Cold camping

[rangersedge]

In honor of the cold weather, what is the coldest temp you've camped out in.

Mine was 6 below without a tent. Friend and i were into survival stuff at the time. Strung a tarp over a line between two trees, put down a sleeping pad, climbed into sleeping bags and called it good. It wasnt bad at all. Learned to put water bottle inside sleeping bag with me (as it was frozen solid next morning). Also learned i hate mummy style bags.

[Yetiman]

Around 8 degrees. I used to have a small piece of land on a river in Northern Wisconsin (on the Wi/Michigan UP border) with a plywood shack on it. It was next to thousands of acres of woods that was owned by the power company and open to the public.

I would often hike a mile or a mile and 3/4 up river to different camping spots at all times of the year. I was pretty comfy in a small tent in the winter with a candle lantern or two down to 10 degrees.

We used to go to the shack in winter in some REALLY cold weather, but it was generally 75 degrees or better in the shack those nights.

I never could stand mummy bags either. I used to camp a LOT in the summer, usually out of a canoe and rarely ever took a sleeping bag unless it might get below 40 degrees.

 * I have only been camping a handful of times in the last 12 years as we have a cottage now which is a lot easier as I get, um... a bit older.

[Paden]

Dec 31, 2017 22:45:18 GMT -5 rangersedge said:

In honor of the cold weather, what is the coldest temp you've camped out in.

Mine was 6 below without a tent.

Somewhere in the low 50's.

[2 Dogs]

This is an excellent idea for a thread and one I promise to be fascinated by as I personally am intrigued by cold weather survival.

My brother Henry and I once camped in Chama New Mexico in a tent while Elk Hunting. I don't remember how cold it was, but in a few days the snow went from zero to ankle deep to knee deep to thigh deep and then we had to leave or get stuck in there. We slept on Army cots, with an inflatable pad for a insulator and I had a high tech sleeping bag and my brother had a mummy bag. At one point, the snow collapsed the tent onto me while I was sleeping. Kinda spooked me for a minute. The only real hard part was getting out of the sleeping bag in the morning.

[seak89]

Little below zero wearing the standard Marine Corps poncho and a couple candles burned one at aa time between my feet for heat in the poncho.Sleep sitting up and stayed warm enough until you tip over while sleeping. Then you dig yourself in proper so you don't tip over and you can get even warmer.Keep your breath outside the poncho or it will freeze up around your face

[coldtriggerfinger]

Probably only down to 20 below. Sleeping in an old but still very good REI Denali mummy sleeping bag on a Therma Rest inflatable foam pad. in an unheated wall tent. Most excellent way to loose excess fat weight. Was living mostly on moose and caribou and rice .

[Quick Draw McGraw]

I think 20°F is the lowest I've gone and I have no desire to do anything that cold or colder again. Sorry, but after 25 years of living in the Sonoran Desert, my tolerance for low temperatures has declined greatly.

[warhawk]

When I was 16 or 17 two cousins and I slept in a. Tent at deer camp. My uncle was coming with a big Army tent complete with a wood stove, but we got there a day early. Seems like I remember 13 degrees. I know we all froze our butts off in my little 4 man tent. I also remember how much colder it seemed OUTSIDE the tent.

We stayed in the big tent with the heater for the rest of deer camp.

I’m so “well insulated” now I could probably sleep outside with just a blanket.

[rangersedge]

I grew to prefer it. No bugs / mosquitoes. No frogs croaking. No worries about food spoiling. No sweating (easier to pack blanket than air conditioner).

Haven't camped for long time now though.

Slept best when just wore underwear in sleeping bag; but always dreaded getting out of bag in the morning.

[magnumwheelman]

-40* for me... and 8 boys..
Weblos, back when I was a leader... up by St.Cloud MN... back in the late 70's... found a spot with a horse shoe shaped snow drift, doubled up sleeping bags, wrapped them in plastic tarps, and duct tape, and dug tunnels into the drift for all the sleeping bags... no tents... built a nice big fire, back aways from the openings of their sleeping bags... set a scouting record... was supposed to be more kids, but their parents wouldn't let them go... wasn't for the whole weekend, only one night... and the kids mostly stayed in their cocoons... but everyone said they had a good time, and no one got too cold...

[bula]

Now we're playing in my'hood ! Ran traplines in the dark, in the snowbelt, during series of bad winters. Took to camping and backpacking. Cold weather, snow always fascinated me. Did a "Klondike" winter gathering of boy scouts back in mid-70's. We organised our own Explorer troop and went. Found it much warmer to sleep in igloos and snow caves than tents. We took winter mountaineering trips to Penn, W.Va and then on to the High Peak Range of the ADK.  In there somewhere earned a cert. from Rainier Mountainerring Inc., as an expedition climber. Many nights below zero. Worst 18-19 below with windchills WAY worse. Have spent multiple days in wilderness on snowshoes. Have one friend left that still does this. He has summited Denali twice. Some years back I gave it up and sold off the tech gear. Kept my Lowe Pro pack, snowshoes, Black Ice parka and such. Going to the outhouse at camp in winter is now tough. Metabolism is fading. Still have some 1st gen HellyHansen poly pro long underwear. Big jump in safety over the cotton or Duofold available then. Pile was used by us before the fleece that is everywhere now. The Blizzard of '79 caught us on a snowshoe/backpacking trip in the Allegeny Forest of Penn.. My Peak1 1st gen stove had a gasket fail, gushed white gas over my hands at -13 and windchill of -63. didn't lose skin but have had issues with hands since. 

[bula]

MWM, currently has the record ! Cool !Really ! 

[bula]

Our mantra used to be.."no bugs, no mud, no crowds !". 

[magnumwheelman]

Went on a community education winter camping & cross country ski trip... ( I was still in high school ) my scoutmaster buddy & I took our girl friends... 2 days, & one night... temps just below zero that night... buddy & I were not the instructors, but we had much more experience winter camping, than the instructors, who were really just cross country skiers... we set up a wall tent, & ran it as a warm up shelter for the average Joes who thought this kinda thing would be cool to do... got to spend the night sharing a sleeping bag with my girl friend ( shared body heat ya know )... funny thing was, I forgot 1 bag in the car before we took off... all my necessity stuff including my gloves... used a pair of wool socks as mittens & lived off the meals... no energy snacks... & melted snow for water to drink... still was better prepared than most of the "Joes" girl friend had a good time... & didn't even get pregnant... the good Catholic gal

[coldtriggerfinger]

I had plenty of those 1st gen Jelly Hanson Polyproplene long johns.
I was young and dumb, didn't realize I needed to pay attention to the washing and drying instructions. Turned some of them all shriveled up and crunchy.
Really like the almost modern Polar Tech long johns now.