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Winter Backpacking Thread...

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    • I'm learning about winter distance hiking. I'm using a 40° sleeping bag and a 0° quilt. My temperature range is +/- 50°. The weather where I am is exactly that. Last night I used my 0° quilt as a pillow. Tomorrow night and the next I will need both. I'm hiking in shorts down to 30°. I find that it's easier to add and remove gloves and hats then pants.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • Rasty wrote:

      I'm learning about winter distance hiking. I'm using a 40° sleeping bag and a 0° quilt. My temperature range is +/- 50°. The weather where I am is exactly that. Last night I used my 0° quilt as a pillow. Tomorrow night and the next I will need both. I'm hiking in shorts down to 30°. I find that it's easier to add and remove gloves and hats then pants.
      And you are in GA (or NC)!
      If there is a Southern Cafe version of the North's MLK, I vote we wait until Memorial day. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      I'm learning about winter distance hiking. I'm using a 40° sleeping bag and a 0° quilt. My temperature range is +/- 50°. The weather where I am is exactly that. Last night I used my 0° quilt as a pillow. Tomorrow night and the next I will need both. I'm hiking in shorts down to 30°. I find that it's easier to add and remove gloves and hats then pants.
      And you are in GA (or NC)!If there is a Southern Cafe version of the North's MLK, I vote we wait until Memorial day. :)
      I'm in Georgia
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • PaulMags wrote:

      AnotherKevin wrote:

      I don't try to do any sort of distance hiking in the winter. I switch to peak bagging.
      I switch to long planks on old-school looking leather boots myself... :)
      I managed to spend four years at Dartmouth without ever really learning to ski. (In my defence, I spent two winter quarters away from campus.) So when the snow gets deep, I go around on slow shoes. And I don't think I'm ever likely to take up skiing now, I have some balance issues.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Rasty wrote:

      I'm learning about winter distance hiking. I'm using a 40° sleeping bag and a 0° quilt. My temperature range is +/- 50°. The weather where I am is exactly that. Last night I used my 0° quilt as a pillow. Tomorrow night and the next I will need both. I'm hiking in shorts down to 30°. I find that it's easier to add and remove gloves and hats then pants.
      I windburn easily, so if it's below freezing I wind up wearing my baselayer. I might have just shorts on over it, though.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      How's this for winter camping? Sleeping on a frozen lake. At -25 below zero it was too cold to rain so we didn't use a tent but others did. It was a dog sledding camping trip in MN.

      [IMG:http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/lihikers/Dogsledding/IMG_2051.jpg]

      [IMG:http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/lihikers/Dogsledding/IMG_2045.jpg]Most of the bulk on that sled was sleeping bags. They were rated for -60 below zero and are too big and bulky to backpack with. The bags are made by a company Wiggys.com
      Well this is why I like starting these threads...something pops out of the wood work of the blog and I was under the impression LI Hikers ment Light Hiker... clearly the owl was so wrong on this... you are hiking heavy-er than TP on the other blog, not a bad thing... but I have to ask ...

      If you are on a lake on ice and hopefully a layer of snow ... a double wall tent will trap yet another 5-10° ease any "changing" But that is not why I chose your post.... What was your plan had the weather changed and a big wind had blown up? Wind Chill can change everything.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:

    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      LIhikers wrote:

      How's this for winter camping? Sleeping on a frozen lake. At -25 below zero it was too cold to rain so we didn't use a tent but others did. It was a dog sledding camping trip in MN.

      [IMG:http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/lihikers/Dogsledding/IMG_2051.jpg]

      [IMG:http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/lihikers/Dogsledding/IMG_2045.jpg]Most of the bulk on that sled was sleeping bags. They were rated for -60 below zero and are too big and bulky to backpack with. The bags are made by a company Wiggys.com
      Well this is why I like starting these threads...something pops out of the wood work of the blog and I was under the impression LI Hikers ment Light Hiker... clearly the owl was so wrong on this... you are hiking heavy-er than TP on the other blog, not a bad thing... but I have to ask ...

      If you are on a lake on ice and hopefully a layer of snow ... a double wall tent will trap yet another 5-10° ease any "changing" But that is not why I chose your post.... What was your plan had the weather changed and a big wind had blown up? Wind Chill can change everything.
      thats why we say prayers...before getting into bed.

    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      LIhikers wrote:

      How's this for winter camping? Sleeping on a frozen lake. At -25 below zero it was too cold to rain so we didn't use a tent but others did. It was a dog sledding camping trip in MN.

      [IMG:http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/lihikers/Dogsledding/IMG_2051.jpg]

      [IMG:http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/lihikers/Dogsledding/IMG_2045.jpg]Most of the bulk on that sled was sleeping bags. They were rated for -60 below zero and are too big and bulky to backpack with. The bags are made by a company Wiggys.com
      Well this is why I like starting these threads...something pops out of the wood work of the blog and I was under the impression LI Hikers ment Light Hiker... clearly the owl was so wrong on this... you are hiking heavy-er than TP on the other blog, not a bad thing... but I have to ask ...
      If you are on a lake on ice and hopefully a layer of snow ... a double wall tent will trap yet another 5-10° ease any "changing" But that is not why I chose your post.... What was your plan had the weather changed and a big wind had blown up? Wind Chill can change everything.
      WOO,

      We did have a plan in case the weather went south, as they say.
      Each of the sleds has a large canvas bag attached, that all the gear gets put into so it doesn't fall off the sled while under way.
      It's the blue and black fabric you see in the bottom photo.
      We would have climbed into those and zipped ourselves in.
      It did snow one night but we just stayed where we were.
      We had a thick ground pad under us, a sleeping bag rated to -60, all inside a large nylon bivy sack.
      Once the snow started I pulled the sleeping bad closed tight with just a small opening to breath through, and rolled onto my side so it wasn't falling directly onto that opening, wasn't falling directly on my face. The nylon bivy sack kept the sleeping bag from getting wet.

      Oh, and the LI in LIhikers stands for Long Island, it's where we live.