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Camping Hints -- Winter Camp Part 1
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In two blog articles I am going to try and cover everything we need to know to establish a solid base of skills to make us competent winter campers. I found a great key to success a few years ago called "Simple is Best." I've recently learned that the quote "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity" has been credited to Henry David Thoreau so I guess he can have the honors of saying it first. Right away we are going to use this rule and get our gear organized. Whether in the backpack or the back of the car we want to make it so items can be reached easily and right away.
I ran down a list for camping equipment in one of the books I used for research to see how many things I already had in my survival pack or in my van. I was very happy to see that I already had most of the things: maps, sewing kit, Swiss Army Knife (a gift from Jennifer -- thank-you again, Sweetheart), nylon cord, Phillips head screwdriver, vise grip, file (for sharpening ax), ax and saw, shovel, sunglasses (to protect eyes from snow blindness), flashlight and batteries, and first aid kit. We are not going to purchase anything new in our preparations for our winter camping trip. The new rules are: make do (with what we already own and have), borrow (or look in thrift shops or pawn shops), adapt (turn something you already own into a piece of equipment you do not have), and do without. For example, if you have a 3-season tent this will probably do if you don't actually pitch camp on a windy, Montana ridge line. http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm http://www.fcvb.org/camping.php
I have never used a big pack, like the type with a metal frame. I have always used a day pack type and have found this sufficient for my use and have often wondered to myself when seeing others with huge pack backs: what do they possibly have in that thing? Personal preference does play an important part in all areas of camping equipment.
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This is the U.S. Army issue Extreme Cold Weather Sleeping Bag and they are available at most Army-Navy surplus stores.
The purpose of the sleeping bag is to keep you warm by preventing loss of body heat at a rate faster than you are producing it. If your bag fails to do this, your body will shut down blood circulation to the extremities and the first sign will be cold feet, followed by poor sleep and eventually you will wake up shivering. For the sleeping bag the best I have ever owned is the U. S. Army Extreme Cold Weather Bag. This is the best sleeping bag that I have personally used and I have slept very comfortably and warm in this type outside in New York State with snow drifts as my nightstands. Ground cloths are almost necessary and a friend of mine who is currently sleeping outdoors in the Billings area has and recommends a mylar type reflecting ground cloth. I am currently using three layers for my ground cloth: a length of egg shell foam, a shipping blanket and another comforter type of blanket. Sleep with your face outside of the sleeping bag to prevent moisture from building up inside the bag and dry the sleeping bag out in the morning if needed. I take my boots off inside the sleeping bag and keep them down at the bottom of the bag below my feet during the night where they will be easy to reach in the morning. There is also a type of sleeping bag insert called a vapor-barrier lining. http://www.uscav.com/
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This is a mylar type ground cloth of the exact type my friend has. The reflective side is the side you lay on and your body heat will be reflected back towards you. My friend also tells me that there are foam padded versions of the mylar ground cloth on the market -- sweet! http://www.grafixplastics.com/mylar_what.asp
Hiking or other activities in the day will keep you warm and when it is time to bed down get into your sleeping bag before you feel cold. A little walk or some activity to warm you up right before bed is good (maybe split some firewood for the morning). Tents should not be of the single nylon layer type for the winter camp. There are winter tents and four season tents available on the market. Wall tents with a stove are great (the white gas type of stove is the one recommended). Dome tents are stable and resist the wind and snow load and peaked tents allow the snow to slide off easily. http://www.snowtrekkertents.com/ http://www.trails.com/facts_9878_winter-camping-tents.html
We want to set up camp while it is still light out. Pitch your tent in a depression dug down into the snow to create living space and mound snow up on the sides of the tent. Caves or igloos dug in wind formed snow drifts are other possibilities for shelters and improvise: tree hollows, brush shelters and depressions in the terrain or snow are other possibilities for shelter. In windy weather anchor the tent and build windbreaks of snow or brush. The deep woods is a great place to camp during windy weather. http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/winter/wintcamp.shtml
Winter Camp Part 2 will be tomorrow's blog when I will cover avalanches and safe travel in avalanche country and other winter weather loving topics.
Gregan Wortmann
Links to articles in the Camping Hints series:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m6d22-Public-Lands http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m9d21-Camping-Hints--Tics-Germs-Snakes-and-other-citters http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m6d9-Camping-Hints http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m6d11-Huntin-The-Dump http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m10d18-Campings-Hints-Maps http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m10d31-Camping-Hints--Compass
Books in the Parmly Billings Library on winter camping: http://ci.billings.mt.us/index.aspx?NID=258
The New Complete Snow Camper's Guide by Raymond Bridge; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York (1981); ISBN: 0-684-16842-1.
Winter Camping by Stephen Gorman; Appalachian Mountain Club Books, Boston (1999); ISBN: 1-878239-83-X.
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