- Joined
- May 17, 2006
- Messages
- 4,290
I don’t love many things as much as I do winter camping. As my friend Jay (JV3) said, it weeds out the crowds, snakes and bugs. I only have a problem with crowds of people; snakes and bugs are always welcomed in my camp. Truth is…solitude is golden. I like the silence, so something needs to be great and amazing in the woods to break that silence for me.
This was a very quiet camp full of solitude…until the fox called out at 3am!
With temperatures about 24F (-4.4C), one thing was certain, I’d need a lot of wood. My plan was to sleep near a long-fire until it got to about 1am or until the wood was low. Then I’d use my Mountain laurel superlight bivy and homemade quilt (40F rating). As long as I sleep with my clothes on as part of my sleep system, as well as load up on calories before sleep…I’d be toasty into the low 20s. I always pack superlight or what is known as super hyper-light, which usually means a base weight of less than 4 pounds of gear (not food and water or clothes worn). This something I have been doing for at least 10 years now and with total comfort on the trail and in camp.
Going In
The trail was already on the icy side, which would prove to get worse.
Alpaca Peruvian one-piece head wrap. Scarf beanie in one!
Gathering water I noticed the new winter species of trees…here is an ice branch from it
The Beech trees were still hanging on
I left two kettles/pots full of water needing to be boiled…they had naturally turned to ice.
Eventually…coffee was on!
My personal ESEE RB3 knife was recently given back to Shon Rowen at Shot Show so he can redo my factory edge as I have given it a convex from 3 years of use. He also touched up the spine so that it is as sharp as the newer model Camp-Lore knives are. Glad he didn’t try to clean the knife, I earned the patina!
Many deadfalls have littered me with an ample supply of wood!
Snacked on pot stickers again, this time I used the tray that came with this cheap pot t steam them in by filling the bottom with water.
Camp from afar
Inside look
Many hardwood logs of maple and oak are needed so sustain a long-fire through the night. About 10-12 logs were used, including poplar and beech to get it all started.
The giant ham steak
This color sky often means snow is coming!
Ham
Glow of the long-fire
All was well and quiet until the fox started yapping in chorus with one another. It was quite nice, definitely worth breaking the silence for.
The way out had gained more ice as the temperatures dropped and snow started falling.
This was a very quiet camp full of solitude…until the fox called out at 3am!
With temperatures about 24F (-4.4C), one thing was certain, I’d need a lot of wood. My plan was to sleep near a long-fire until it got to about 1am or until the wood was low. Then I’d use my Mountain laurel superlight bivy and homemade quilt (40F rating). As long as I sleep with my clothes on as part of my sleep system, as well as load up on calories before sleep…I’d be toasty into the low 20s. I always pack superlight or what is known as super hyper-light, which usually means a base weight of less than 4 pounds of gear (not food and water or clothes worn). This something I have been doing for at least 10 years now and with total comfort on the trail and in camp.
Going In
The trail was already on the icy side, which would prove to get worse.
Alpaca Peruvian one-piece head wrap. Scarf beanie in one!
Gathering water I noticed the new winter species of trees…here is an ice branch from it
The Beech trees were still hanging on
I left two kettles/pots full of water needing to be boiled…they had naturally turned to ice.
Eventually…coffee was on!
My personal ESEE RB3 knife was recently given back to Shon Rowen at Shot Show so he can redo my factory edge as I have given it a convex from 3 years of use. He also touched up the spine so that it is as sharp as the newer model Camp-Lore knives are. Glad he didn’t try to clean the knife, I earned the patina!
Many deadfalls have littered me with an ample supply of wood!
Snacked on pot stickers again, this time I used the tray that came with this cheap pot t steam them in by filling the bottom with water.
Camp from afar
Inside look
Many hardwood logs of maple and oak are needed so sustain a long-fire through the night. About 10-12 logs were used, including poplar and beech to get it all started.
The giant ham steak
This color sky often means snow is coming!
Ham
Glow of the long-fire
All was well and quiet until the fox started yapping in chorus with one another. It was quite nice, definitely worth breaking the silence for.
The way out had gained more ice as the temperatures dropped and snow started falling.
