Backpacking this weekend

Well, I'm all set for this weekend's backpacking trip at Harriman State Park. Friday afternoon I'll rendezvous with 6 or 7 other guys (and a Husky named Juno) at the park and snowshoe about a 2 miles into West Mountain Shelter. We'll set up in the shelter (if there's not enough room, I'll pitch my tent in the snow) and make dinner. I'll be re-hydrating some freeze-dried pasta primavera and vegetables. It should get pretty cold that night, possibly down to the single digits but I should be fine. My bag is rated to 20°F and I have a thermal liner that will add another 20°F of warmth. Add to this the fact that I will be layering up before I hop in the sack and I think I'll be fine. In the morning we'll snowshoe 10 miles along the Appalachian Trail (AT) to Fingerboard Shelter. Awesome tidbit of info: West Mountain & Fingerboard Shelters are the oldest shelters on the AT! Saturday night will be the same routine: set up shelter/tent, reconstitute food, goof off with new friends and cocoon-up for the night. Sunday morning we will backtrack about 2 miles out of the woods.

I loaded up my pack this evening and it weighs a total of 35lbs. That's not bad at all. However, my water bottles were empty and I hadn't thrown in any luxury items (a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew, candybars etc). Nonetheless, I'm sure I'll be able to keep pace with the guys I'm going with. I'm in pretty good shape. HOWEVER: In the event that I freeze to death (Hatchet Jack style) I am posting my route below. Who is Hatchet Jack? A mountain man from a favorite movie of mine: Jeremiah Johnson

Go ahead click it, it's honkin' huge I tell ya: