1861]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

AOP Battalion at 140th Perryville comes straight to mind.On Friday night,we were in a little valley next to the creek.As I was a late-comer,I was at the end of the spoonline,farthest away from the fire.I only had my Abe Thomas blanket,and was shivering throughout the night.I remember sticking my hands into my sack coat and thinking how great the liner would be for a pair of gloves.The next night,I slipped away and ended up sleeping in Wendell Decker's tent with Blake Stewart.Luckily,Wendell had a propane tank going to keep his chemicals at the proper temps.

[Pvt.S.D.Swart]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Perryville, 1978, Oct., tenting campaign style, and a ice storm hit the camp that night. 2 men from another outfit froze to death. We lashed our dog tents together, and had a small stove going. We lay together as tight as sardines.

S.D.Swart

[Guest]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Out here in Tahoe area CA. Last January. It didn't snow but it was about 5 above zero. Nobody froze, fortunatly and it was a campaign event. We all huddled under the 2 tents we brought right by the fire. Everybody wearing a great coat nobody slept a second. The next morning the finishing day of the campaign it was worth it.

[David Fox]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in January and February, 1967. The "event" was U.S. Army basic infantry combat training.

[Old Overholt]

Re: What's the coldest you've ever been at an event?

I haven't seen any mention of Shiloh '87 in the replies, so maybe it was not as cold as I remember it being. I do remember spooning with 3 other pards in a dog tent on Saturday night; we had to lower the tent poles to fit us all in. I think Perryville later that year was pretty cold as well.

We had a winter quarters at Lexington, MO in 2006 or 2007 where the temperature dropped into the single digits. Miserable indeed, but at least we had a little shelter.

And you can always count on a good freeze at Prairie Grove, Arkansas in December!