Winter Camping

 

     Some call winter the undiscovered season, because to most people the thought of being outdoors and camping in the snow is an automatic dismissal.  To be honest, most people think you are nuts if you go winter camping. Only a miniscule percentage of people who camp in the summer actually winter camp, but it actually is quite beautiful, serene and a unique experience to be had.    The beauty of the landscape and the challenge itself is a worthwhile.  The babbling brooks in the snowy gullies,  frozen waterfalls and lakes and the white blanket covering everything on a clear day makes for stunning landscapes and excellent photography.  A scene can look completely different from one season to the next.  It is also an opportunity to get much better views on the tops of ridges and peaks because there are no leaves on the trees and the serenity that gently falling snow in the woods creates is unmatched.
      With winter comes freedoms that summer doesn't have, but also takes it away others from the warmer seasons.  You suddenly become free to walk across lakes on routes you would require canoes for.  The forest opens up and off track is easier, the snow smoothing out the rougher summer landscape.  You can easily drag a sled full of gear behind you instead of being encumbered by it all on your back.  And, as I also say, the snow tells tales too, which I find fascinating.  The tracks in the snow from animals and people also show what they have been up to.  There are no bugs, no crowds, and for the most part you don't have to worry about your food being eaten (except for by mice and small critters).  Yet another difference is the quiet, which you don't notice at first but then when you relax it's obvious.  There's no leaves rustling in the trees or underfoot, no waves lapping n the shore, and not nearly as many birds or critters chirping or scurrying about, not to mention the freshly fallen snow just absorbs all the sounds so there is dead silence when there's no wind.

     There are some down sides to winter camping though – everything takes at least twice as long to do, and the cold temperatures can make for an experience and challenges of it’s own.  Camping at -5C is one thing but when you get to around -20C it is a strange hostile almost alien environment you are in, although it can be comfortable if you have the right gear.  That is the key, winter is unforgiving and having the right gear and also doing things at the right time when you are far off from civilization is paramount to having a good time.

     My last camping trip in winter to Killarney was unbelievably beautiful and an amazing experience, but the cold was brutal.  Strange things start happening when it’s near -20C.  Many materials and fabrics change properties, sound different and become brittle.  Batteries in electronics and electrical devices stop working if they aren’t heated by your body.  My SLR camera lens broke.  Every piece of clothing gathers moisture and gets hard after taking it off.  My fire starter sparker couldn’t light my white gas stove because there was no vapor from the gas.  Every bit of metal is ridiculously cold and will sap any heat from your hands instantly.  40% whiskey gets thick to the consistency of syrup.  The sky was intensely clear and crisp, the night sky just full of sharp stars and the day sky intensely blue.  I think it can only be this clear in the winter due to lack of vapor in certain condition from the cold. 

     And then there’s the water management.  Water is always freezing.   You have to constantly be melting snow for water and hydrating to stay warm, drinking hot beverages.  I have a double walled steel mug I brought camping so my drinks would stay warmer.  Even though there was hot liquid in the mug itself, it was at the bottom of the mug and it was so cold the lip was still frozen for my lips to get stuck to it.  You just have to shift your thinking because things aren’t the way you are used to them being.

    Another concept you have to understand when winter camping is snow sintering.  This happens when you move snow around.  The layers between flakes or granules on snow refreeze in a short period and the snow becomes hard like styrofoam.  This process is useful when crating a tent pad.  If you stomp down a square pattern of powdery snow for a tent pad with your snowshoes, it is still somewhat soft when you finish, but walk away and come back in half an hour and it will be hard enough to pitch a tent on.  The same principle works when building a quinzee (easy to build igloo) - you pile snow up, wait for it to sinter and dig out the inside.  Same with tent pegs - you push the pegs into the snow and wait a few minutes for the show to harden.
     In any case, winter camping brings it's own rewards, challenges and beautiful scenery.  If you have never been before, it's likely not as bad as you think it is, I challenge you to get out there and try it, you might just like it.