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Planning Your First Winter Camp-out
Part III of a series
High Camp, 17,200 feet, Denali, Alaska. pic: howephoto.us
Smart backpacking always involves planning, and in winter this becomes doubly important simply because cold temperatures are less forgiving of mistakes than most summer environments (outside of Death Valley, anyway). In fact, winter is an excellent time to get into the habit of good trip planning, and organize your information resources so you can carry those safe habits into summer. So, class, in preparing for your first winter camping trip, here are your assignments. Suggestions in the comments section below get extra credit:
Pick your area: Choose a destination you’re familiar with, or at least one where trailhead access is simple and routefinding is straightforward. Stay close in to trailhead, you don’t need to go any farther than required for solitude, quiet, and land management regulations. If you need exercise, you can always explore around camp. If you really want a longer trip
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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Beginner's Guide to Winter Camping, Part II
Gearing Up for Your First Winter Overnight
pic: howephoto.us
We humans, Desmond Morris’s “naked apes”, are not engineered to live in the elements without clothing and shelter. This goes double in cold weather. We need gear, and without it we can’t last long in temps below about 50 Fahrenheit, much less sub-freezing conditions. Hence this point by point gear guide to staying toasty in the winter woods. Techniques (equally important) will be covered in a later installment.
Money Tips: Fair warning, winter gear can get expensive. But hey, life’s expensive. Everyone complains about the price of outdoor gear, but we also complain if it’s too heavy, or doesn’t have enough pockets, or doesn’t fit well, or isn’t made of space age materials - and especially if it doesn't keep us warm. You CAN save money on winter gear, but you have two choices: Go heavy or buy used. If price is a problem (and it always is) then rent the gear, hawk eBay for deals (there are lots), or carry heavier, bulkier, cheaper gear. If the ground’s flat and the snow’s firm, you can haul a sled to deal with the resulting weight and bulk. Even a toy plastic sled will work if you rig the traces right and pack the weight low, and toward the back, but on steep or sidehill terrain, sled-hauling is a nightmare, and techno sleds that are suitable for this terrain are expensive in their own right.
Head: Thanks to numerous small blood vessels close to the surface of your scalp, you can lose more than 50% of body heat through your head. For winter camping purposes, think of your head like the radiator on your car. Cover it, and your engine runs warm. Expose it, and the engine cools. Strip the hat when you’re climbing hard up a steep hill, and when you’re sedentary in winter temperatures, keep your head covered. I usually carry a bandanna/sweatband or an ear-warmer headband to wear while I’m hard on the move. Then, during stops, I’ll don a thick wool hat with a synthetic liner. For hanging around in... Read Full Story...
Sunday, January 24, 2010 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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Beginner's Guide to Winter Camping; Part I of VI
Get outside! You are not a groundhog!
Igloo at 14,200-foot camp, Denali, Alaska pic: howephoto.us
It’s that time of year again, time to think about winter camping. And why was I not posting this in December or early January, you ask?That’s easy! Because the dark winter solstice sucks even for Eskimos, and in most regions there wasn’t enough fluff to give the snow-dusted look that makes winter attractive. Let's face it, darkness and brown forests do not pluck the heartstrings unless you’ve got a really, really bleak psyche. Besides, there were Christmas leftovers to eat.
Now we’re rapidly approaching the cusp of February, when celebrity rodent Puxatawny Phil, like myself, traditionally sticks his nose out of the hole. Shadow or not, I’m not going back down that tunnel. My burrow’s getting skanky and I could use some fresh air. I suspect you could too.
So, here are my recommendations for those readers who've been wondering about winter camping, along with some motivational tips for old hands trying to polish their Inuit/Yupik cred. I’m breaking this into six dispatches to offer more detail and give y’all the tools to actually do this, rather than just offering the usual internet fluff-up. First off…
Planning and shakedown:
[]Make this fun: Choose your trip wisely. Spend some time thinking about where you’d like to go. Use this time for motivation, fantasy, and good planning. You won’t have to get all punch-it-into-the-hinterlands misanthropic, because five-star spots that are a zoo in summer are deserted in winter. Pick a beautiful, sheltered destination that doesn’t involve steep avalanche-prone hillsides, or ice-choked stream crossings, and isn’t far from retreat.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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Surviving is a strange and wonderful thing
A video exploration of the link between skill and survival value
Yes campers, there are valuable lessons on survival here (along with a few understandable expletives) but I'm still trying to process it all. First the schadenfreude. Then the inspiration. Enjoy your MLK weekend! We'll get serious in the next post. --shvia: Today's Big Thing. Read Full Story...
Saturday, January 16, 2010 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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Help Haitians Survive
Too many cameras and not enough food: Change that.
Hey Campers: Normally I’m not a cause-oriented guy and this isn’t a cause-oriented blog. But we do cover Survival, and right now that’s a very relevant subject considering the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. This disaster that hits close to home - about 600 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, to be exact.
Haiti certainly didn't need this. It's a country already ravaged by poverty and corrupt dictators, where the poorest often eat mud cookies because they can’t even afford staples like rice or corn. You'll be hearing tons about this situation from the media, but it's the same old problem: As the old Police song "Driven to Tears" goes: "Too many cameras and not enough food."
The scale of this disaster makes the problem of logistics overwhelming, triage in it's most pressing form. Right now the biggest needs are for rescue personnel to extract victims from the rubble, medical personnel to help the injured, transportation to get those resources to the island, and money to pay for those operations.
People are being asked NOT to send donations of food or clothing that would arrive too late and merely end up in piles that needed sorting. Later there might be need, and a pipeline, for all that, but not now.
Like any freelance writer, I live month to month, and assignment to assignment, but I just donated $100, roughly the price of a pair of high-end sunglasses, or a weekend of lift tickets at a ski resort. I challenge you readers to do likewise. My money went to Doctors Without Borders.
Below is a short list of aid organizations that have experience and personnel on the ground in Haiti, and have a proven track record for effective use of donations. Give what you can, and if you or someone you know has the skills and experience to make a difference in this situation, inquire as to how you or they might effectively volunteer. The effects of this disaster aren’t going to go away soon. Thanks for your time. – Steve Howe
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Thursday, January 14, 2010 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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Some of My Favorite Things
In which I answer a reader question from last week's survey
Campfire map scribbling. October in the Absarokas. Pic: howephoto.us
Last week I asked readers what they’d like to see in this blog. I’ll try and address those responses one at a time, in between some other subjects.
First up: “I like the occasional updates on gear you're testing but how about something on the old reliable type of items you just can't do without? --Chris”
Well, for the most part I don’t have a lot of “old reliable” items, except for boots that fit my weird feet, because most older gear isn’t as good as the new stuff. Never was; never will be. When you test a ton of gear, in direct comparisons, you realize that often the "old favorite" you were in love with is just nostalgia, the "golden sieve of memory," and the fact that you haven't sampled much of the market. But I’m not big on the latest and greatest either, because I’ve been testing gear for 20 years, and I’m seriously jaded.
That said, here’s what I’m currently in love with, and will probably stand the test of time:
Monday, January 11, 2010 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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New Year's Resolution: Learn to Use Your Safety Gear
With tales, and links to user manuals for map, compass, common beacons and GPS receivers
Big Wilderness, Little Human. Approaching Conness Lakes, Sierra High Route. Pic: howephoto.us
Three recent incidents illustrate a common phenomenon: Hikers not knowing how to use the emergency equipment or skills they’ve got. Hey, we all get careless occasionally, but some of us get spanked much harder than others for the lapse. To wit:
Four times over the last half of December, rescue teams in Colorado had to chase after false Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) alerts that went off in the vicinity of Berthoud Pass, a popular roadside ski touring area in central Colorado. Each time, there was no emergency.
All alerts were from the same beacon, an older, non-gps-enabled model that only narrowed the search to a 12-mile radius. Local authorities assumed the alerts were from someone who didn’t know that PLBs mobilize everyone from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to the U.S. Air Force (Rescue) Coordination Center, to the local rescue team. They issued a press statement asking the person to call them for instructions, or stop using the device. The alerts stopped. Spank level: 0 of 1. Total skate.
On November 28th, Robert Sumrall, 67, got lost in sub-freezing conditions in New Mexico's remote Black Range despite being a fit, experienced hiker - who’d been lost and found before by searchers. He carried food, water, a sweatshirt, jeans, a 38-caliber pistol, and a GPS, in part due to the previous search incident. Unfortunately, Sumrall got lost again, this time on a November/December hike at 8,200 feet elevation with no cold weather gear, flashlight, or firestarting materials. Searchers looked for seven days as 10 inches of snow fell on the region, temperatures plummeted to the high 20s, and winds hit 20 mph. Sumrall apparently either couldn’t or didn’t use the GPS to retrace his way to trailhead, because he ended up nearly 15 miles from his parked car, and was found by sheer chance when... Read Full Story...
Tuesday, January 05, 2010 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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Solstice SAR Roundup
Heads up! In this season of hope and joy, there's plenty of trouble if you want it.
Tis the season for celebration, campers, because we've turned that solstice corner. Ever since 12:47 p.m. on Monday, your days - and your daily outdoor fun window - have been getting longer, not to mention warmer, courtesy of earth's 23.5-degree axial tilt relative to its orbital plane. But it's still winter, and that cold, hard fact is reflected in a lot of recent mishaps.While the media continues to handwring about the three unfortunate climbers on Mt. Hood, there was no shortage of similar occurrences which didn't make the headlines. They all serve to show us the reduced safety margin that cold, short days, and harsh weather bring this time of year.
Last weekend a Kirkland, Washington couple who were skiing and snowshoeing in Mt. Rainier National Park got stranded overnight and survived by building a snowcave. A major search was gearing up, but they walked out on their own.
Another couple, training for a March adventure race near Aspen, Colorado, got caught in gathering storm when they failed to locate the Goodwin-Greene Cabin south of Aspen Mountain Ski Area. Read Full Story...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 in: Survival, News & events, Skills & tips
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Twilight
A simple primer for staying out of trouble at sundown
Sundown in saguaro country. Pic: Howe
Hey campers, sorry for the delay, but I just now came up for air after shepherding several features through the sausage-making process for a March issue, uploading a pile of video files from Alaska, and writing up Gear Guide and Editor’s Choice tests for April. I was going to summarize some recent backcountry accidents, but I got beat to posting by a freakin’ dog! That is so not right.
At least I managed to get in a few short trail runs during the week, mostly by blasting out the door way too late in the afternoon and racing darkness back to trailhead. This is a theme for many winter exercise junkies, and that’s reflected in numerous recent search incidents where victims got caught by nightfall, then had to endure the resulting hypothermic suffer-fest. Hence our lesson for today.
A gearless overnight bivy is always miserable, but in winter, it can be life-threatening, even in so-called ‘warm’ environments. There are far fewer people out on local park trails and bike paths, so you can’t count on help just happening by. And in most U.S. latitudes it’s now dead dark from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., so if you do get stuck, you can expect about 15 hours of serious frigidity.
Saturday, December 05, 2009 in: Survival, Skills & tips
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The non-winter survival blog
Dry tinder is the least of your worries on Thanksgiving weekend
I always suspected that one of the biggest things I could do to improve my long-term survival odds is to make it through the Thanksgiving holidays without permanently gaining five pounds. So today I began what I call the Post-Turkey Training Series, where I'll attempt to do a long bike ride every day through the weekend in order to counteract the gravy and stuffing.Read Full Story...
Friday, November 27, 2009 in: Survival, Skills & tips, Strange/funny
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