So back in January I made a post about a challenge I had set for myself this year to stay out overnight once per month to try and get more experienced with my camping/bush skills in all seasons. Prior to this I've never winter camped. You can read about my first night out here.
Unfortunately I failed to get out in February. Excuses are just that, excuses, however I did have some personal things going on with my back injury and a trip to the ER for the wife (shes fine). But also part of it was my laziness.
Anyway, onward. I did get out this past weekend so I was able check March off the list and I was able to talk a friend into going with me.
Since my trip in January a lot more snow has fallen so I headed out on Thursday and picked up a collapsible snow shovel. It was kind of last minute so I over packed a little but managed to keep my pack weight around 35-40lbs this time. We hiked into the same area that I camped into before, this time going in a little further to try to avoid that highway drone in the background. However, with the way the wind was blowing, we did hear a few planes landing and taking off from the airport.
I don't have many pics, or much of a story to tell, but I will share what I have. We got to the site around 330-4pm, where I had a boil up last weekend. We went to work setting up the tent and figuring out what we were going to do about a fire. The trails in this area are very well packed with cross country skiers, snowshoers, dog walkers, and snow mobiles. Because of this we passed on our snowshoes (just more weight to carry). However, the area we setup in was a little off the beaten trail and the snow was more problematic. When picking an area for our tent and packing down the snow the snowshoes would have made things a lot easier, but we managed.
The weather was kind of foggy and a little mild at +3C, and everything was soaking wet. The big thing for me was I wanted to get a fire going. With no tinder and poor fire skills it was a challenge I was looking forward to, but not hopeful. With my friend helping me collect wood with my folding buck saw and my GB outdoor axe we went to work. I can start to see the mere act of going out and trying is starting to help me learn. In January I tried and failed, even with lots of tinder and a fire starting aid. Last weekend, I got one going but it wasn't a great fire. This time we cut down a few dead standing timbers, I checked them by cutting a sliver of wood and checking it on my tongue for dryness. I found that the wood at the top of the tree, which I thought would be the driest, was actually the most rotten. But it turns out the wood closer to the ground, but not the bottom, seemed to be the driest and least likely to be rotten. Not sure what they were, probably spruce. So with several dead trees downed, a few which turned out to be mostly rot, we set about processing and digging a hole in the snow for our all night fire, which was significantly deeper than I thought! Using only feather sticks and a bit of dryer lint we were up and running and soon had a brew on and heated up some chili.
Here is my friend Marek
And me!
Airing/drying out my socks and toes.
After all that work of setting up camp, processing wood and digging I was pretty dehydrated. So I melted some snow, drank a bit of water and we headed to bed. It only went down to about -6C that night and in my -12C rated bag and my usual long sleeve merino wool shirt, helly hensen long johns, wool hiking socks and knit socks over them I woke up sweating. I had to take off my shirt from fear it would be too damp to wear in the morning to keep me warm. When we woke up I actually had a little condensation on the outside of my bag due to how warm I was. Lesson for next time! Don't overdress in milder conditions!
Good morning Marek!
Good morning me!
Tools of the trade!
With a single match and some feather sticks we were up and running again early Sunday morning and got a brew on.
And Marek set to processing the rest of the wood for us to enjoy our fire for the day.
I enjoyed myself so much. It was great having company there to share in some of the prep work as well as the experience. He was hesitant at first as he hasn't winter camped before either. But he now seems eager to get out again. As am I!
Around 3pm or so we packed up, tidied up what we could, and made the hike out. We're getting between 30-50cm of snow tonight so anything we might have left around will be good and covered.
Well that's pretty much it. I feel like a learned a bit and am more confident with my fire skills and I had a good time. I am looking forward to getting out again in April for another overnight! I will post an update when I do!
Unfortunately I failed to get out in February. Excuses are just that, excuses, however I did have some personal things going on with my back injury and a trip to the ER for the wife (shes fine). But also part of it was my laziness.
Anyway, onward. I did get out this past weekend so I was able check March off the list and I was able to talk a friend into going with me.
Since my trip in January a lot more snow has fallen so I headed out on Thursday and picked up a collapsible snow shovel. It was kind of last minute so I over packed a little but managed to keep my pack weight around 35-40lbs this time. We hiked into the same area that I camped into before, this time going in a little further to try to avoid that highway drone in the background. However, with the way the wind was blowing, we did hear a few planes landing and taking off from the airport.
I don't have many pics, or much of a story to tell, but I will share what I have. We got to the site around 330-4pm, where I had a boil up last weekend. We went to work setting up the tent and figuring out what we were going to do about a fire. The trails in this area are very well packed with cross country skiers, snowshoers, dog walkers, and snow mobiles. Because of this we passed on our snowshoes (just more weight to carry). However, the area we setup in was a little off the beaten trail and the snow was more problematic. When picking an area for our tent and packing down the snow the snowshoes would have made things a lot easier, but we managed.
The weather was kind of foggy and a little mild at +3C, and everything was soaking wet. The big thing for me was I wanted to get a fire going. With no tinder and poor fire skills it was a challenge I was looking forward to, but not hopeful. With my friend helping me collect wood with my folding buck saw and my GB outdoor axe we went to work. I can start to see the mere act of going out and trying is starting to help me learn. In January I tried and failed, even with lots of tinder and a fire starting aid. Last weekend, I got one going but it wasn't a great fire. This time we cut down a few dead standing timbers, I checked them by cutting a sliver of wood and checking it on my tongue for dryness. I found that the wood at the top of the tree, which I thought would be the driest, was actually the most rotten. But it turns out the wood closer to the ground, but not the bottom, seemed to be the driest and least likely to be rotten. Not sure what they were, probably spruce. So with several dead trees downed, a few which turned out to be mostly rot, we set about processing and digging a hole in the snow for our all night fire, which was significantly deeper than I thought! Using only feather sticks and a bit of dryer lint we were up and running and soon had a brew on and heated up some chili.
Here is my friend Marek
And me!
Airing/drying out my socks and toes.
After all that work of setting up camp, processing wood and digging I was pretty dehydrated. So I melted some snow, drank a bit of water and we headed to bed. It only went down to about -6C that night and in my -12C rated bag and my usual long sleeve merino wool shirt, helly hensen long johns, wool hiking socks and knit socks over them I woke up sweating. I had to take off my shirt from fear it would be too damp to wear in the morning to keep me warm. When we woke up I actually had a little condensation on the outside of my bag due to how warm I was. Lesson for next time! Don't overdress in milder conditions!
Good morning Marek!
Good morning me!
Tools of the trade!
With a single match and some feather sticks we were up and running again early Sunday morning and got a brew on.
And Marek set to processing the rest of the wood for us to enjoy our fire for the day.
I enjoyed myself so much. It was great having company there to share in some of the prep work as well as the experience. He was hesitant at first as he hasn't winter camped before either. But he now seems eager to get out again. As am I!
Around 3pm or so we packed up, tidied up what we could, and made the hike out. We're getting between 30-50cm of snow tonight so anything we might have left around will be good and covered.
Well that's pretty much it. I feel like a learned a bit and am more confident with my fire skills and I had a good time. I am looking forward to getting out again in April for another overnight! I will post an update when I do!
