Do you have any winter camping tips to share?
I am thinking winter as in Cold Weather. I am sure winter might not mean cold weather to all folks who live in southern climates.
Here are some ideas to get started:
I am thinking winter as in Cold Weather. I am sure winter might not mean cold weather to all folks who live in southern climates.
Here are some ideas to get started:
- Boots get cold in the snow. If you have a pair of oversized booties, line the inside bottoms with cut-outs of closed cell foam insulation from an old sleeping pad. Wear these around camp instead of boots.
- In a small tent, a tea candle lantern will add a significant amount of warmth. More importantly, it will keep the frost from forming on the inside of the tent. Be sure to use a reliable candle lantern and not a raw-flame candle inside the tent.
- Butane lighters don't work in extreme cold. Bring matches instead. If you have a lighter, keep it in your pocket close to your body so that it is warm and will light.
- It takes a tremendous amount of fuel to cook and heat water in extreme cold. it is also more difficult to find downed burnable wood if the forest has a blanket of deep snow. Bring at least twice as much fuel as you would for summer. Plan your meals for minimal cooking - preferably hot meals only need to have water added or heated - preferrably boil-in-a-bag.
- Washing pots and pans in extreme cold is impractical. Plan to heat your meals without messing up pots; Boil-in-bags, instant foods (add boiling water), No-cook meals (sandwiches, etc) with a hot drink, etc. Use teflon pans and wipe clean, etc.
- In deep snow conditions, the amount of time and energy needed to hunt and gather dry firewood is often more trouble than a fire it is worth. In extreme cold, fires really do not provide much warmth except to the front of the body - and many a pair of shoes have been burned by winter campers inching too close to the fire without feeling the heat. Consider camping without campfires in winter. Hit the sack early and do you story telling from sleeping bags.
- Bury your drink bottles in deep snow with the mouth of the bottles pointing downward to prevent freezing.
- Beer tends to cool you down too quickly and too effectively in extreme cold conditions. I like beer, but recommend leaving it off your menu in extreme cold conditions.
- A hot water bottle at the feet of your sleeping bag is so incredibly effective for warmth generation and retention that it should be considered a must. Be sure that your water bottle can withstand hot water and maker sure that the lid is reliable even it you sit on it. The best I have found are the thick green plastic military issue that you might still be able to get at the Army Surplus stores.
- Ounce for ounce, cubic inch for cubic inch, nothing beats down clothing for warmth and pack-ability, no matter what claims manufacturers of synthetics say.
- In extreme cold, never pound stakes into the ground - they are near impossible to get out of frozen ground. Instead, tie guy-lines to sticks and branches and bury in snow. For want of snow, tie rags to the guy lines, stretch them out, pour water on them, then stand on them while they freeze to the ground.
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