Going winter hiking, looking for general advice...

Macchina

Macchina

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I'm looking at going hiking with my usual hiking group in mid Febuarary. We will be hiking a trail we do several times a year (Manistee river Trail in Northern Michigan) and only doing around 10 miles in two days. I have hiked this trail many times when the nights get down in the low 40's (spring and fall), but never in the winter. Projected forecast is high of High of 34 degrees and low of 18 degrees. The plan is to bring along snowshoes because snow fall can be anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet.

I'm bringing a 20 degree Snugpak with a liner (supposed to add 8 degrees). I have a good 2" full-length winter pad. Would it be totally ridiculous to bring along a sled for some of our gear (I normally carry a 30 lbm. bag on these hikes with all the luxuries), because I forsee an additional 5-10 lbm. of gear for each of us.

Any advice is welcome!
 
It depends on the snow coverage that weekend. A sled definitely helps ease the gear load, especially on snowshoes since the extra weight on your back may exceed the weight rating on the shoes and negate any floatation that you otherwise get. My other piece of advice is wool, wool, wool. Keep an extra pair of socks in your bag for sleeping and keep the pair you just pulled off in the bag witrh you as well to help dry them. A base layer of merino wool beats any high tech fabric in my book.

Will you be making fires?
 
I am literally covered in wool from head to toe! When in the cold, I only wear 100% merino socks, merino baselayer pants, Icebreaker sweater, Smartwool Gloves, and a wool Stormy Kromer! When it get's really cold, I throw on my wool scarf my wife made me. I love wool as a winter material. The only synthetic I wear is my over-mittens and a UnderArmour cold gear long-tee.
 
michaelmcgo said:
I'm looking at going hiking with my usual hiking group in mid Febuarary. We will be hiking a trail we do several times a year (Manistee river Trail in Northern Michigan) and only doing around 10 miles in two days. I have hiked this trail many times when the nights get down in the low 40's (spring and fall), but never in the winter. Projected forecast is high of High of 34 degrees and low of 18 degrees. The plan is to bring along snowshoes because snow fall can be anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet.

I'm bringing a 20 degree Snugpak with a liner (supposed to add 8 degrees). I have a good 2" full-length winter pad. Would it be totally ridiculous to bring along a sled for some of our gear (I normally carry a 30 lbm. bag on these hikes with all the luxuries), because I forsee an additional 5-10 lbm. of gear for each of us.

Any advice is welcome!
Click to expand...

You look fairly well geared up to me. Only thing I would add is a trip report left behind with someone you trust as to where you all will be, and what time to expect you back. Other than that, have a great time. :thumbup:
 
From what I remember, mid Feb in Mich is colder than mid January. I hope the wind stays down for you, man. Stay warm is all I can say.
 
make sure you take an ELB and watch the weather forecasts right up until the day you go, um others have said take as much warm kit as you can wool wool wool and you should be set, the only other thing I will add is make sure your buddies are properly prepared as Ive been on trips with so called experienced hikers/hunters and Ive had to cut the trip short due to them not having enough gear for the conditions, I would love to see pics when you get back have fun mate
 
I think the sled is a great idea since you know the trail as long as there is snow cover. Your other companions may chuckle about it, but they'll be asking you to take their packs. I also use wool scarfs and really swear by them.

Just like Forrest Gump.... dry socks are very important and maybe thin liner layer if they'll fit in your boots.
 
goretek socks are awsome
keeping socks in with you while you are sleeping is key, get as undressed as possible while you sleep. and what cloths you do keep in your sleepin bag with you, but between inner and outer layer.

i just spent a week in the field and it dropped to -34
 
My advice for winter tramping.

Have good gear. In warm weather you can put up with poor or damaged gear. In cold weather, it will have an impact way out of proportion. So, darn those socks, mend those rips, wash that wool stuff in proper wool detergent, waterproof those boots properly, fix that loose strap on the backpack, do something about that loose handle on the cooking pot!

Hydrate. In cold weather dehydration is still a problem but when you are cold you don't feel as thirsty.

Never underestimate how slow walking in snow is. Distances you'd cover in a day in summer may take two or three days in snow.

Never underestimate the morale effect of a hot drink.

Wear a warm hat.

Above all, have fun! Places you've gone tens of times will be completely different in the snow. Enjoy the experience.


Cheers
Craig
 
I keep my water bottle in my coat to keep it from freezing. I also bring tea bags for by the fire and a insulated bottle to bring some along for the hike.
 
stay dry (stay alive)- for a day trip one often gets away from not heeding this simple mantra (I see it on a daily basis during hunting season w/ folks wearing all the clothes they own- making it back to their trucks totally drenched in sweat), overnight- not so much

start your trek w/ less clothing than what makes you comfortable standing at the trail head (you may be uncomfortable for a few minutes as you start out, but not much longer), vent your clothing, shed clothing, reduce your pace- whatever it takes to stay dry

when you stop for a break, immediately don a insulating layer- don't wait until your chilled

stay hydrated, very easy to not drink enough in the cold- be mindful of this

when you're getting ready for bed, warm yourself up w/ some exercise- it makes a huge difference getting into your bag on the warm side vs cool side; grab a high calorie night snack before you hit the hay- this also goes a long way in staying comfortable at night

a nalgene bottle (or two) full of hot water put into your sleeping bag can add some real comfort (you can also use the same bottles for drying/warming your boots) you now also have unfrozen water ready to go in the AM

enjoy yourself and takes lots of pics :D
 
A hot water bottle in your sleeping bag is heaven! I learned about this trick on another forum recently, and tried it out on an overnight a couple of weeks ago. Just before you head to bed, boil some water and put it in one of your bottles. Put the bottle in a sock. Put it in the foot of your sleeping bag. When you crawl in to the bag, you'll have a nice toasty spot for your feet. Then if you take the hot water bottle and hold it against a major blood vessel (femoral artery along the inner thigh seems to work best, but against the neck and the carotid artery works too) it'll warm your whole body. My 32 oz Nalgene stayed warm (relatively speaking. . . it was about 6 degrees where I was camping) for a good 6 hours or so, and I periodically shifted it down to my feet to help keep my toes from getting chilly too.

It should go without saying that you do need to take some reasonable precautions if you try this. Use a bottle that you trust not to leak, and/or put it in a dry bag, or something like that. . . Wet bedding on a cold night is not a good situation to say the least. Also, use caution when poring the hot water into the bottle. . . I'd suggest setting the bottle some place secure and keeping your free had clear when pouring instead of trying to hold/steady the bottle with one hand and pour with the other. Severe burns will also ruin a trip very quickly.

Good luck! Hope you have a great trip!
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I read about the hot bottle trick in the winter gear issue of Backpacker Magazine and thought about trying it, I will for sure now.

I stumbled across this website about sled hiking and will be trying it out this hike. I am going to try out carrying my whole backpack in a sled, that way the worse that could happen is I have to end up carrying my gear on my back anyway...
 
One more thing, bring lots of high fat foods like cheese and summer sausage, butter for your broths, nuts and oh, chocolate covered bacon!
 
Drink even when you're not thirsty. Make sure you are dressed in easy-to-add-or-remove layers! The last thing you want to do is overdress and get sweaty. "Be bold; start cold" is the old saying... wear just enough to keep you warm while you're hiking and carry the stuff you'll need to put on to stay warm when you stop.

Snowshoeing is a good workout and you'll need to be wearing a lot less than you think.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
10 miles on snowshoes will be a lot different than on clear ground. You may want to do a shorter 2-3 mile trip first to get a feel for it, and make any adjustments to your set-up or plans before the longer trip.
 
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