When temperatures drop and snow falls, campsites become less crowded. The fear of being cold keeps even avid campers bundled up indoors on winter nights. But there is no reason to keep yourself locked up all winter.
I personally believe that the winters are the best time to camp. The heat has kept all of us sedentary for the past 5-6 months, barely letting us get outside. The worst thing we could possibly do would be charge out the door on a camping trip. After that, we’d just be stuck inside for at least 3 days due to a heat stroke!
Outdoor Preparation
With the right gear, any winter trip can be fun and comfortable. Here are some tips.
● Ask Your Doctor – Before you start any physical activity filled holiday – since that’s what the outdoors are about, you really should get a doctor’s blessing. If you’ve been inactive for awhile, your doctor may recommend other programs or preventive measures.
● Enjoy It – Camping is recreation, which means it’s supposed to be fun. Take your trips someplace clean and green that you can enjoy.
After these two necessary preparations, you need to start packing.
● An Emergency Box is essential: When you prepare for a camping trip you should always have supplies available for coping with disaster – natural or otherwise. Your emergency box should contain:
○ Flashlights with batteries
○ Wooden matches and a lighter
○ Basic tools- screwdrivers, a hammer, and a camp knife are critical
○ A first aid kit
● Pack an appropriate amount of food, basically lots of butter: Laugh all you want, but an ample supply of butter is the best way to stay warm in the winter. Drop a tablespoon in your breakfast and another one in your dinner. As unappetizing as it sounds, the calories and fat in the butter are exactly what your body needs to stay warm all day and night. Carry enough for three meals and an optional snack per day. Try not to pack too many perishable food items, like cheese, chicken, and milk. Basically, try to avoid dairy products and meat, because they can make you sick if you eat them when they go bad. Trail mix is great for snacks, fruit for breakfast and crackers for lunch, and leftovers for dinner.
● Ultra-warm sleeping bag: When it comes to curl up and close your eyes the sleeping bag is responsible to keep you toasty. You don’t want a huge sleeping bag, which lets in air. Keep it your size.
● A warm tent: The other piece of gear, which will keep you warm at night is your tent. The winter tents need to have minimal ventilation mesh to keep cold out. They are also stronger to battle the winds.
● A big puffy coat: To stay warm when you’re just standing around, you need a big puffy coat. Something large to fit over all your other layers.
● An enormous backpack: Since you need more layers of clothes and space for your sleeping bag, buy a huge backpack. Your summer one will not do. Do not stuff it; you don’t want it to tear.
● A thermos: Keep your water warm. A thermos will stop your water or coffee and tea from freezing.
Camping in the cold can be a challenge, but with the right gear and preparation even the coldest night can be enjoyable, especially if you have someone to cuddle with.