I am the proud possessor of an insane sister, (everyone needs one) who shares my penchant for camping in wintertime, a thing which no one else particularly cares for in my immediate family..
Camping is one of my best loved means of relaxing, and since you need to relax in winter as well as summer, I dragged her, kicking and screaming into my first foray into winter camping, on the banks of Oil Creek in the hilly country of Pennsylvania.
A good tent, rated for cold weather is a necessity
It snowed about 8 inches the night before we left and nearly everyone who heard we were still going camping, feared for our lives and questioned our sanity.
It was, in point of fact, one of the most challenging and fun things we’d ever done. We packed our tent with snow, added our small heater, cracked the window in the tent and were cozy and felt superior. We’d done it all alone and we’d done it well.
We are also the possessors of men who don’t particularly care for the challenge of a tent in the wintertime, so while we visit the outdoors, they stayed inside watching football and enjoying some time free of their wives, who everyone agreed, must be nuts and they could use the time away from us.
Our second real foray into cold weather was a high country campout in the upper mountains of New Mexico in December, where the Sandia mountains, the cold night temperatures, no snow to use as insulating factors and a windy night posed its own challenges for us.
Comparing the two trips we learned a great deal about camping and keeping warm, about survival and about each other.
Having seen a few too many of the old John wayne shows, we took our thin sleeping bags, perceiving the warm ( 60 degree) days in New Mexico as a harbinger of the night to come.
Wrong..
We found ourselves nearly frozen at about 3 am, with the fire banked down and not enough covers, and a 25 degree night on the mountain top.
We’d hiked in, about 8 miles, so the option to go to the automobile heater heaven just wasn’t there.
From experiences such as this one, we gather wisdom, and I can honestly say that having survived it, we are uniquely qualified to tell you what works and what doesn’t for winter camping equipment.
A good sleeping bag will offer extra insulation in key areas of the body
Winter Camping is a challenge. Its meant to be, and you must want to BE challenged or you’d be waiting for summer time to pitch your tent.
The elements are going to challenge you. Whether its snow, rain, sleet or simply some unbearably cold air.
Be ready for it.
Compensate for those elements, plan for them and make your preparations in advance for the times when the weather goes south and you can’t.
One thing you will absolutely need, is a tent thats well rated for the cold. We personally recommend a surplus military type tent that you can buy at nearly any online or offline military surplus store.
The one we have is fairly lightweight and packs in easily, which is a definite plus when you’re two 130 pound women.
we like ours because its rated for about minus twenty degrees, repels the water, even when that water or sleet is wind driven and it sets up in pretty much no time flat.
Don’t get a tent from your local department store. You’re going to be disappointed, and whats more, you ‘re probably going to be wet and cold.
Believe me when I tell you that if the temp is running about 15, and the wind is hitting at about 30 MPH the last thing you want is a leaky tent.
Purchase your tent with an eye to keeping warm.
That means the large, three room, oversized, domelike model of the convention center, is a bit too large to heat adequately and isn’t going to be practical.
Too big of a tent takes too much time and effort to heat, so leave it home.
The second and more important thing will be your sleeping bags.
Get the best ones you can find.
Superior bags are important, even if you pay top dollar for them.
The ones I purchasesd come from Cabelas in Nebraska, cost about 129 USD and have a temperature rating of about minus 10.
Thats something I can live with..
The mummy bag is best, because its going to give you the kind of heat you need on a cold day.
The bags I got have built in panels in the sidewall that gives it a lot more room inside the bag than the average mummy bag, but also gives you the very best you can get in insulation without a great deal of added weight to the bag.
Its insulate with Quallo, with thermolite, particulary in the areas where the most body heat is lost, such as the head, the back and the feet.
The purchase of these two pieces of gear are the most necessary, the most important and the most essential to your comfort while camping in the wintertime. Don’t skimp on them or you will be sorry..
The next installment in winter camping series will address the basics of what you need to take with you.
April 1, 2008
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