CHAPTER FIVE: Bushwhacking
“Any woman who does not thoroughly enjoy tramping
across the country on a clear frosty morning with a good gun and a pair of dogs
does not know how to enjoy life.”
-
Annie Oakley
Winter Sleeping Gear
For camping during winter it is better to use two three‑pound sleeping bags
with one bag placed inside the other instead of a single six pound sleeping
bag. Both sleeping bags should have a polyester fill lining, such as
Fiberfill ®, Polarguard ®, PrimaLoft ®. Some winter campers place a mummy
sleeping bag inside a rectangular sleeping bag. The roomier rectangular
bag accepts the mummy sleeping bag while allowing the sleeper movement and
providing additional insulation. The mummy bag opening closes tightly
around the head, to help keep the body heat inside the sleeping bag. The
air space between the two sleeping bags provides another layer of insulation.
Using two sleeping bags instead of only one is another form of the layered
clothing system.
For use in more moderate temperatures, a light weight polypropylene sleeping
bag liner can be placed in a mummy sleeping bag. A Gore-Tex ® bivouac
cover that fits over the sleeping bag forms a three-layer system providing
insulation as well as protecting the bag from the effects of wind and
precipitation, functioning much the same as wind pants and jackets or a tent.
The points where your body’s weight compresses your sleeping bag’s insulation
are places where body heat can drain out of your sleeping bag. To block
this loss of heat, place additional insulation between these compression points
and the tent floor. Winter campers use open or closed cell sleeping pads,
or a combination of both. A recent development now favored by many winter
campers, is the Therm‑a‑rest ®, which is an open cell pad combined with a self-inflating
air mattress.
Avoid getting into your sleeping bag while you are wearing trail clothes,
because they will probably be soiled and damp. Usually it is best to
remove all of your clothes and change into dry, clean, nightclothes. Many
winter campers like the warm comfort of insulated underwear or a jogging
suit. Some complete their sleep outfit with a pair of thick wool socks
and a stocking cap.
Getting into a cold sleeping bag can be a traumatic experience, as it takes
some time for your body to warm up a sleeping bag. One way to avoid this
teeth chattering experience, if you are in a camp ground with access to
electric power, is to place an electric heating pad in the sleeping bag.
After the sleeping bag has been warmed and before getting in the sleeping bag,
for safety sake, you should turn off the heating pad. Where electricity
is not available, hot water bottles may be used to warm the sleeping bag while
you are getting ready for bed. By the time you get into your sleeping
bag, it will feel much warmer.
"It
always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against
prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent."
-
Dave Barry
Tents
A tent is an absolute necessity for winter camping, protecting its occupants
from two of the three key elements that lead to hypothermia: wind and
precipitation, but not air temperatures. Anyone who says tents are not
needed for winter camping, because it does not rain very much during that
season, is not playing with a full deck.
While selecting a tent for winter camping, pick one large enough for the
planned number of occupants, their sleeping bags, plus storage space for some
of their gear. Some experienced cold weather campers consider a 5 x 7
foot tent suitable for one person, a 7 x 9 foot tent for two persons, and an 8
x 10 foot tent for three persons. An 8 x 10 foot tent is about the
largest shelter you can transport on a winter trek unless you have the use of a
dog or snowmobile towed sled.
"The
glories of a mountain campfire are far greater than may be guessed."
-
John Muir
Tent Floor Insulation
During cold weather, tent floors need to be insulated to prevent conductive
heat loss. One way to insulate a tent floor is to stomp down the snow in
an area a little larger than that of your tent floor. First, compress the
snow while wearing your skis or snowshoes and then a second time only with your
boots. After the snow has been compressed, lay down a plastic tarp about
the size of your tent floor upon the prepared snow and set the tent floor on
top of that. The plastic tarp acts as a water barrier to prevent melted
snow from forming pools of water inside the tent. Inside the tent, cover
the floor with at least one more tarp, space blankets, or anything else with
insulation value. Remember that insulation is found in both thickness and
layers.
Your tent also needs a waterproof tent fly or tarp to cover the tent roof and
sides as well as the rear window and front door. This cuts down on heat
loss radiating from the roof of the tent and also prevents snow from falling
directly onto the warmer tent roof, where it could melt and later freeze,
coating the tent roof with ice.
While tents provide some protection from the effects of wind and precipitation,
it does not provide warmth. You produce your own body heat and the tent
helps you preserve it. However, many winter campers would prefer sleeping
in a heated tent. A heated tent not only warms a camper, but also dries
the sleeping bags and clothing, and prevents frost from forming inside the
tent. A warm tent also provides a place to relax, protected from the
constant winter cold. Because most winter camping trips last only two or
three nights, a catalytic type heater is often the most reasonable heat source
for these short winter camping trips. Catalytic heaters are generally
adjustable with a BTU output ranging from 3,000 to 8,000. Burning at
5,000 BTU, a catalytic heater with a three quart tank keeps a tent warm from
early afternoon to late the next morning. Although the catalytic heater
does not give off poisonous fumes, the tent should be well ventilated to
prevent over consumption of the available oxygen. Some campers, in order
to be on the safe side, turn their heater off at night, before getting into
their sleeping bags, and restart it again in the early morning. For the
sake of safety these heaters should be fueled and started outside of the
tent. It does not take a very long time for a catalytic heater to warm up
a tent interior. Besides, by turning the heater off at night, the fuel
supply lasts longer.
An easy way to be the tent “hero” is to rise before the others and take the
heater out of the tent and restart it before bringing it back into the
tent. It is so much easier to get out of a sleeping bag in a warm
tent. Your tent mates will appreciate your efforts.
On longer winter trips, where it may not be possible to carry enough liquid
fuel, wood burning stoves are the most practical of tent heaters. Many
different types of portable models are available, such as the Sheepherder, and
the Airtight. To use a wood burning stove in a tent, adjustments must be
made to the tent with protective heat resistant asbestos collars on both the
tent and its fly. These are to accommodate the stove pipe and protect the
fabric from its heat.
Keep your tent doors zipped up during the day as well as at night even in the
dead of winter as small animals can be a problem in a tent. If they can’t
find food, they may chew clothing or paper items.
“Things
will get really screwed up, right?”
“Erm...maybe.”
“Maybe,
like how?”
“Ever
wanted to go sledding in the Mojave Desert?”
- Julie
Kagawa, The Iron Daughter
Sleds
Since winter camping often requires more clothing, equipment, and supplies than
can or should be backpacked, a sled is a good choice for gear hauling.
Place the cargo in plastic bags to be placed inside Duluth packs or duffel
bags. Cover these with a tarp (which may have a number of functions
besides covering sled cargo) and attach the tarp to the sled with rubber tie
downs. For hauling gear for two or three day outings, a six‑foot plastic
toboggan is adequate. For longer trips or with bulky gear, a larger sled
may be needed. There are some excellent fiberglass models that are based
on European designs.
To pull the sled, run line or shock cord through a pair of two inch diameter,
six foot long pvc tubes. Use hooks to attach one end of both cord to the
sled and the other end to the waist belt of your backpack. This makes a
rigid harness that prevents the sled from sliding into you when moving
downhill. With most of your gear in the sled, all you need to carry in
your pack are some trail necessities, such as supplementary clothing, an
insulated container of warm drink, and some high calorie food that you can eat
right out of the package. Be sure to pack out the empty packages.
We don’t need any more litter in our outdoors.
“The
woods are lovely, dark and deep...”
-
Robert Frost
Winter Campsites
The ideal cold weather campsite is one that because of vegetation and
topography provides some shelter from winter winds and precipitation.
When the ground is frozen and snow covered, you can make sheltered winter camps
deep inside dense stands of low land conifers such as spruce and fir that
screen campsites from winter winds. In these conifer stands there is
often an abundance of small standing, dead trees available for firewood.
“Now
I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and
to eat and sleep with the earth.”
-
Walt Whitman
Snow Shelters
The Eskimo igloo is the most recognized type of snow shelter. However,
these structures require considerable construction skill and experience, as
well as an ample supply of hard wind packed snow that is not found in most
places. On the other hand, a quinzhee is a snow shelter that is made by
hollowing out a mound of loose snow and is comparatively easy to make. For
a three person shelter, it takes a snow mound about eight to ten feet high and
about twelve to sixteen feet in diameter.
As the pile settles, the snow crystals bond together to form what is called
sintered snow. To judge the height and diameter, place a pole of correct
length from top to bottom through the center of the mound. After the pile
settles for one to two hours, you can start to hollow it out. The
quinzhee walls should range in thickness from about eight inches at the top of
the dome to about sixteen inches at the base. Sticking twigs into the
pile helps you measure the wall’s thickness at various points.
For best protection from winter winds, you should construct the quinzhee in a
low land conifer forest where thick stands of spruce and fir form a wind break
and where there are abundant supplies of snow. The typical lakeside
summer camp site is too exposed to the weather to make it a good winter
campsite.
To hollow out a quinzhee, experienced builders find that full sized,
long-handled snow shovels are more effective tools than the shorter handled
models. When digging out a quinzhee, wear a rain suit or your clothes
will get very wet. The entrance to the chamber should be just big enough
to enter, while digging with your shovel. A plastic sled is useful in
removing the snow from the quinzhees interior.
Once the major portion of the excavation has been completed with the shovel,
the interior can be finished using any scraping device such as an aluminum
plate. Once the chamber is completed, sealing the entrance with blocks of
sintered snow is possible.
For additional comfort, use snow to build a sleeping platform inside the
quinzhee. For greater warmth, the platform should stand slightly above
the top of the entrance. Because the warmer air in the quinzhee rises,
your raised sleeping platform will automatically be in a warmer air zone.
Candles placed in wall alcoves provide heat as well as romantic light.
Note: Imagine if you and your group
find yourselves in a flat plain or valley without natural wind
breaks. Wind breaks are bushes, trees, or rock outcrops such as the
boulder-strewn hill, named the Devils Den at the Gettysburg
Battlefield. Also, imagine that the snow is too shallow to dig into.
At these events, a snow wall may be your best
option. This type of shelter is for an emergency, one night stay
that will only be needed for a few hours. You build a three foot or
one meter tall snow wall; long enough to protect you are your group from the
wind. The wall is built between you and the direction of the
prevailing winds. Such walls become a wind break for your camp that
is much better than sitting totally exposed. Sheltered from the
wind, the wind chill on your body can increase the apparent ambient temperature
by 20 to 30 degrees or more. Thus, by simply blocking the cold wind
by a snow wall, you will feel much warmer.
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