Winter Camping

I had my first winter camping experience this weekend. I recommend it to everyone!

The Elders Quorum had planned to travel to Scout Island, somewhere along the South Shore for an overnight camp out but it started snowing that day, so instead of canceling the event, we moved it to somewhere close by.

It was a learning experience for me, so here is how it went.

Once we parked our cars, we had to take our gear into the woods. I had a backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and a 10 man tent. I managed to fasten my sleeping gear to my pack. I put my arm through one strap, reached for the second one and realized it was ripped off! I had to hang the bag from my neck to haul it into the woods while carrying the 60 pound tent. This seemed fine, we didn't have all that far to go, but today I can no longer turn my head to the right.

Once we found our spot, we began to set up our tents. Speed was important as the snow was coming down heavy. As I go to put the stakes into the ground I find nothing but rock. There was nowhere else to move the massive tent so I had to hope the wind would stay calm.

The snow was building up on the tent so I thought, great, some insulation! But it didn't take long before the whole tent collapsed under the weight (I was not inside at the time). Luckily it didn't snow too hard after that so I didn't get squashed during the night.

So what do you do once you get things set up? You cut down a tree or two, build a fire, and stand around it for several hours trying to keep warm and dry. Then you go to bed.

The ground was lumpy, I forgot my pillow, but I was warm while falling asleep. I thought dressing in multi-layers would suffice, along with my sleeping bag and an extra blanket someone gave me, but it wasn't too long before I woke up freezing and damp. The night went on forever, struggling to keep comfortable. I was on my home by 6am.

So next time I plan to be more prepared by:

Having a proper backpack (available at Mountain Co-op)
Having a cold weather sleeping bag (available at Mountain Co-op)
Having a small portable tent (available at Mountain Co-op)
Having better to clothes to stay dry (available at Mountain Co-op)
Other cool things from Mountain Co-op (available at Mountain Co-op)

These are all great things to have as part of your emergency planning as well.

By the way, Mountain Co-op has very convenient gift cards available on-line 24/7. Great for last minute birthday gifts for those who have a birthday coming up in 6 days (April 5th).

Does it appear Gillian is rubbing off on me a little bit?