Winter overnighter in NW Mass

tonym

tonym

Joined
Mar 18, 2008
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A few forum members Macelo Cantu, Gunknifenut, Leinenkugel, and I had a little camping trip that I decided to share with the ESEE crowd. It was quite cold with temps overnight at about 4F and winds blowing all day about
25-35mph.

A big thank you to Leinenkugel's brother inlaw for letting us use the land. It was a beautiful area.

The spot for our camp was previously used by deer as their bedding spot, and for good reason. It was flat and pretty well protected from the wind. So thank you deer for finding it for us.

We were planning on a mininal gear trip, but then changed our mind and decided to make ourselves as comfortable as possible. So we brought packed in everything but the kitchen sink and tents.

Allthough the area was pretty well protected from the wind, the wind that did make it through would chill your bones pretty quick. So we constructed a couple of windbreaks.

Here is a few pics of us getting to work on our campsite.



The area was over run by Hemlock, with some White Pine, Birch, and Beech and a few Ash trees about. The Hemlock was our bedding of choice, And we layed it on thick which helped insulate us from the frozen ground beneath us.



After we got our bedding complete we took a luch break. Here is Gunknifenut talking to his new stubborn Kelty Kettle.



Marcelo broke out a couple bottles of Mead to help us warm up and wash our lunch down.





The Mead effected each of us differently. Marcelo got a little selfish with it..



Gunknifenut didn't take that well, and the woods ninja in him took over.





A quick little snow squal moved in and calmed things down.





We then headed out to find some suitable firewood. The area was dominated by Hemlock, which wouldn't burn all that long. We did find a pretty big standing dead Birch that hadn't started to rot yet. The axes came out and the tree came down.(almost on Gunknifenit and I) For a 240lb white guy, he can sure get some air mighty fast when there is a 40' tree falling towards him...

Anyway, we sectioned the tree up and started hauling it back.



Here is Marcelo showing us that his dual axes were just as good as a saw to section wood.



Most of our splitting was done by axe and some wedges we made. However, we had some big knives that wanted some abuse.





Once the Junglas split the bigger pieces, we let the BK-9 hanle the lighter stuff.





Staying warm was easy with all the work we were doing. But once night fell we had to find some other ways to keep the cold out. It was IPA to the recue.



In between IPA's Gunknifenut would beat on his contest knife he made.









The long fire worked great at keeping us warm.



I don't know about you guys, but that look in Gunknifenut's eyes, makes me worry..



Leinenkugel turned in early and Marcelo tried to, but Gunknifenut and I had allot of beers to finish off and there was no way were packing out full bottles of ale the next day.; so we did our best to annoy him.



The temps dropped to about 4F overnight. Everything was frozen by the time I awoke at 0430. This is the part of winter camping I hate. It took me an hour to build up the courage to leave the warmth of my sleeping bag.



Here's Marcelo letting me know he didn't appreciate me making noise that early.


We packed up and headed out by 0930. Leinenkugel's tabagon came in handy and carried most of the load.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


All in all it was a great trip. We had allot of laughs as is the norm with this crowd. I have a drunken video that I am trying to edit out some of the language that I will try to share soon.

Thanks for looking.
 
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Damn cool post and photos, brother. I have a ton of respect for you because there is NO WAY you're gonna find my ass camping out in 4 degree weather. Cool stuff. Thanks for the post. It's a good one.
 
R.A.T. said:
Damn cool post and photos, brother. I have a ton of respect for you because there is NO WAY you're gonna find my ass camping out in 4 degree weather. Cool stuff. Thanks for the post. It's a good one.
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I second that :thumbup: :D

Thanks for Sharing !
 
R.A.T. said:
Damn cool post and photos, brother. I have a ton of respect for you because there is NO WAY you're gonna find my ass camping out in 4 degree weather. Cool stuff. Thanks for the post. It's a good one.
Click to expand...


Thanks, that was the coldest temps I ever camped in. During the day it wasn't bad, hell I didn't put my jacket on till the next morning. The real PIA is waking up and doing tedious things like untying knots. It only took a few minutes for my fingers to start numbing up from the cold.
 
Great post and looks like a great trip you guys had! Me and the g/f went camping in the Scottish Cairngorms at the end of January and now I'm a winter camping convert - no ticks, tourists or midgies :D

Great stuff!
 
I need to get out and try a little of the winter camping, problem is it has been getting well below zero at night and that is just to cold for me.
 
My idea of winter camping is a motor home in Key West in January
 
Looks fun, but even though I live in the north east, I don't go outside unless it is absolutely necessary. Brrr.
 
So how was the snuggling?

That mead looks tasty. I'm usually too lazy to pack beer... Whiskey is much more backpack friendly.

Camping in the winter can be lots of fun... No obnoxious bugs or, especially, other people.
 
Great pics and post! I have to hand it to you, 4F is a damn cold camp out! I'm getting like Jeff as I get older and my idea's of cold weather camping have very much changed. I'm all about the RV!:D
 
thanks for the ride on the bitter cold side.. :D

I guess cold effects everyone different, some do not acclimate as well as others.. regardless what region you're from..

It really doesn't bother me 'that much' but I'm not sure about roughing it in 4 degrees either..

Did everyone sleep with a tarp set up? looks like your average tarps right?? what did you use for ground insulation??

Rob

ETA btw, Marcelo looks EXTREMELY dangerous with those axes !!!
 
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WOW! very cool.

You guys where right in my neck of the woods, it sure was cold.

The coldest my wife and I have been camping was 22F, none of that 4F stuff. :)

Great pictures, thank you for taking the time to share.
 
+4 was too cold?
We're smarter than that up here in Canada...When the temps get to arround -5 to -10 we pack our women along with us, to do the cooking and keep us warm at night. Corse that's probably why most of us end up having a few extra childern than we planned. But it's all good.:p
 
Looks like fun.
Just an interesting fact for when it really matters, alcohol accelerates the onset of hypothermia since it increases the rate at which you lose body heat by vasodilating your blood vessels. So when your lost in the snow and that st bernard shows up with a keg of whiskey, take a drink as long as your sure rescuers are following close behind.
 
Thanks guys:thumbup:



TheLastDaze said:
Did everyone sleep with a tarp set up? looks like your average tarps right?? what did you use for ground insulation??

Rob
!!!
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We laid about 2-3" of hemlock bows down under our set up for insulation. My set up was hemlock bows, cheap foam pad, 20 degree bag with a 60 degreebag inside it. (I don't have a 0 degree bag) I rigged my Etowah tarp as an lean to. I doubled it to help block the wind and insulate me better. I then burried the bottom and back of the tarp in snow, so no cold air got in from under. I then rigged my Blue milspec space blanket up on the other side to keep unforcasted snow of me as well as trap some heat. I slept toasty with no problems.

The other 3 nutjobs opted for hemlock bow bedding with a cheap walmart tarp over it. Then their foam pads and sleeping bags. Then a very big cheap blue tarp draped over them. They had very warm 0 degree or heavier bags and all slept just fine.

This pic shows the sleeping area.






TheLastDaze said:
ETA btw, Marcelo looks EXTREMELY dangerous with those axes !!!
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Marcelo is probably the most safety first guy I know. He was just messing around right there ;)
 
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gregncat said:
+4 was too cold?
We're smarter than that up here in Canada...When the temps get to arround -5 to -10 we pack our women along with us, to do the cooking and keep us warm at night. Corse that's probably why most of us end up having a few extra childern than we planned. But it's all good.:p
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:D:thumbup:

Just so we aren't confused my Canadian friend. That's 4 degrees fahrenheit which is about -15 in your neck of the woods. :p




hakaitenshi said:
Looks like fun.
Just an interesting fact for when it really matters, alcohol accelerates the onset of hypothermia since it increases the rate at which you lose body heat by vasodilating your blood vessels. So when your lost in the snow and that st bernard shows up with a keg of whiskey, take a drink as long as your sure rescuers are following close behind.
Click to expand...

You have entered the ESEE forum. The rules clearly state that you can not use words with over 3 syllables. They also state that any post that condemns the use of alcohol in any way is a banable offense.

It was nice knowing you...


;):p:D
 
Awesome pictures. Looks like a great time, minus how cold it was. Could go for some mead now.
 
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