another overnighter: mukluks and frozen feet.

[sideways]

 

[robgmn]

Y'urta be in pictures?

 

[JV3]

I'm glad you like the idea.

A lightweight plastic sled is also useful in the snow. Pull your stuff in on it and use it to haul firewood around camp. Also makes a nice dry chair.

Here is one that sees use by icefishermen as sled, chair, windbreak.

But your average kids style sled will get the job done. Naturally in adult size with a foam sitting pad.

When the temperature is very close to freezing I like rubber boots and a rotation of wool socks. It takes some of the uncertainty out of it. You know your outermost footwear will be dry. Hiking boots always seem to get wet and stay wet for me in those conditions.

definitely...that's part of the reason why i post trip reports - i always learn something new from you guys!

IMO there are few short cuts to comfort when winter camping. The sled or toboggan allows one to bring a little comfort. I know it looks like a lot of stuff and it is, but the mile haul back in was a piece of cake.

i've been thinking about a sled for awhile now and ofcourse with it i can pack-in a small chainsaw too...then it'll be easier for my buddy to haul me out in case of an accident, hehe.

Awesome
I always enjoy ur pics!

thanks, man!

Ain't you Joisey boys never heard of waterproofing your mukluks? (says a Joisey expatriate)

What part of the state were you camping in?

haha! c-bone said he did do two coats of waterproofing...a few days before the trip he kept asking me about snow conditions so i think he already knew he was rolling the dice temp-wise!

we were in the southern part of harriman, ny...just across the border from northern nj.

Looks like a fun abiet moist outing.

From the photos, they look like Steger Arctic Muks. They are about as good as you can get for factory jobs.

I have and use a pair just like them. But I never even bother with them until temps are at or below a sustained 20F.

That wet, melting snow you encountered is about the worst for any boot. Because unlike rain, it doesn't run off. It just sits there and soaks in.

Two small pieces of advice for the new Muker. Grab a spare pair of wool liners. A little bulky, but not too much weight. You can even wear the dry ones in your bag if desired. Slipping the dry pair in the Muks in the morning makes for a much nicer day.

Harken back to the days of galoshas. Wool socks, and garbage bags. Insert the bags between the felt liners and the moosehide outers. If conditions are real bad. Do it again between the liner and the sock. Cheap insurance.

Also Steger sells some really cool water repellent/conditioner. It works decently, but most likely wouldn't have helped with those conditions. They will wet through, it's the nature of the beast.

I used to have a full moosehide set. I coated the entire mukluks with Obenauf's. They don't look too pretty, but they resist more moisture.

Another cool option I have read about, but not tried yet. Is N.E.O.S. overshoes. You can wear them over the muks directly for water proof over shoes. Or just stuff in a pair of felt packs for lightweight, high tech, hybrid, mukluks.

You can even get the N.E.O.S. with built in ice caulks for those icy outings.

Unfortunately the conditions you guys encountered, are abouth the absolute worst for footwear. Bean boots or rubber barn barn boots might have been a better choice. But hindsight is always 20/20.

I hope I gave C-Bone some workable options. The cheapest being a spare pair of felts. Tell him not to give up on those Arctics. They are very cool and extremely versatile footwear once the temps drop below 20F.

Still looks like you guys had a good time. Pain and suffering is a good teacher.
LV,

thanks! it is steger and he said he also used their own water repellant spray...i'll pass-on your great tips!

snow-proof works pretty well and resists a good amount of water and slush
Snow-Proof

Pac boots on the other hand, I've stepped into several inches of icy water and stayed dry

I need to replace mine and will be probably going with these
http://www.cabelas.com/product/footwear/men-s-footwear/men-s-pac-winter-boots|/pc/104797980/c/104747580/sc/103959180/kamik-reg-greenbay4-pac-boots/749090.uts?destination=%2Fcategory%2FMens-Pac-Winter-Boots%2F103959180.uts

nice trip as always

thanks, man! he said he's buying some galoshes made by that same mukluk company. in my case it's an easy fix - i just need to bring my gaiters next time.

I have found I prefer waterproof boots with thick wool socks inside. Currently I use a pair of Muck Arctic Pro boots. Used some cheap Kamik insulated rubber boots for a number of years. Bring fresh socks and you are able to air out the boots overnight even if they do not dry completely from sweating, I find my feet stay much warmer and drier than other options I have tried.

yup, my merrells are waterproof...i just have to remember to bring my gaiters next time. i've always worn them but for some reason i didn't bring it this time. d'oh!

awesome pic! knowing c-bone, i wouldn't be surprised if he already has a massive shelter and stove on order after this trip...i'll remind him to toss-in a small chainsaw too

 

[sideways]

Y'urta be in pictures?

Just a large tent for communal winter camping.

They are fairly common across the frozen north. The more permanent ones are either conical (tepee) or cylindrical (yurt/ger). The siberian yaranga comes in both shapes.

Military canvas tents from northern europe come in hexagonal or octagonal shapes because they wanted a round_ish shape but still needed corner poles. North american military canvas tents for some reason are square.

You can get light weight modern synthetic tents in both the conical and cylindrical shapes.

 

[sideways]

You need to be careful with the chainsaws... you can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

I damn near cut my leg off while shaving with one last summer.

 

[mewolf1]

I've been thinking about a sled for awhile now and of course with it I can pack-in a small chainsaw too...then it'll be easier for my buddy to haul me out in case of an accident, hehe.

This is the saw I've been using. Next best thing to a chain saw. My Svensaw days are fewer.

 

[timos-]

very cool trip, you guys are inspiring! Im just getting my head around this type of camping and all the different gear. Ive only winter camped once as a boyscout in the poconos. It was grueling for sure. I wan tto try again though when my daughter gets a little older!

 

[J.M. Jarosz]

Greta stuff!

Definitely nothing worse than getting wet in the cold. Glad your buddy got taken care of 👍

 

[robgmn]

we were in the southern part of harriman, ny...just across the border from northern nj.

Outstanding!

I'm far from home, but I used to live in Mahwah and spent a LOT of time in Harriman from age 16-on. Camping, hiking, driving around the traffic circles in reverse
I also hiked in the Ramapo Reservation quite a bit when I was younger. Some beautiful woods there.

The first time my wife and I camped together, we stayed in the shelter in the photo below in Harriman.
You might recognize it.

The last time I winter-camped there, the snow was about 2 feet deep.
I stayed up on bald rock in a 2 man dome on a sheet of ice. Toasty warm in my -20 bag while my buddies got chilly in their not-warm-enough bags.
Their revenge came during the night when a dog ate one of my gloves. No spares (a wool sock did the trick)

Fun times.

 

[sideways]

Socks matter.
[video=youtube_share;hXnM6BRl-s8]http://youtu.be/hXnM6BRl-s8[/video]

 

[JV3]

You need to be careful with the chainsaws... you can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

I damn near cut my leg off while shaving with one last summer.

roger that, i'll let c-bone use it instead while i watch from the sidelines

This is the saw I've been using. Next best thing to a chain saw. My Svensaw days are fewer.

nice! i have a stanley fatmax from lowes and it was only $16 so i bet that's around that ballpark too.

very cool trip, you guys are inspiring! Im just getting my head around this type of camping and all the different gear. Ive only winter camped once as a boyscout in the poconos. It was grueling for sure. I wan tto try again though when my daughter gets a little older!

thanks! i'm a super cold sleeper but winter is still my favorite time of the year to camp so i think you'll be alright...my advice is go early in the fall and gradually camp towards colder temps to both acclimate and know where your hard limit is.

this winter's been strange for sure though...i heard from a pa member that they haven't received snow over there so far! nuts.

Greta stuff!

Definitely nothing worse than getting wet in the cold. Glad your buddy got taken care of 👍

thanks! c-bone wants to go for another trip soon so i suspect he didn't suffer that bad after all

Outstanding!

I'm far from home, but I used to live in Mahwah and spent a LOT of time in Harriman from age 16-on. Camping, hiking, driving around the traffic circles in reverse
I also hiked in the Ramapo Reservation quite a bit when I was younger. Some beautiful woods there.

The first time my wife and I camped together, we stayed in the shelter in the photo below in Harriman.
You might recognize it.

The last time I winter-camped there, the snow was about 2 feet deep.
I stayed up on bald rock in a 2 man dome on a sheet of ice. Toasty warm in my -20 bag while my buddies got chilly in their not-warm-enough bags.
Their revenge came during the night when a dog ate one of my gloves. No spares (a wool sock did the trick)

Fun times.

thanks! that looks like the tom jones shelter. i've been to bald rocks shelter/area many times as well but i have yet to overnight in either shelter - just too popular during peak season. when it's winter though then the roads heading towards the parking lots get closed until april 1st. one time i went up to bald rocks shelter for a summer overnight and found the area picked so clean i couldn't even find enough fuel for my wood stove, haha.

you are correct indeed, some beautiful woods we have here...let me know if you're ever back here for vacation or something.

 

[JV3]

I'm far from home, but I used to live in Mahwah and spent a LOT of time in Harriman from age 16-on.

i don't know when was the last time you were here but this might bring back some happy memories this was from last fall...we parked on the rt. 106 lot and headed past the bald rocks shelter to times square and back: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1336411-another-day-hike-times-square

 

[robgmn]

thanks! that looks like the tom jones shelter. i've been to bald rocks shelter/area many times as well but i have yet to overnight in either shelter - just too popular during peak season. when it's winter though then the roads heading towards the parking lots get closed until april 1st. one time i went up to bald rocks shelter for a summer overnight and found the area picked so clean i couldn't even find enough fuel for my wood stove, haha.

you are correct indeed, some beautiful woods we have here...let me know if you're ever back here for vacation or something.

i don't know when was the last time you were here but this might bring back some happy memories this was from last fall...we parked on the rt. 106 lot and headed past the bald rocks shelter to times square and back: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1336411-another-day-hike-times-square

Yep, Tom Jones indeed. I used to adjust my work schedule so I could hike/camp on weekdays to avoid the crowds.
'Would still see occasional hikers, but nothing like on the weekends.

Times Square. I forgot about that spot, but I certainly remember Lemon Squeezer.
I was fortunate that the roads were maintained year-round so I/we could park wherever and hike wherever.
Not long ago I found my old Tyvek maps of the trails. I bet a few have been added.

If you ever want to do a nice hike and stay in a spot with a killer view, try this place: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1826727,-74.346315,2817m/data=!3m1!1e3
If memory serves, it's a decent uphill run from lake level (maybe a few hundred vertical feet?).


The Lemon Squeezer

 

[sideways]

roger that, i'll let c-bone use it instead while i watch from the sidelines

Sounds like a plan.

Chainsaw safety pants (like the kind I'd left in the car because they were too hot) and a chainsaw with safety levers on both handles that get triggered when your saw flicks up unexpectedly are worth having. For c-bone...

 

[JV3]

If you ever want to do a nice hike and stay in a spot with a killer view, try this place: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1826727,-74.346315,2817m/data=!3m1!1e3
If memory serves, it's a decent uphill run from lake level (maybe a few hundred vertical feet?).

thanks! i'll check out that location.

 

[Mistwalker]

Looks like a good trip Jay. I really like your heater. I wasn't really prepared for the winter in Michigan. I didn't do any camping out in it, but I was out in the -14F temps and -35 wind chill from before daylight till after dark quite a bit working on assignments for magazines. We had a total snow fall of right at 9 ft for the season so I was often in snow nearly up to my knees. My only boots were my Danner pronghorn snake boots that are waterproof and somewhat insulated. I wore those with wool socks often. I would usually change shoes after I had the truck warmed up for the trip home. I would drive to wherever I was going in socked feet and the truck heater would have the socks dried out before I made it the 20 back to more civilized areas. LOL, I had enough of snow then to last me a bit. So much so that I find the couple of inches we have gotten overnight annoying enough I'm wishing I could head to the keys and work for a while

 

[jmh33]

Nice trip inspite of the wet boots.. Yinz got it all figured out at the end!! NICE!!! John:thumbup:

 

[JV3]

Looks like a good trip Jay. I really like your heater. I wasn't really prepared for the winter in Michigan. I didn't do any camping out in it, but I was out in the -14F temps and -35 wind chill from before daylight till after dark quite a bit working on assignments for magazines. We had a total snow fall of right at 9 ft for the season so I was often in snow nearly up to my knees. My only boots were my Danner pronghorn snake boots that are waterproof and somewhat insulated. I wore those with wool socks often. I would usually change shoes after I had the truck warmed up for the trip home. I would drive to wherever I was going in socked feet and the truck heater would have the socks dried out before I made it the 20 back to more civilized areas. LOL, I had enough of snow then to last me a bit. So much so that I find the couple of inches we have gotten overnight annoying enough I'm wishing I could head to the keys and work for a while

thanks, brian. yeah, i remember that year - brutal! there's really no safe way to get around the woods roads with that kind of winter without a lifted truck and chains.

Nice trip inspite of the wet boots.. Yinz got it all figured out at the end!! NICE!!! John:thumbup:

thanks, john!

 

[neeman]

Spare socks?
Where were the spare outer sox!
Nothing polite to say

They are your insurance against frostbite
And you use them for gloves if you lose them in the snow

 

[22-rimfire]

Lt Dan said to carry extra socks! That movie is full of words of wisdom.

I keep watching for Santa and his reindeer to cruise across the skyline in that picture of the lighted tent, snow, and smoke coming out of the chimney. It is a really nice picture.... magazine quality. It draws me like a moth to light.

Was wondering why you didn't "share" the warmth during the night? You're probably right about his ordering a wood stove. I like how you take these weekend jaunts out into your local woods and play. Certainly not exotic in a far away place, but always looks fun. You have your favorite spots and just seem to love to do it.