WinterCampers.com

WinterCampers.com enjoy a fire as a focal point for a long evening when camping.  Other posts at here and here have talked about the importance of a fire platform.  Of course, equally important is an ample supply of dried cured wood.  Below Ian and Mike have a nice start cutting some dead birch trees.

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Tirrell Pond can be reached using a portion of Northville-Placid Trail which heads north from Route 30 near Lake Durant.  From the trail register on the north side of Route 30 the trail extends 3.5 miles to the south end of Tirrell Pond. It is a roller coaster of a trail which begins on state land and passes through primarily hardwood forests. Shortly after crossing a finger of O’Neill Flow, the trail crosses Finch Pruyn Paper land and then re-enters state land before O’Neill lean to on south end of Tirrell Pond (1,918′ elevation.). Since our visit the O’Neil Flow lean-to has been removed, the site of the old lean-to is closed to camping and new lean-to has been constructed nearby.

The trail continues along the western side of Tirrell Pond reaching a 2^nd lean to at 4.6 miles. Blue Mountain Village can be reached by continuing another 4 miles.

Below WinterCampers.com snowshoes into Tirrell Pond.

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Kathryn and Matt taking it easy on a dog sledding trip through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).

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There are a few times hiking through the snow where flexibility is desired.  Beth demonstrates as she limbos under a dead fall.  It helps to have a well balanced pack and a desire to protect your snazzy red pants!

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Where does one start if you have discovered that you enjoy overnight camping in the summer but now want to try winter camping?  This list assumes you have some camping gear (backpack and sleeping bag) and at least some summer time camping experience.

• Making the trip enjoyable should be your primary goal – not how many miles you cover or how fast you get to your destination.  Some of our most enjoyable trips involved falling short of our intended destination.  Frame the trip as winter camping, not winter hiking.
• Be prepared.  Research books, internet web sites, discussion boards and blogs devoted to winter camping for tips and recommendations.
• Borrow, rent or improvise gear for your initial trips.  Winter camping can be gear intensive. Snowshoes, sleeping bags, down booties, extra clothing can be expensive – especially if they are only used once.  If you can’t borrow gear improvise; use two summer sleeping bags instead of an expensive down winter bag.  Quality gear tends to last years so you can be stuck with something for a very long time.
• Start by extending your camping season.  Try winter camping in late March or early April when there is still snow, but temperatures are moderate and there is more daylight.
• Take extended day hikes and prepare a meal.  This is a great way to introduce kids and novices to the winter camping skills without worrying about sleeping over-night in cold temperatures.  An extension of this would be to try a hut-to-hut excursion.
• Join experienced friends and/or hiking organizations to learn the ropes.  You can also use these contacts as a source to borrow your initial gear.
• Keep it close.  You only need to be outside in the woods, you don’t need to go very far in the winter to escape civilization.  The closeness of your home or vehicle gives you a bail-out option if things go badly.
• Consider a sled.  If the trip is short and level you can bring additional gear by towing a sled.  This lets you start with heavy gear and transition to lighter gear as you get more serious.  For example, if you don’t have lightweight down booties for the initial trip you can add your Sorel Pacboots to the sled and ensure warm feet in camp.

Do you have suggestions for a beginner?

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A nice night time fire provides a focal point for a pleasant evening winter camping.  A nice fire, like this one we shared at Puffer Pond, with a ready supply of more wood promotes sitting around after dinner and chatting with friends.

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How early do you take your kid winter camping?  We talked about getting Eric out for winter camping last year, but decided to wait until he got past his 5th birthday.  Having said that we got snowshoes for him and did day trips and had fires and cooked hot dogs.

Of course not everything worked perfectly.

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Who said this would be an easy hike? Sparky and Jason post hole their way up.

Checking out the view from the fire tower.

A portion of the view.

The obligatory group shot posed with snow falling in front of the Kifaru Tipi: Sparky, Matt, Chris, Jason and Mark.

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Pop corn while winter camping is an unexpected treat.  On our trip to Bald Mountain we made some Jiffy Pop popcorn on the Kifaru wood stove.

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