Cold Weather Camping & Keeping Warm
Most scout troops plan at least one Winter tent camping trip every year.
Ah, there's nothing like waking up in the morning on a Winter camping trip with frozen boots, socks, water bottles, ice hanging from the tent ceiling and you feeling like you joined the Polar Bear Club, right? Yeah, we've seen this happen all right, but with a little planning, it doesn't have to!
Scout troops typically do some sort of Winter camping trip, it may be a cabin camp or a tent camp. Our troop is no different. Many scout councils around the country have the classic Klondike camping trip which is a competitive sled race and tent camping all the way. The last few years, temperatures on our Klondike have gone into the single digits! At a campout of this type, the troop will have set up a camp and have plenty of equipment with them. There should be an opportunity to come back to camp at certain times of the day.
Topics: (click the topic to go to the appropriate section below)
Planning |
Planning - what will the weather be?
We recommend that you check The Weather Channel's website to find out approximately what the temperatures will be in the area that you will be camping in. It's always good to know what you will be dealing with and this should give you an idea of just how layered up you will need to be.
You should know your body type as well. For example: I know that I tend to sleep very warm and have a faster metabolism. I know that I sweat easily and thereby I know that I need clothing with maximum wicking ability. I tend to dress lighter knowing full well that when I get active, I'm going to want to shed layers sooner than later. If I become less active, I know that I will cool off quickly and need to add a layer to keep from getting cold.
Let's say that you tend to be colder than most. You may want to start with more layers and because you may not sweat as much, you won't have to worry about changing as often.
We recommend that you give your boys a quick equipment shakedown before leaving for the weekend as well. By doing this, you will catch the scouts who may have forgotten some essential equipment for the weekend, such as a sleeping bag pad.
The right clothing makes all the difference. If you have wool, synthetic, polypro or other nylon clothing, then by all means, wear it. Try to avoid any cotton directly against the skin if you can. Not all boys are going to have non-cotton clothing for a campout of this type. But, remember that it is only for a weekend and you can get away with taking some cotton. Clothing is going to get wet, either from sweating or from snow but as long as you have enough changes of clothes with you, you should be OK for a weekend. The exception is your feet. Under no circumstances should you ever wear cotton next to the skin of the foot. Here's some tips:
Make sure that your sleeping bag's temperature rating is at least in the ballpark of temperatures that you will be expecting. You must make sure that your head is covered and that you are insulated from the ground. Here's some tips:
What if you or someone in your crew forgot a sleeping pad? The answer is to use anything you have to insulate you from the ground! Blankets, spare clothing, sheets of cardboard, even a few sheets of newspaper can make serve as an emergency sleeping pad.
Obviously, the foods you bring along need to be considered a bit more carefully. Liquids like milk & OJ will freeze solid as will eggs and plenty of other things. Anything dry or powdered like oatmeal or hot chocolate is best. On a scout camp, you inevitably bring some fresh foods along which get stored in coolers. The goal now is to keep what you do bring from freezing and we have a suggestion: Pour hot water into a (Lexan) water bottle and put that into the cooler for the night. If it's very cold outside, the heat from the bottle should keep your foods in the cooler from freezing, but your foods will not get hot. This worked great for us on our last Klondike and it allowed us to have more flexibility in what foods we wanted to take along.
If you are Winter backpacking, then you will be taking dehydrated meals for dinner. This completely solves the food freezing issue, but you still have the challenge of keeping your drinking water from freezing. The only tip I have ever heard to keep your water bottles free of ice at night is to take them to bed with you! If there is a good amount of snow on the ground, then you have an unlimited water supply! You could empty your excess water bottles at night, saving a minimal amount for drinking during the night, then melt snow in the morning. Just make sure that you bring about 3 times the extra fuel!
It is just as important to drink frequently during cold weather as it is during warm weather. Try not to drink high quantities of fluids that are too hot or too cold. Either extreme can cause the body to lose heat either by sweating from a hot beverage or by the body's effort to heat up a cold beverage to body temperature. Check out our links below for more information.
Breakfast: It's sure good if you can start the day with a cup something warm! Drinking something warm takes the edge off of a night that was less than toasty. Hot chocolate and oatmeal or cream of wheat can be good choices. You can add dried fruit to throw into the oatmeal or pop tarts if you want here.
Lunch: If you use the water bottle idea, then you can consider bringing cold cuts for sandwiches. Other choices for lunch might be crackers, power bars & instant soups if you'll have an opportunity to cook.
Dinners: You get a little more flexibility with dinners. If you follow the hot water bottle idea, you can make almost anything that you might make on any other campout. I would always recommend some instant soup of some kind.
Considerations
for Cold weather Hiking at Backpacking Light
Outdoor Action
Guide to Hypothermia and Outdoor Activities
US
Army HOOAH 4 HEALTH Cold Weather Operations - Leadership
==> For more information see the "SUSTAINING HEALTH & PERFORMANCE IN
COLD WEATHER OPERATIONS" at the bottom of the US Army page