winter camping

I would like to start going camping again pretty soon. Just wondering what you guys suggest bringing. i dont want to get all the way out in the bush forgetting some thing essential.

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Take only memories, Leave only footprints.

Depends on what type of camping you are going to do.

There's backwoods, ultralight, sleep-on-the-ground type camping. Also there's campground, large tent-cot-sleeping bag-cooler kind of camping, and all points in between.

You need food, shelter, fire, clothes, etc.

Food could come in the form of freeze-dried food, small cooking pot, etc. Or full-blown, stuff-your-gut meals.

Shelter could be a tarp and bivy sack/light sleeping bag. Or a large tent and heavy duty sleeping bag.

Fire...well that's easy enough. Take a few ways to start a fire.

A word of advice for clothes: bring plenty of them.

A good survival kit is also a great thing to have if you are camping.

There's an endless list of things you could take, but that's a start for you. Very Happy

A little help from everybody else would be nice. Wink

(hint, hint)

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

Bring Me

Like Flashlightfreak9 said, it sorta depends on how hardcore you are planning on going, but to add on to the list, I would suggest some of those hand warmers things that last for like 8 or 10 hours...can be a life saver on an unexpectedly cool night. An emergency blanket or bag would also be a good idea. Don't forget a knife, cause camping without a knife is less fun than camping with one Laughing

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We only have one Earth, take care of her and she will take care of you. ~ probably someone else

Thanks guys. I planned on a 2 day trip in the beginning of Feb. i was going to take my tent and my new sleeping bag. Anyone know where I can get some freeze dried food that actully tastes good?

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Take only memories, Leave only footprints.

Mountain House is a good brand. Here are some product lists.

http://www.mountainhouse.com/pdf/print_prdlst.pdf
http://www.mtnhse.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=MHDL

You can buy them at a Bass Pro Shops. It appears you have one in Baltimore. Very Happy

Also, you need some navigation tools(map & compass).

A GPS must always come 3rd in the list of nav tools. Compasses can't run out of batteries. Wink

Here is some good info from MEC. Cool

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

Remember that in the cold you are going to need more calories, above and beyond what you are expending to move around.
Plan every meal before you go, and then add enough for about 10 per cent more meals. 2 days, 8 meals + 1 = 9 meals. That extra meal is the stuff in the evening that you snack on while watching the fire.
My personal list of food for winter camping:

Margerine or Butter for frying.

Spam

Dried Beef to make gravy from.

Flour

Rice

Potatoes (you can do the prepared ones, but I always just took 3 or 4 raw potatoes packed...nice thing, once you eat 'em you don't have to carry them)

Spices

Dried Eggs

Dried milk (It tastes like crap at home but it'll be delicious in the bush, use it to make gravies)

Swiss Miss Instant Hot Chocolate

Tea or Coffee bags.

Bouillion cubes, (chicken or beef)

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Chacun a son gout.

Last edited by nurkerool on Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

If it is possible to get heavy snow where you are going, make sure you get snowshoes and learn how to use them. Pack them with you. Size them to include the backpack weight. You don't want to know what happens to a guy 10 miles in when a 12 inch snow happens overnight.

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Chacun a son gout.

around here a heavy snow is 4 inches.
Its a walk about 3 miles from my house so its not that bad.
Thanks for the links and information about food. This will really help. Cant wait to get out in the bush!

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Take only memories, Leave only footprints.

I forgot beans. Whatever kind you like, take 'em dry and let them soak overnight. Add whatever you want to them, onions, spam, crawdads, chives, fine chopped dried beef, and let them cook about 6 hours....nice thing is you can leave 'em and go hiking and have a hot meal ready upon your return.

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Chacun a son gout.

I love me some Beans and spam Razz

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Take only memories, Leave only footprints.

I don't know if they are still selling the turkey SPAM. I didn't care for the flavor, but if someone had a problem with normal SPAM, they might like this better.

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Chacun a son gout.

	Colt wrote:
	I love me some Beans and spam

Best bush food you can buy. Wink

Nice and fattening. Razz

And remember, allow plenty of time to set up camp. The last thing you want is for dark to catch you with a half-set-up tent and no fire. Smile

Most importantly, HAVE FUN!! Very Happy

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

One other thing I might suggest. You've said about making this a two-day. I always found that winter camps were more fun when they went longer. Because it seems to take more time to set up in the winter, I found that I resented set up time that was followed too closely by tear-down time. If you only want to do a couple days, then I'd set up like in the back yard to test gear and techniques. A big flat pan set up on bricks will allow a fire in the backyard without doing any damage.

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Chacun a son gout.

	nurkerool wrote:
	If you only want to do a couple days, then I'd set up like in the back yard to test gear and techniques.

That's a great idea. Very Happy

That way you can get things planned out and everything in order. Cool

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

Just don't let the newspaper catch you...they'll interview you and put your picture on the front page of the newspaper.

Grins sheepishly.

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Chacun a son gout.

Remember you need just as much water in the winter as you do the summer so bring it , :wink: :wink: melting snow for water just plain sucks and wastes fuel

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Give me my pack a bag of rice and my knife I'll handle the rest