Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Winter Camping and Activities :: Winter solo
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Lailoken |
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Minnesotian |
Yeah, this is a tough thing. Probably one of the more challenging things when solo winter camping. When I go hot-tent solo winter camping, bringing a book is number one. But I usually bring two or three, in case I get bored with the first one. I also bring a Boundary Waters magazine or Backpacker or Astronomy magazine, something that is easy to read. Or an anthology comic book. On my Iphone I have a bunch of domino games, but I don't like that option as it uses the battery and the cold can tap the battery even more. However, I do bring a small speaker that also doubles as a battery backup, and I end up listening to a symphony or two. That's always nice to concentrate on music without distractions. I bring a journal, of course, and writing fills some time. I bring a sharpening stone, and touch up the knife, axe or hatchet. I also have a sewing kit to do repairs on my gear if needed. I have whittled a spoon or two, so a curved knife is packed. I also bring a couple of complicated knot how-to's from Ashley's Book of Knots and see if I can tie them. But yeah, when it is dark and you are out there by yourself, time can really slow down to a crawl. |
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wharrier |
Kraut88: "When cold camping I would be in my hammock and usually go to bed real early. Reading is kinda tough as your hands get cold quickly. When hot tenting I still go to bed early, but sometimes I read or listen to the radio for a bit. With hot tenting there are a lot more chores, setup, take down and packing up is more involved, so I'm wiped out anyway and am looking forward to the rest. " There are definitely plenty of chores to keep you busy during the day. I seriously went to bed at 6:30 and was plenty tired. I woke up at some point and thought it was probably about 4am. Nope, 11:30. After 14 hours in the sleeping bag, my arms were hurting from being contorted for so long. |
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Kraut88 |
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Canoearoo |
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Jaywalker |
I had not thought of it this way before, but when hot tenting the stove doesn't just provide warmth and dry clothes - it is entertainment. I never light it in the evening before dark |
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wharrier |
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wharrier |
The fish actually started biting at around 3 and at 3:30 I thought I should head back to camp since I had to stop and clean fish on the way. Got back at 4:00 and thought, 'that didn't take nearly as long as I expected'. I really could have fished all the way until sunset or later. |
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Bradley p |
The first thing that has really helped me is dialing in my camp clothing situation. I have a four layer system where I can stay warm sitting around to about 0 degrees maybe lower? Highly recommend down pants, down booties, and a balaclava along with the standard stuff. If you can figure out a warm layering system it makes it much easier to not want to hide in the sleeping bag. I try to hike at least until close to dark and do most camp chores by headlamp. At camp I either spend time shoveling out or packing down a spot. Then pack down trails to my preferred water/snow collection area, my latrine, a stargazing spot. If not having a fire I love standing out on the lake and stargazing. Otherwise collecting/processing/burning wood is a great way to stay warm. I usually spend time in the evening looking at maps and planning the next day. I try to stay up until 8 or 9 and am often out of the bag between 5-7am depending on how sick I get of rolling around. A book (or ebook on your phone for lightweight) is good if you can keep warm while reading. I usually just sleep in my base layer so have to cinch up my bag pretty tight which makes reading uncomfortable. Hope that helps! |