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Ziploc bags also make preparing ahead easy. For breakfast, just add hot water to a bag of cereal and dry milk. Or for dinner, drop a zipped bag of frozen spaghetti into boiling water until thawed.
Make sure to take along plenty of snacks such as candy bars and trail mix to munch on for quick energy throughout
day.
Eighth rule: Keeping warm during day depends on your clothing. Technology has provided today’s winter camper with more and better choices than cotton and wool. Polypropylene, a synthetic fabric, holds little moisture and actually moves body dampness away from skin into outer clothes. I start with polypropylene underwear tops and bottoms.
Next comes a wool or polyfleece shirt and pants. Synthetic fleece has many of same qualities as wool but must be carefully used around a fire since it melts.
Wool and fleece are great insulators but fail to stop wind from reaching skin, so next layer needed is a lightweight wind jacket and pants. I recommend nylon or a Gore-Tex type material which allows body moisture to escape while preventing snow and rain from reaching skin.
The last layer may be most important. That’s parka or heavy coat. I recommend a synthetically filled winter coat that goes to waist or slightly below since a longer coat keeps warmth in body core where it is needed most.
All these layers trap body heat and moisture. They function best when dry. Allow body moisture to escape by shedding layers when physical activity demands.
One final note about clothing: Raingear goes on every trip with me regardless of forecast. Moisture robs heat, a loss one cannot afford in winter.
Ninth rule: Take care of your extremities with proper hats, gloves and boots. Seventy percent of heat loss can come from your head, so a good hat must provide warmth and wick moisture. I believe in being prepared and take a musher’s hat, wool watch cap, fleece headband and fleece balaclava.
By taking three pair of wool-fingered gloves, I ensure there’s always a dry pair. Chopper mitts with fleece mitten inserts are used for extreme conditions and collecting firewood.
Footwear is as important as headgear. If your feet freeze you’ll have a rough time getting home. Purchase warmest and lightest boots available. Buy them big enough for at least two pair of heavy socks with room enough to wiggle your toes.
I take two pair of boots on every winter trip. One is a lightweight mukluk good for –30°. Should these get wet, I can switch to a pair of more waterproof pac boots with felt liners. I carry an extra set of liners that can either go into mukluk or pac boot. On several trips I’ve submersed one pair of boots in water and had to switch.
Buy best quality wool socks on market. In fact buy four pair and bring them with you. Wear two pair and keep two in reserve. Wear them to bed, as they’ll dry out on your feet while sleeping.
Tenth rule: Have fun! Lest you think winter camping is all work and no play… What’s there to do for fun on a winter camping trip? Plenty! Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking backcountry and ice-fishing to name just a few.
Ever play tennis ball golf? Get a few old golf clubs and some new red tennis balls. On a wind-swept lake, plot out holes with sticks or rocks. Hit balls toward holes. Make your own rules.
My son and his gang of Boy Scouts shoveled off a hockey rink every winter outing we ever went on. Kids without sticks used snow shovels. They played from sun-up to sundown. We scoutmasters put our ice fishing tip-ups a distance from field of play and refereed from sidelines until a flag popped.
One final word. Getting all this gear to a backwoods camp may seem like a daunting task fit for only most rugged expeditionists. You do have to be in good physical shape to face rigors of winter camping. Unless you’re going to a drive-in site, you may be hauling this gear several miles. I use a plastic children’s toboggan that’s about four feet long and a foot wide. I pile heaviest gear on bottom, cover it all with a tarp and fasten it with bungee cords.
And of course, always let a friend know where you are going and your expected time of return.
Properly planned for, winter camping can be one of finest ways to enjoy beautiful landscape here in Wisconsin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comfort camping in cold
Writer and outdoorsman James Bishop prefers rugged approach to winter camping, sometimes even sleeping under stars without a tent. He takes two or three foil blankets along on every trip.
For those a little more fond of their creature comforts, Carl and John’s Paddlin’ in Madison rents tents and wood stoves suitable for winter camping. Space All Weather Blanket 5’x7’ blanket; 12 oz. radiates 80% of body heat back to you $11.95 at REI 608-833-6680 www.rei.com 8’x10’ Snowtrekker tent suitable for two people 3-day rental, $50 Carl & John’s Paddlin’ 800-386-1299 www.paddlin.comFour Dog wood stove for heating and cooking 3-day rental, $35 Carl & John’s Paddlin’ 800-386-1299 www.paddlin.com
For more on Where to go & What to do in Wisconsin, check out http://www.WisconsinGuide.com
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