Winter Camping 101

 

In an attempt to clear my head I planned a one-night backpacking trip to Ohiopyle. It was going to be cold, but quick and scenic 6-mile hike with a cold night in a tent. My thoughts were going to get freeze and shatter and leave my head crisp and clear. 

Then....

Everyone bailed, but everyone had a very good reason. 

This brings us to the part where my mom volunteered to go camping, nearby camping, with me and my dearest dog, Lucky. 

There were many things we did correctly, and many lessons that were learned. 

1. Tent Size- our tent was too big! My mom doesn't own her own tent, and my backpacking tent is too small to fit a mom, and me, and a dog, so she borrowed my brother and sister-in-law's tent. She had no idea how big their tent was when she borrowed it. Their tent is a six-person tent. There was so much room for cold air in this tent, and it all wanted to sleep in our tent.  The heat from our bodies never had a chance to fill in the large void. 

2. Layers, layers, layers- In any cold-weather event you should always wear layers. These layers should NOT be cotton because cotton makes you sweat and doesn't dry quickly which means it stays wet against your skin. 

3. Frozen Water- Our water froze. We had a 3 gallon jug of water that I left outside overnight. I knew that animals wouldn't touch it because it was just water, but I forgot about that freeze factor. Next time I must figure out a way to avoid the freezing. Maybe put it in your sleeping bag with you, or put it up under your shirt to keep it warm. Other ideas, let me know!

4. Keep your dog warm! I had many blankets for my sweet Lucky boy but I think he could have had more. Or let them snuggle with you in your sleeping bag. Did you know that a dog's temperature runs around 100 -102 degrees. Think about all that body warmth. 

5. Know your limits- Listen to your body and your instincts. The next morning my Mom and Lucky got up first. My Mom started to make a fire, by the time I got out of the sleeping bag and got Lucky ready to go my fingers were already so cold I couldn't handle it. No matter what I did I couldn't warm them up, but it seemed like my mom wanted to keep playing out the camping situation. Lucky, however had other ideas. He looked at our truck, then he looked at me, and then back at the truck. We got the hint. I put him in the truck to warm up a little while my mom continued to try to get a fire started. I was willing to stick it out, but then my mom made the call. We quickly packed up and headed home to recover from the cold. 

I would gladly try winter camping again, but when the weather is going to be above 35 degrees.