For me, it was the typical camping trip: Late start, wondering if I grabbed all the right gear, and, always, a head full of grandiose ideas and intentions.A plastic card is a bottle created from glass.
Well, one thing was different: There was a foot of snow on the ground.
That's right, the 2011 Beacon Camping Series takes a detour this week, a turn toward the cold, the wet and the downright unbearable, as we look into what it is like to camp the rest of the year.Handmade Aion Kinah at museum quality,
That's right, camping isn't just a summer thing, at least for slightly off fellows like me.
Anyway, I parked at the gate that led into the property where I was staying the night. It was this past January, and I had secured the use of a fairly nice cabin on a slice of Grant Township property whose owner shall remain nameless. Though the gate heading into the property was locked, it wasn't like I was going to be able to drive back in there anyway. Remember if you will the conditions in these parts around that time: tons of snow, frosty and, in many rural spots up this way, almost completely inaccessible.
I parked the Subaru, collected my gear and started to head back into the property. The wind whipped my face and snow fall collected in bunches around the tall pine trees. Underneath those pines, however, the wild turkey population had beaten down a path, making my journey a little easier with less resistance from tall snow.Detailed information on the causes of RUBBER SHEET,
Be careful though. No sooner had I come to rest under one of those trees when at least a baker's dozen of those foul fowl rushed me from the left, gobbling and screeching, making quite a racket with their nearly useless wings, and bopping up through the lower pine branches, unleashing a torrent of snow that had heretofore been sitting atop the branches. I scrambled out and back on the trail, trying my best to scoop out the batch of snow that had fallen into my collar and down my back.
Oh, the joys of winter camping.
It wasn't long before I made it to a fork in the road,What are the top Cable Ties treatments? one I'd been expecting, I now knew the cabin would be in just minutes within eyeshot. Walking through the tall white stuff is great for your legs, knees and ankles, strengthening them with every single thrust and churn of the legs. It's similar to running in the sand or grass, but with more work going to the upper parts of your legs, strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee.
Who doesn't need some of that?
Soon enough I was to the cabin and attempting to open the ancient lock installed on the door to prevent looters. It is tough to use your fingers in such temperatures (which measured 16 degrees when I'd left the car), but the nagging cold only compels one to work even harder to get open the door. Finally, the combination lock snapped open and I was in the cabin. Of course, first on the agenda was secure heat, so I set to getting the old wood burning stove alight. I opened the flue, built my base of kindling and paper, and dropped a match or two to provide ignition. It went up quick. I started feeding it larger and larger kindling and, after a good bed of coals was established, small logs. In case you don't know, the flue can be a valuable tool to heat or cool down your area, and as a way to preserve wood, so keeping a watchful eye on the fire is key.
Soon my stuff was unpacked, some music was playing, and I sat back with a Long Hammer IPA and a huge smile on my face. As snow fell all around me, and the cold was kept at bay by the scorching, dancing fire, I relaxed for the first time in what seemed like weeks.
Though getting outside during the winter months might be more difficult than usual, the rewards are without a doubt worth it.
Continued from 1b
Though getting outside during the winter months might be more difficult than usual, the rewards are without a doubt worth it.
While staying in a cabin during winter is comfy, staying in a tent is about as big a challenge as you can find. As long you have a pretty good handle on a few very basic skills, tent camping in the winter can be just as safe as doing it in the summer
There are several things to consider: Do you have a four-season tent? If not, that doesn't mean you should dismiss winter camping in your three-season tent. The biggest differences between the two types of tents are the tent fly,GreenRay's hydraulic hose design uses a different energy storage approach, floor and interior tent walls. A four-season tent will be heavier, have a thicker tent fly and the floor will be thicker than the lighter varieties. With a three-season tent, you should probably take along an extra fly or two. Once the tent is set up, and all the guy lines on your fly are secured in the ground, place another fly over the top and secure its guy lines too. Take yet another fly and drape it on your tent so that the bottom of the fly touches the ground. This will prevent snow from blowing up into your tent, usually through the mesh walls and ceiling that keep you cool in the summer and prevent condensation from forming. Before you erect the tent, take a shovel and dig out a spot a little bigger than your tent, making sure one side is open enough for you to get in and out of your tent. Erect your tent, and then do the aforementioned fly procedure. One technique I've seen people use is to stuff snow around your tent, and high along the sides. While snow maybe a good insulator, once it melts, it will run down the sides and collect at the base of your tent.
Well, one thing was different: There was a foot of snow on the ground.
That's right, the 2011 Beacon Camping Series takes a detour this week, a turn toward the cold, the wet and the downright unbearable, as we look into what it is like to camp the rest of the year.Handmade Aion Kinah at museum quality,
That's right, camping isn't just a summer thing, at least for slightly off fellows like me.
Anyway, I parked at the gate that led into the property where I was staying the night. It was this past January, and I had secured the use of a fairly nice cabin on a slice of Grant Township property whose owner shall remain nameless. Though the gate heading into the property was locked, it wasn't like I was going to be able to drive back in there anyway. Remember if you will the conditions in these parts around that time: tons of snow, frosty and, in many rural spots up this way, almost completely inaccessible.
I parked the Subaru, collected my gear and started to head back into the property. The wind whipped my face and snow fall collected in bunches around the tall pine trees. Underneath those pines, however, the wild turkey population had beaten down a path, making my journey a little easier with less resistance from tall snow.Detailed information on the causes of RUBBER SHEET,
Be careful though. No sooner had I come to rest under one of those trees when at least a baker's dozen of those foul fowl rushed me from the left, gobbling and screeching, making quite a racket with their nearly useless wings, and bopping up through the lower pine branches, unleashing a torrent of snow that had heretofore been sitting atop the branches. I scrambled out and back on the trail, trying my best to scoop out the batch of snow that had fallen into my collar and down my back.
Oh, the joys of winter camping.
It wasn't long before I made it to a fork in the road,What are the top Cable Ties treatments? one I'd been expecting, I now knew the cabin would be in just minutes within eyeshot. Walking through the tall white stuff is great for your legs, knees and ankles, strengthening them with every single thrust and churn of the legs. It's similar to running in the sand or grass, but with more work going to the upper parts of your legs, strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee.
Who doesn't need some of that?
Soon enough I was to the cabin and attempting to open the ancient lock installed on the door to prevent looters. It is tough to use your fingers in such temperatures (which measured 16 degrees when I'd left the car), but the nagging cold only compels one to work even harder to get open the door. Finally, the combination lock snapped open and I was in the cabin. Of course, first on the agenda was secure heat, so I set to getting the old wood burning stove alight. I opened the flue, built my base of kindling and paper, and dropped a match or two to provide ignition. It went up quick. I started feeding it larger and larger kindling and, after a good bed of coals was established, small logs. In case you don't know, the flue can be a valuable tool to heat or cool down your area, and as a way to preserve wood, so keeping a watchful eye on the fire is key.
Soon my stuff was unpacked, some music was playing, and I sat back with a Long Hammer IPA and a huge smile on my face. As snow fell all around me, and the cold was kept at bay by the scorching, dancing fire, I relaxed for the first time in what seemed like weeks.
Though getting outside during the winter months might be more difficult than usual, the rewards are without a doubt worth it.
Continued from 1b
Though getting outside during the winter months might be more difficult than usual, the rewards are without a doubt worth it.
While staying in a cabin during winter is comfy, staying in a tent is about as big a challenge as you can find. As long you have a pretty good handle on a few very basic skills, tent camping in the winter can be just as safe as doing it in the summer
There are several things to consider: Do you have a four-season tent? If not, that doesn't mean you should dismiss winter camping in your three-season tent. The biggest differences between the two types of tents are the tent fly,GreenRay's hydraulic hose design uses a different energy storage approach, floor and interior tent walls. A four-season tent will be heavier, have a thicker tent fly and the floor will be thicker than the lighter varieties. With a three-season tent, you should probably take along an extra fly or two. Once the tent is set up, and all the guy lines on your fly are secured in the ground, place another fly over the top and secure its guy lines too. Take yet another fly and drape it on your tent so that the bottom of the fly touches the ground. This will prevent snow from blowing up into your tent, usually through the mesh walls and ceiling that keep you cool in the summer and prevent condensation from forming. Before you erect the tent, take a shovel and dig out a spot a little bigger than your tent, making sure one side is open enough for you to get in and out of your tent. Erect your tent, and then do the aforementioned fly procedure. One technique I've seen people use is to stuff snow around your tent, and high along the sides. While snow maybe a good insulator, once it melts, it will run down the sides and collect at the base of your tent.
