Overnighter in the Tahoe National Forest

[supertac916]

I wanted to first thank the guys that chimed in on whether to use a tent or hammock on my first overnighter in the snow. The tent setup worked out great and I stayed warm throughout the night. Fortunately, here in California people don't really like "harsh" camping conditions, so we only hiked about two miles from my truck to Rucker Lake. We ran into a pair doing the same as us, but they came unprepared. They brought no tools to process wood and they told us they weren't able to have a fire the night before. The sticks on the ground were too wet to burn, so we processed some wood for them and on our way out they said they had a fire for at least 30 minutes last night.

The weather conditions were perfect with sunny skies a high of 37 degrees and the night dropped down to 22 degrees. Snow was around 4 feet but we were able to find a spot where it was only 2-3 feet deep. The snowshoes were a must because just walking around camp without them we'd sink down to our knees. We didn't do any ice fishing because we weren't sure how thick the ice was at the current temps. Didn't feel like doing a polar bear plunge or dealing with hypothermia if one of us fell in. We packed in quite a bit of gear, but the only thing I'd leave behind next time is the rifle and extra ammo. Didn't get any target shooting in.

Sled's full of gear and going through creeks and wash outs.




Some of the lineup of knives and axes. It's missing my Necker II, my buddies Survive! 4.1, and our Silky's.








Barkie Necker II is a great little knife for food prep


Morning fire while I make myself a Starbucks coffee.


Good morning shot of the tools I brought, but I forget to put the Silky Big Boy in the pic. That thing was a life saver because it chewed through fallen deadwood like no tomorrow.


All in all it was a great trip and trial run for us. We are planning to do a two nighter in March and eventually would like to do four nights. Hope you guys enjoy the pics.

 

[Pàdruig]

I wanted to first thank the guys that chimed in on whether to use a tent or hammock on my first overnighter in the snow. The tent setup worked out great and I stayed warm throughout the night. Fortunately, here in California people don't really like "harsh" camping conditions, so we only hiked about two miles from my truck to Rucker Lake. We ran into a pair doing the same as us, but they came unprepared. They brought no tools to process wood and they told us they weren't able to have a fire the night before. The sticks on the ground were too wet to burn, so we processed some wood for them and on our way out they said they had a fire for at least 30 minutes last night.

All in all it was a great trip and trial run for us. We are planning to do a two nighter in March and eventually would like to do four nights. Hope you guys enjoy the pics.

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing, looks like you had some terrific weather. Unfortunately, a lack of preparedness seems rather common... Here in Oregon, we are constantly hearing about folks who get themselves in situations where Search & Rescue has to get involved. It never ceases to amaze me when people want to go for a hike, regardless if it is a day hike or a week long trip, and they simply do not bring anything resembling essential gear. It is also amusing, though frightening at the same time, these folks often get described as experienced hikers, yet they brought no food and/or water and were not dressed appropriately...

In any case, it was awesome of you to provide those folks with some firewood, hopefully they learned from the experience. Looking forward to seeing more from your adventures,

 

[supertac916]

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing, looks like you had some terrific weather. Unfortunately, a lack of preparedness seems rather common... Here in Oregon, we are constantly hearing about folks who get themselves in situations where Search & Rescue has to get involved. It never ceases to amaze me when people want to go for a hike, regardless if it is a day hike or a week long trip, and they simply do not bring anything resembling essential gear. It is also amusing, though frightening at the same time, these folks often get described as experienced hikers, yet they brought no food and/or water and were not dressed appropriately...

In any case, it was awesome of you to provide those folks with some firewood, hopefully they learned from the experience. Looking forward to seeing more from your adventures,

I see it all of the time out in the Sierra's and Tahoe throughout the year. Many will go on hikes without water, food, headlamps, or any layers of clothing. I've encountered countless amounts of hikers a few miles out with less than 30 minutes of daylight with no gear or even a flashlight. The guys we ran into was also their first time snow camping and they were trying out their gear for a four nigh trip they were going to do in a month or so. Hope they learned a little from their experience and glad they didn't have any major issues. During the Fall we saw a SARs helicopter have to fly in to one of the peaks to do a rescue, which was pretty cool to see. Personally, I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it, especially when it comes to mother nature.

 

[mewolf1]

Well done!! Glad you had a good time. Staying off the ice is a good idea if one has no way to check it, not to mention 4' of snow cover. (Ice is a whole other topic). Did you find that there was anything you DIDN'T bring, you wish you had?

 

[supertac916]

Well done!! Glad you had a good time. Staying off the ice is a good idea if one has no way to check it, not to mention 4' of snow cover. (Ice is a whole other topic). Did you find that there was anything you DIDN'T bring, you wish you had?

It was a lot of fun and thanks for the tips. There wasn't anything I wish I brought. I was warm and slept like a baby. There are a few things I didn't need like the extra pot, rifle, spare ammo, but other than that I was good. I'm planning a two nighters in March with the same guys and a few others that shared an interest. Also, might take my wife out next month. I like winter camping because it's cleaner and the sled makes it easy to travel with gear.

 

[mewolf1]

Good to hear. Down booties is all I've added for awhile. :thumbup: (and a woodstove in a canvas tent )

Looks like someone was back there in a vehicle? That always makes for a special haul.

 

[supertac916]

Good to hear. Down booties is all I've added for awhile. :thumbup: (and a woodstove in a canvas tent )

Looks like someone was back there in a vehicle? That always makes for a special haul.

Down booties are a good idea. I brought some old camp booties but down sounds nice. Ive been interested in a canvas tent with wood stove. What brands do you recommend?

There were some snowmobiles and snow machines during the day. The few locals that live out there had some huge snow machines. It was nice because they packed down some of our route for our way out. It took us 2.5 hours to snowshoe to camp and only 1.5 hours out because they made a nice path for us. My truck is a lifted Tundra and there weren't any 4x4 vehicles able to drive on the snow. I want to get a snowmobile because we would be able to get way out there. However, that'll be in the distant future.

 

[mewolf1]

Down booties are a good idea. I brought some old camp booties but down sounds nice. Ive been interested in a canvas tent with wood stove. What brands do you recommend?

Snowtrekker is the Gold standard, but less expensive alternatives are available; depends on ones needs.

 

[TheMadIndian]

man I dig that bark river... nice thread

 

[bore]

Looks like a good time. I'd keep lugging the rifle. Get used to it. BTW what is it? I won't trek anywhere without my rifle

 

[supertac916]

Snowtrekker is the Gold standard, but less expensive alternatives are available; depends on ones needs.

Awesome! Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out because I'm really enjoying the snow camping and will probably do it more often. My three season tent is great, but I love the canvas tent and wood stove setup.

 

[supertac916]

man I dig that bark river... nice thread

Thanks! I love my Bark Rivers and Survive! knives. My problem is I have way too many knives and deciding what ones to take out with me. I feel like my wife when she's getting ready on what accessories to wear..lol "What knife should I bring?" and her response "I don't know they all look nice"...lol

 

[supertac916]

Looks like a good time. I'd keep lugging the rifle. Get used to it. BTW what is it? I won't trek anywhere without my rifle

It was a great time. It was just a little Remington .22 mag bolt rifle that I took out to target shoot with. I generally have my S&W 629 in .44 mag on my hip for protection against wildlife or uncanny individuals. Doesn't seem like it would be a problem carrying a rifle during the winter because there were only the two other snowshoers, but the summer we get a lot of day hikers from the cities. In California those individuals aren't really fond of guns, so I usually just carry a pistol which is easier to conceal. The two guys we helped were from the Bay area or Silicon Valley and you could tell they were a little uneasy at first because they saw my .44 on my hip. However, they got over it after I offered them some wood and gave the some pointers in how to start their fire. I've thought about carrying a shotgun or one of my ARs for protection and target shooting, but they tend to be heavy with all of the spare ammo.

 

[bore]

Nice. Wish we could carry

 

[supertac916]

Nice. Wish we could carry

One nice thing about the US is our 2nd Amendment. Granted the CA politicians are eroding those rights, but compared to many other countries citizens we are fortunate. I usually bring an AR 15 rifle if we're doing car camping in the woods away from the normal campsites. They're fun to shoot and offer great protection against two legged predators.

 

[mewolf1]

The two legged predators here are afraid of the woods. I carry knives.

One nice thing about the US is our 2nd Amendment. Granted the CA politicians are eroding those rights, but compared to many other countries citizens we are fortunate. I usually bring an AR 15 rifle if we're doing car camping in the woods away from the normal campsites. They're fun to shoot and offer great protection against two legged predators.

 

[22-rimfire]

Great to read that you had a good trip. Getting lots of snow in the Sierra's this winter so far. I was thinking about you when I heard on the weather that they were expecting 4 feet of new snow after your trip. That is a lot to me.

 

[supertac916]

The two legged predators here are afraid of the woods. I carry knives.

Nice, they aren't afraid of the woods here. They grow a lot of Marijuana and there are some interesting individuals in the woods every once and awhile. A few of them actually assaulted us over a decade with handguns, when we were on a rural car camping trip. Only time I have ever been scared in the woods. I have always carried a firearm camping, but have only needed it that one time.

 

[supertac916]

Great to read that you had a good trip. Getting lots of snow in the Sierra's this winter so far. I was thinking about you when I heard on the weather that they were expecting 4 feet of new snow after your trip. That is a lot to me.

Thanks! It's the most I've seen in over a decade. We had a severe drought the last several years. Mother nature has come back with a vengeance Yeah, I think there's another 4 feet dropping this week in the Sierra's. Where we went it's a lower elevation, so I think it should be another 2 feet. I'm hoping to do a day trip this next weekend, if the weather is good.