Winter Camping Tips

• Fail to Plan = Plan to Fail
• Always bring a bit more than what you think you’ll need – water, food, clothes.
• Stay hydrated. It’s easy to get dehydrated in the winter. Eat and drink plenty of carbs.
• Keep out of the wind if you can. A rain fly for a tent can be pitched to serve as a wind break. The wind chill factor can often be considerable and can result in effective temperatures being much lower than nominal.
• Bring extra food that doesn’t need to be heated or cooked. Granola bars, trail mix, etc.
• Always eat hot meals (breakfast, lunch, & dinner.) Dutch ovens are the best – they keep the food hot longer. It doesn’t need to be fancy DO cooking. Meals should be 1-pot meals to keep cleanup to a minimum. Don’t get too fancy with the meals – it’s hard to chop onions & carrots at -10ºF with gloves on. Prep all meals at home in the warmth of the kitchen.
• Remember C O L D:
  C Clean – dirty clothes loose their loft and get you cold.
  O Overheat – never get sweaty, strip off layers to stay warm but no too hot.
  L Layers – Dress in synthetic layers for easy temperature control.
  D Dry – wet clothes (and sleeping bags) also loose their insulation.
• COTTON KILLS! Do not bring cotton. Staying dry is the key to staying warm. Air is an excellent insulator and by wearing several layers of clothes you will keep warm.
• Remember the 3 W’s of layering – Wicking inside layer, Warmth middle layer(s) and Wind/Water outer layer. Wicking should be a polypropylene material as long underwear and also sock liner. Warmth layer(s) should be fleece or wool. The Wind/Water layer should be Gore-Tex or at least 60/40 nylon.
• If you’re camping in the snow, wear snow pants over your regular clothing
• Bring a minimum of 2 changes of socks per day.
• Keep your hands and feet warm. Your body will always protect the core, so if your hands and feet are warm, your core will also likely be warm. If your hands or feet are cold, put on more layers, and put on a hat!
• Dress right while sleeping. Change into clean, dry clothes before bed. Your body makes moisture and your clothes hold it in – by changing into dry clothes you will stay warmer and it will help keep the inside of your sleeping bag dry. Wearing wool socks and long underwear (tops and bottoms) in the sleeping bag is OK.
• Put on tomorrow’s t- shirt and underwear at bedtime. That way you won’t be starting with everything cold next to your skin in the morning.
• Wear a stocking cap to bed, even if you have a mummy bag.
• Put tomorrow’s clothes in your bag with you. This is especially important if you’re small of stature. It can be pretty hard to warm up a big bag with a little body, the clothes cut down on that work.
• Put a couple of long-lasting hand warmers into your boots after you take them off. Your boots will dry out during the night.
• Use a sleeping bag that is appropriate for the conditions. Two +20ºF sleeping bags, one inside the other will work to lower the rating of both bags.
• Use a sleeping bag liner. There are silk and fleece liners that go inside the sleeping bag. They will lower your sleeping bag’s rating by up to 10 degrees. Or buy an inexpensive fleece throw or blanket and wrap yourself in it inside the sleeping bag.
• Don’t burrow in – keep your mouth and nose outside the bag. Moisture from your breath collecting in your bag is a quick way to get real cold. Keep the inside of the bag dry.
• Don’t sleep directly on the ground. Get a closed cell foam pad to provide insulation between your sleeping bag and the ground. A foam pad cushions and insulates. The air pockets are excellent in providing good insulation properties. Use more than one insulating layer below you – it’s easy to slide off the first one.
• A space blanket or silver lined tarp on the floor of the tent or under your sleeping bag will reflect your heat back to you.
• If in tents, leave the tent flaps/zippers vented a bit, it cuts down on interior frost.
• Drain your bladder before you go to bed. Having to go in the middle of the night when it is 5 degrees out chills your entire body. Drink all day, but stop one hour before bed.