Something I've been doing for a few years now. Nothin' spectacular, but we set up and do some trekking from a primitive shelter. Always a little hunting and some long days on snowshoes. Little bit of ice fishing planned. The only difference between modern times and the way we do it... we try to stay true to the 1700's and what would be hunter/trapper style in New England.

Anyone here do modern Winter Camping?


Steve

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Non gratum anus rodentum

Have packed a canvass wall tent back into the Targee National Forest in late September and October to hunt elk with some friends from Wyoming.

It would be so cold anything that wasn't inside your sleeping bag with you was frozen solid by morning. You couldn't tie your boots until the fire was started and they thawed out.

No problem keeping food cold between meals, and no mosquetos, although ocassionally when the shepards stove was going good some black flies would emerge from the firewood inside the tent.

A great time was had by all. Actually much better than summer camping.

I used to winter camp more than summer camp when I was stationed in Montana. We would go deer hunting up on the Marias River. Some years it would be -20 and other years +20 but the hunting was always good and spending time with a great bunch of guys was better.

Camped many times in the winter in the high country of Colorado and even spent a few nights out with the AF going to cool school as they called Artic survival training in Alaska.

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Mike
USMCR 84-87, USAF 87-07

I did several field problems in Germany in the early '70s. I remember trying to be warmer by wearing my field jacket and fatigues in the sleeping bag which does not help. I noticed everybody was stripping down to their underwear so I tried it. It was hard to do in that cold, but within 2 or 3 minutes, with nothing sticking out but my nose in the little hole at the top, I warmed right up.
Thinking back on that time, I once found a pair of sexy womens underwear at the foot of my sleeping bag. I learned what being the subject of ridicule meant at that time. Oh well.
I would like to camp in the winter here before I get to old. I would have to have one of those bags like I had in the Army though. I think they were down filled.
Peace,
gordon

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better have that checked

Spent some time in a tent on elk hunts.

Had a Tipi up all winter long and found it to be very warm and secure in all kinds of weather. With dry grass insulation behind the liner, a full ozan to keep the warm air near the floor, an air tunnel from the outside to the fire pit, and the flaps set right, things is warm and dry even in a howling blizzard.

A Tipi ain't a tent, it's a home.

Slept many a night under an Army pup.(tent half)I have to say I was OK.Below zero wasn't a problem.The U.S.Army's gear works great.Even the old stuff.
If you know your gear you are gonna be OK.

Merry Christmas Everybody.Gotta fix my signature.

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Dum vivo cano

Iggy; A read in Elmer Keith's book where he spent a night in an Indian Teepee & thought they had the right idea concerning cold weather on the plains. Small fire & stand close.

Sir, the old canvas gear was heavy, but I prefer it to the new lightweight synthetic stuff if fire is involved.

My own winter camping was all courtesy of the Marine Corps, mainly up at Pickel Meadows in the Sierra Nevadas. Gets darned cold up in those hills, but we did just fine with our "old school" canvas and wool gear.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

About 5 years ago I accompanied my son's scout troop on their annual Operation Icicle; normally it's more of an Operation Mudsicle. That particular year I'll always remember because when we got there we had about a foot of snow on the ground and temps in the low teens. Fortunately at that temperature the snow didn't melt at all so if you tracked it into your tent you only had to brush it out and the snow on your pants and boots likewise would just brush off. Staying dry really was critical. Both nights got down to around 4 degrees; took the felt liners out of my pac boots and wore them in the sleeping bag. Wore a fleece beanie and pulled the sleeping bag hood (great invention) tight around my head. Had the air level just right in the air mattress and I tell you , I had the best nights sleep I've ever had in a tent. Walking around the campground on Saturday I reached into my outer shell pocket for a Snickers bar; it was frozen! It was just a great weekend to be outside if you were properly equipped; beautiful bright blue sky, no wind, and a high of around 14. Memory permanently etched.

Used to camp with some fellow co-workers in NE Iowa in winter. Usually around zero or below with lots of snow.

I was younger then (and a lot dumber).

Camped last winter in Saskatchewan. But, it was in a 36 foot HEATED camper. I learned that I should not camp in a tent when the temperature goes below 0' F with a 40 MPH wind while camping in ND in Decenber. That lesson has lasted me a couple years and will continue to last until my dieing days (Hopefully not dieing of frostbite).

Class III

We were around the campfire one night, and my Wyoming friends were talking about working oil rigs in -30 and -40 degree weather. I asked how you stood it when it was that cold. One friend spit some tobacco juice in the fire and said "Aw hell, it doesn't matter. When it gets more than 20 below, it's just damn cold."

I've got a distant cousin that spent his life working up and down the rockies from the 1930's. He tells of working cows from the saddle in snow storms, and being frozen to the saddle so tight he had to siddle his horse next to a fire to dismount.

Iggy can probably give some opinions on that!

Dick, Indians use to laugh at the white man's fire.. so big and hot that one side cooked while other side froze.

m75rlg,
The feller was right, after a certain point, it's just cold.

Clothing has improved immensely, I can remember Sheepskin coats and wool pants. They were so bulky that if you were warm, you couldn't move.

I have come in many times when I had to use the wife's hair dryer to thaw out my hair and beard so it would unfreeze from my coat so I could get it off.
The hair and ice protected you from the howling wind and blowing snow.

Always curried the ice off of the horses and got them grained, dry, and blanketed before we went to the house. They din't have no hair drier.

I occasionally camp in Arizona winter weather, but usually it's just cold, seldom snowy. With modern sleeping bags and etc., it's no trick to sleep comfortably. Icy socks and boots are still unpleasant to don in the morning, but there's a far cry from cold and damp or wet, and cold and dry. When I lived in Michigan, a friend and I liked to pack in to remote places with XC skis or snowshoes. We spent one memorably cold night in the Pigeon River State Forest, in comparative comfort, at 20 below. On another occasion, we were sipping an adult beverage around a campfire that had by then melted itself into an about four foot deep pit in the snowpack. We were completely comfortable and enjoying an area that would have been a bramble and mosquito infested nightmare in the summer, but was transformed by cold and snow into a pleasant playground. "Why," I asked rhetorically, "aren't their more people enjoying this winter camping experience?" My friend, who managed a sporting goods store, replied, " Well, just tot up the cost of the special equipment you're using on this trip just to get in, out, and survive the experience --- cost alone discourages most people..." Once I added up the price of snowshoes, super-duper down sleeping bag, internal frame backpack, technical clothing, boots, etc., none of which were of any general-purpose, moderate weather use. Amounting to well over $1,000, in 1970's dollars, it was the plain answer to my question. I think it's probably relatively cheaper to equip yourself for cold weather camping with contemporary technology, but it still ain't cheap...

"White man build big fire,
Keep warm carrying wood.

Injun build small fire,
keep warm sitting close."

Yes, we used to camp out the full moon in January. Stupid.

But just a couple of hours ago I had a big fire in the fireplace. I was on the floor in front of it, toasting. Had the gray cat at my side, between me and the fire. She likes the warmth, too. I considered that nap to be camping.

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Dick Burg

I stayed at a Comfort Inn last night!

Did some of that in my muzzleloading days. Back then you pretty much had the woods to yourself.

Being raised in ND helps you keep your perspective on cold. Everyplace else is warmer.