Anyone winter camping?

[Tb54]

Yup. I make it a habit to stay home on three day weekends. Towns much quieter

 

[Tb54]

Recently picked up a Military Sleep System sleeping bag for just such occasions and used it on my above camping trip. Thinking now about getting a heavy wool blanket, like a Hudson Bay blanket. Nothing wrong with the sleeping bag, kept me warm all nite, but I don’t fit in it. I couldn’t have been wrapped tighter if I’d been mummified in Saran Wrap head to toe. Couldn’t even get the zipper up all the way cause I’m too wide on the top end. Probly wind up being my kids birthday present in a couple weeks. So where could I find a big wool blanket?

 

[kje54]

My idea of winter "camping"..........

 

[Sean Gadhar]

with the right equipment winter camping is very rewarding, not uncomfortable (for the most part) and actually has a lot going for it. No bugs for one thing. No goofy people stinkin' up the place - likely have most any campground all to yourself. Camping to most people is strictly a summertime activity. In some ways (or at least some locales), I believe it is the absolute worst possible time to sleep outside.

You forgot to mention, everyone else thinks you're a little mad when you winter camp. I find it's helpful at times to have people think you're just a bit crazy. . . .and I find Winter camping fills that bill nicely.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Sean, I agree

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Sadly, My enthusiasm for winter camping Stops at rain, and it has been raining off and on since yesterday

I'll do cold, I'll do snow, but without a reason such as fishing or hunting game, I'm not going camping in the mud.

 

[Rifleman1776]

No more for me. Age and health make me grateful to be living now and not 200 years ago. Heated homes are a good thing.

 

[ny griz]

Great pics guys.Griz

 

[Le Loup]

Winter is my favourite time of year for camping, but sadly, due to anthropogenic global warming & climate change, it does not snow here in winter anymore.
Keith.

 

[Tb54]

Due to the grand solar minimum we are now entering you may get the chance again soon.

 

[Hawken]

Winter is my favourite time of year for camping, but sadly, due to anthropogenic global warming & climate change, it does not snow here in winter anymore.

Look on the bright side though, the glaciers are mostly gone and we can grow crops again. Ice ages are over rated, I think.

 

[Timber Wolf]

Winter camping is the best time to camp down here in Florida. Just got back from 10 days in the woods but cheated with my little travel trailer with heater. I do tent camp but not till later in the Spring. I just cannot do the sleeping on the ground thing anymore. Not if I want to be able to move the next day. I have worked hard outside (construction) my whole life and these 60 year old bones draw the line at having a comfortable place to lay overnight. And maybe for a daytime nap too!

 

[Whitworth]

Not since the Boy Scouts in the 60's. I live in the woods so nature is always there, just step out the door. Still like to walk thru the woods in the snow looking for tracks. If I slept on the ground at this point I'd be hours limbering up in the morning.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

My version of winter camping.
Hanging out with the dogs in my workshop...

 

[Mike Payne]

I enjoy camping in the winter no bugs no people don't even care if I wake up to snow. But if it's already wet I stay in the dry! Like Sean said don't want to camp in the mud.

 

[Hawken]

I just cannot do the sleeping on the ground thing anymore. Not if I want to be able to move the next day. I have worked hard outside (construction) my whole life and these 60 year old bones draw the line at having a comfortable place to lay overnight.

Nobody "sleeps on the ground" anymore, there are excellent insulated camping pads, these are required for any sort of cold weather. ThermaRest pretty much took over the industry for a short period in the 1980s with their self-inflating foam core air mattress. It's not often a new product takes the world by a storm like that, but it sure did.

Air mattesses (slightly under-inflated, to avoid bouncing around like a cork on the open sea) were very comfortable for camping, but offer no insulation from the cold ground. Standard cots, get the camper off the ground, but are also cold because of constant cold air circulating underneath. A good insulated sleeping/camping pad underneath you will make for a comfortable nights rest.

A lot of people (not you mind you) seem to think camping requires suffering and hardship, it just ain't so! It's a lot of work to go camping, and believe me I don't go if I'm not going to be reasonably comfortable even in extreme cold. It's actually the hot, humid nasty summer weather than bothers me the most.

 

[Snapper Petta]

For a couple of years there were other like-minded folks where I live (central NYS) who enjoyed doing 18th century outings during the winter months. Typically we went to some private property that had a lean-to shelter that we used for our base camp. We'd usually go the end of February and typical overnight temperatures would drop down into the single digits. It was a great chance to use our toboggans and other winter gear we'd made. Lots of good food and the occasional adult beverage around a campfire is always a fun time. We'd crawl under our wool blankets around 9 PM and talk until the candles burned down. Once morning rolled around we'd clean up and head out for breakfast at home.

Now that those folks are gone, I've been fortunate enough to become part of a group at Fort #4 in Charlestown, NH that does a winter event at the fort. Last year we stayed in one of the cabins. While not exactly camping, it was - 12 F on Friday night and I doubt it was much warmer in the cabin. All we had was the fireplace, with a roaring fire, to keep us warm. On Saturday night it only dropped down into the single digits but it was still a cold night. Again, lots of good wool blankets and a nice capote got me through both nights. Lots of fun and looking forward to doing it again later this month.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Le Loup]

Look on the bright side though, the glaciers are mostly gone and we can grow crops again. Ice ages are over rated, I think.

Unfortunately Hawken, a lot of people are dying from climate change, & it is going to get a lot worse. Growing extra food will not be a plus because we are also seeing droughts & floods & crop losses. The human race could be extinct within the next 100 years if the world continues to burn fossil fuels, today's children will not survive climate change. That is how bad it really is.
Keith.

 

[Hawken]

You've been watching Television again, I can tell.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Le Loup, let me know in about a hundred years from now how things are going. Actually it would not be a bad thing the eradication of the human race as we are the only species who seem to destroy everything we come across.