No, not Mad Max. He's not flip flopping either. So its a bad time to get hit by a hurricane.

The GW Cape did very well through gusts I'd estimate up to 50mph.

However it performed very poorly under an 80' oak tree. Flat as a pancake. I believe the CF pole failed too but I won't know for a few days. I'd bet the Ti stakes are still good.

Wowsers! It's a good thing you weren't sleeping in it! I guess this reinforces the fact that we should be very critical of our site selection.

First snurricane in history!!

Check this taken today on LeConte and lifted from the "High on LeConte site linked here:
http://www.highonleconte.com/1/post/2012/10/mountain-top-views.html

Also snowing in Boone and West Virginia. Could be getting feet and feet up north in Presidentials and Katadyn. Hopefully thru-hikers on the trail have gotten word on this development. If it's on LeConte then it's hitting the usual spots on almost the entire length, or worse it's sleeting and freezing rain lower and further south.

Checked out my new Z-Packs rain jacket against a Marmot precip on 3 walks the past 2 days; twice wearing the Z-Packs and once with the Marmot. Blowing steady @ 50-55 with gusts 60-70 hiking across and west of Jockey's Ridge and through the re-vegetating forest-to-be north of the dune. Didn't have to worry about bigger trees of limbs getting dropped on me. In some of those treed hollows north of the dune it was amazing how calm it would be on the ground while the wind was roaring about 20 feet overhead. Had to wear goggles for the blowing sand but it was still really fun! 4 miles each trip. Wore a Mt. Hardware wicked lite T and a sort of singlet made from an under armour winter weight mock-t with the sleeves cut off. I love that fuzzy stuff in rainy cooler weather with the brushed inside and the flat "harder" skin it's kinda like a wetsuit and comfortable even when damp.

Not very scientific but I weighed the "T" and the singlet before and after each hike and carefully inspected the inside of the jackets. I had the singlet on next to skin and the T as the outside layer.

The singlet gained @ 1 gram each trip and was not noticeably damp on any of the hikes except just a little around the collar with the precip. The Mt. Hardware "T" OTOH was 2 grams heavier with the precip than with the Z-Packs.(3 vs 1 gained) The precip was also definitely damp/wet across the torso area.

The Z-packs was completely dry in the core-torso area and neither the "T" nor the singlet had apparent dampness.

It rained harder on the first hike with the Z-Packs than either of the following with the Precip or the Z-packs.

Also wore the z-packs rain mitts and they were really a nice treat in these conditions.

The Z-packs jacket was definitely water-proof and also lots more quiet and flexible. The fabric really has a nice supple "hand" I am much more skeptical regarding the "breath-ability" but at 60 degrees and 60 mph winds it didn't really matter!

Just lost power in North West Connecticut - hooked up the Airport to my brother's battery backup - hence the internet even with no power :-) was going to set up my DuoMid until I saw the photo of the Cape under a tree....we have a lot of trees in our yard...and over our emergency scanner just heard about a tree going through a house in the town over from us..... I wonder if MLD covers "tree damage" ...maybe tomorrow will be the day to set up the tent....

I am in SE CT. It was the top of the tree that hit the Cape so it may be ok under there. Definitely better then my kid's playscape that is under the trunk. I'm glad I didn't put up the Golite 5 - I plan to use it this winter. So I am 1/2 smart???

Not being even half smart -- I went ahead and set up the DuoMid for an hour and watched it in a few 45-50mph gusts (strong enough to drive the trekking pole into the ground :-D and then I decided to take it down rather than have it end up with Doug's bivy somewhere in a tree......

"So I am 1/2 smart???"

You must be smart, and seeing as how you made it out of the shelter before the tree landed you must be half-fast too... ;-)

Well, the main damaging effects from Sandy are now over. Here in Southern NY state we didn't see much beyond a rather heavy Noreaster. Further west and south, there are trees down, some local power outages, but no more than any good sized storm produces...just wide spread. We did NOT get the snow (yet) that is blanketing the Apilachins. Wind speeds barely topped 50mph, something that is not abnormal for this area. We typically get 50mph winds once/twice per year.

Most damage was confined to metropolitan/coastal areas. I thank the weather service that let us all be prepared for the storm...it could have been much worse. I feel for the coastal area, NYC & area, New Jersey and Delaware residents. It appears from TV that they really got hammered. Snow in the *south* before we get it???? A strange weather pattern.