Bucket List # 2 - Tenting for one full Year - summer and winter in Canada

taldesta

taldesta

Retired :-) Time is the Gold
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Thank goodness I posted my desire to do this years ago here on BF, because whenever I am asked if I am nuts ... "Well no, I've been planning this for years!"

End March 2025, when I make it ... Daisy and I will have lived a full year in a tent. One summer tent and one 4 season tent. Because my job has been acquiring "wood" for heat since September, you might think I can just hit the woodpile as needed?

That was before our first magnificent snowfall 3 - 5 ft here, then another 20" or so several times since.

Picturesque Meadow Camp .. ok I cheat a little and have run extension cords to charge my phone and run one lightIMG_20241214_110233490.jpgIMG_20241214_110121425.jpg

Dug my way in and back down to car so many times 😮

Yurt style bell tent made of canvas. Unbelievably no leaks ... Needs digging out of course but seems to shed snow and dry well. The beauty of light on canvas:
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Mummy bag rated -10⁰c inside new Woods reg bag rated -15⁰c is perfectly warm ... Daisy loves the combination once I am out of it!


Of course I haul uphill from the vehicle ... water, propane, and wood until I find the woodpile 😁

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This is something I've always wanted to do but not with all that snow. Cold temps & an inch or two yeah but not FEET lol.
 
Danke42 said:
Feet of snow is better because it's a great insulator. Worst is bare ground an hovering around freezing so you stay damp.
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Yeah but just getting around in it is always a chore & your feet get wet up to your knees.
 
JTR357 said:
This is something I've always wanted to do but not with all that snow. Cold temps & an inch or two yeah but not FEET lol.
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Well, it is raining now and in the morning I will see just how tall the snowbanks are ...

The sleigh can carry 37 lb filled propane tank plus 25 lb wood ... meaning I can physically pull that load uphill ( takes time but I am old !) ... at same time the sleigh smoothes the path .. even where Daisy tears it up.


IMG_20241213_133357779~3.jpg
 
Danke42 said:
Feet of snow is better because it's a great insulator. Worst is bare ground an hovering around freezing so you stay damp.
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Just a sheet of canvas between the frigid weather and our comfort ... I am surprised by the protection of this tent. I've had to dig it out many times in last two weeks but there is plenty of snow insulation to spare ...

Oh yes ... Dampness is unpleasant at best ... so happy here to have the woodstove which dries out the clothing and the dog 🔥
 
That sure looks like my backyard!!

That woodstove will be a lifesaver.

Be safe!
 
JTR357 said:
Yeah but just getting around in it is always a chore & your feet get wet up to your knees.
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Not if you dress right. You have to layer, have good boots like mukluks, use snowshoes if the snow is deep.

I've done it, I feel strictly that I've done it too much in the past so I'm happy not to do it anymore. The tents we used we moved every night so they weren't dug into the snow for extra warmth.

And then if it gets real cold it's igloo time. You would not believe how effective they are in the cold.
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
That sure looks like my backyard!!

That woodstove will be a lifesaver.

Be safe!
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Hey there,

The snow removal contractors are going to have a little extra for Christmas... that's a certainty 😁 It took a skid steer to free up the lane here. There seemed to be a lot of the plows that were 'in the shop' too.
 
taldesta said:
Hey there,

The snow removal contractors are going to have a little extra for Christmas... that's a certainty 😁 It took a skid steer to free up the lane here. There seemed to be a lot of the plows that were 'in the shop' too.
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Haha. I don’t think anyone was ready for that much snow so quickly, that is for sure.
 
taldesta said:
Well, it is raining now and in the morning I will see just how tall the snowbanks are ...

The sleigh can carry 37 lb filled propane tank plus 25 lb wood ... meaning I can physically pull that load uphill ( takes time but I am old !) ... at same time the sleigh smoothes the path .. even where Daisy tears it up.


View attachment 2736690
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Ok ... following rain overnight, Daisy no longer must stick to the shovelled paths ... Well, unless she wants to.

IMG_20241217_123400967~2.jpg
 
What an amazing adventure, and fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing. What have been the highs and lows of the past 9 months? And how often are you having to load the fire during the night to keep warm, or is the residual heat during the night enough with your sleeping bags?
 
Selfe Made Knives said:
What an amazing adventure, and fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing. What have been the highs and lows of the past 9 months? And how often are you having to load the fire during the night to keep warm, or is the residual heat during the night enough with your sleeping bags?
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Right now, while I am pressed to catch up with wood to fuel the tiny wood burner, I can think of one event ... and it is both the low and high of this bucket list so far.

It was during the recent absolutely huge snowstorm .

A high because my bucket list is a challenge. During storm I shovelled the tent out, tried snowshoes to get to car to charge phone ... Spent more time falling and trying to right myself in so many ft of snow so I abandoned the shoes. I decided to head downhill through the evergreen woods ... a total disaster ... taking an hour to go 100 ft!

But did make it to the car. Warmed up ... Now trying to get back to camp and Daisy as the storm raged on.

... and I shovelled for around hour, then warmed in the car. .and repeated this routine from 5:30 pm to 2 am following morning ..just to get back up to the camp and Daisy . Car left running for light and also to charge phone ... Power out for days.
I shovelled two steps forward, just deep enough that my knees could bend and I could step forward and stomp the snow like the donkey being buried in the well..

I kept having to orient myself because, the further I got away from the car, everything looked the same ... sleet, snow, grey trees, my hood obstructing my sense of where I was. Shovel, shovel, shovel forward.

On last go, car turned off, no light except for one bright usb charged work light. As I went every couple of ft forward, I placed the light on the snowbank on my right aimed toward what I thought was the opening to the camp.

I felt close ... Say within 60 ft or so ... Could not see tent.

The light failed and the night went absolutely black.

I almost cried .. certainly swore out loud. Then my eyes accustomed to the pitch. There not too far the tent took shape .. it glowed pink like an apparition.

I knew then that daisy would be ok because the pink meant that the propane heater was working ...

Sorry for wall of words... but that was when I knew I would make it through to end March. PS Daisy had learned how to open the tent zipper and let herself in and out too.


A low because I was so wet, exhausted, feeling defeated ... Until I saw that pink apparition!
 
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Selfe Made Knives said:
What an amazing adventure, and fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing. What have been the highs and lows of the past 9 months? And how often are you having to load the fire during the night to keep warm, or is the residual heat during the night enough with your sleeping bags?
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Fire over night .. well the test is coming this sat when temp drops to -24⁰c

To date low has been -16⁰c


Tiny tiny woodstove for hot tent. 8" x 8" door ... So banking overnight is tricky. I've been experimenting with commercial compressed logs and small hardwood pieces and of course propane backup.

So far I do not get out of that 2 sleeping bag combo until I am ready for the day. Lowest inside temp in morning has been plus 5⁰c
 
A story of determination, perseverance and success. Well done, sounds like a awful, yet rewarding experience.
 
Wait till you go for a snowshoe with her and she keeps tripping you because if she stands on the shoes she doesn't sink.

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