February 17, 2014 - Snow camping

This weekend was the perfect opportunity to see how repared we are for NY winter weather.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Christian and I set up camp at the top of the hill.  Lights from the cars on the Taconic were visible there, but we're used to it.  I dressed as warmly as I could: thermals, jeans, and snow pants on the bottom.  T-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, sweatshirt, and winter coat on top.  Add gloves, snowboarding boots, and a knit hat, and I was ready to head out for a night in a tent with ambient temps dropping to 9 deg F.

I tramped up the hill, each step a lot of effort in 3 ft of snow.  I was in snow over my knees a lot carrying the tent up there.  I set it down, and then proceeded to tramp an area of snow large enough for the tent to sit on.  It was dark, and my headlamp was dying, but I've done this a few times before, so the few falling snowflakes didn't bother me too much.  Christian joined me with his sleeping bag and helped me finish the tent, then he got inside while I went down to get my sleeping gear.  He had brought only 1 sleeping bag.  I made 2 trips to bring up 2 sleeping bags and 2 camping air mattresses.  I wasn't worried about the padding, but I knew I needed the insulation.

My camera couldn't get the moonshadows of trees
on the snow or moonlight on the roof of the house.
But it could get the full moon and a couple windows.

We kicked off our boots and put them at the foot of the tent.  Christian had been outside building a snow fort for the whole afternoon, and his jacket, boots, and socks were soaked through.  He took them off, and I kinda made him take either an air pad or a sleeping bag.  He chose to take a sleeping bag.  In the end, he had a sleeping bag under him, and he cozied up all the way inside my cheapy 0-degree bag.  I also gave him my coat because it was dry, but he ended up using it as a pillow, I think.  I also gave him dry socks (I had brought 2 extra pair), but he didn't put those on until morning.  I settled into my sleeping bag that my mom bought for me in 1987, I think.

There was a bump under me that a little thumping took care of, and I was reasonably comfortable and certainly warm enough.  It was 7pm.  Christian had gotten settled, and we talked for an hour or 2 about the priesthood.  He's soon going to be a deacon (in April), and I wanted him to understand what it was for, why it was important, and how he would be able to serve others once he was ordained.

Not quite an Everest base camp, but a significant
first for us nonetheless.

We both slept fitfully.  Me from the oddness of the cold and general "this is not my bed" discomfort.  Him from cold, I think.  I woke at 4:40, thinking that with the light outside it must be dawn.  Nope.  A cloudless night with a full moon gave us a nightlight all night long.  I laid for an hour, but wasn't able to go back to sleep.  At 5:30, I called our experiment a success.  As we made an inventory of our winter gear before we headed into the chilly morning, we discovered that the snow on my boots had not melted, Christian's jacket had frozen as well as his socks, and I couldn't find my gloves.  We resolved on a compromise plan: I would get dressed and carry him down the hill to the house since my stuff was warm and dry.

Christian's frozen solid jacket

Once I dropped him off at the garage door, I went back up the hill and loaded a sleeping bag with is frozen/wet gear, brought it back down, and set it up to dry.  His boots went by the oil heater in the pantry, his snow suit hung up in the pantry, his jacket into the dryer.  The socks were a lost cause.  I expect he'll sleep until 11-12, and he'll be happy to find his stuff in good shape and ready to use again.

So, what did I learn?
1) triple layer on top and bottom for clothing + double sleeping layer on bottom + old sleeping back = survivable night close to 0 degrees.
2) When it's that cold, my 3-season tent does not warm significantly with body heat
3) good snow boots are a must
4) snow discipline (keeping the snow out of the tent as much as possible) is key
5) that the entire idea of relieving myself outside in those temperatures is a tough one to overcome
6) if I pack light otherwise, I can then camp in very cold temps without too much worry as long as there is no rain.

Some pics from the last couple days.

This bridge crosses Wappingers Creek on rt 376 in Red Oaks Mill

Wappingers Creek is frozen over upstream fro mthis point, where it breaks out from under the ice.

A metal roof on the church can make for a dangerous ice shelf.
The ice shelf above the sidewalk had been removed.  This
one remained.