Winter Camping 201: Winter Camping is Hard

When the chance to give winter camping a second chance Lucky and I decided to jump on it! A friend of ours from Girls Who Hike Ohio planned the whole trip. We would all head up to Michigan (right outside of Ann Arbour) and start our hike at 9am. We would go 12 miles and then set up camp......

The day before I did some research on winter camping and taking into consideration the things I did wrong the first time, I felt like I was ready and had a good plan. There were extra Nalgene's for hot water to hold while sleeping, a sleeping bag and pad for Lucky, hot tea, layers of clothes.....

We all set off on the trail, there was no snow and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day. The trail was rolling with no steep hills but a nice up/down up/down. We killed it! We reached camp by 3pm, which means we did 12 miles in 6 hours. Everyone was doing good and feeling good! 

Camp was very pretty. Nestled on the lake, lined with trees, Christmas lights sparkling in the distance.

At camp the wind picked up a little and the cold started to settle in. We quickly set up our tents and got the fire going. There weren't a lot of big logs at camp so we had to collect all of the sticks we could find. At first we were a little conservative of our sticks, but as the night set in we knew we needed to use all of them. We ate dinner and the dogs relaxed. As our stomachs digested we decided to head into our tents for the night. It was only 6:30pm. 

Lucky was wrapped up in his sleeping bag with my coat draped over his body he was snug as a bug in a rug. I lied there reading a book on my phone, mostly warmish, with the cold ever so slowly seeping in. 

Our friends were in their tents, the cold was slowly seeping in for them too. 

Around 7:30 the cold became too much. It was roughly 22 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and probably 25 degrees in our tents. We decided to pack up and head out. 

We had about 6 miles until we were back at the parking lot.....that 6 miles were tough. 30 lbs on my back, 12 miles previous, a dog who had previously been snoozing... but it was also the right decision. 

The lesson learned on this trip is to always listen to your body. 

Our bodies said it was too cold and we listened and I am glad we did. 

Lucky and I slept so soundly that night, we were both all warm and snug as bugs in rugs. 

Will I try winter camping again..yes I will!