I’ve tried winter camping twice. Both times I was cold, wet, and miserable the entire time. Cold, wet, and miserable are things that I try to avoid, not seek out.
Winter camping can be pretty hard but with practice you can really enjoy it. Its a balance of adjusting layers based on temperature and activity level and changing your layers as needed when sweaty or wet.
Also you need a pretty good sleeping pad alongside the warm blankets/sleeping bag.
Yeah, I had a cotton sleeping bag, and a cardboard ground pad. I was a poor kid, going with my boy scout troop. I have thought about doing it again with the right gear, but decided against it. I’ll be sleeping in the snow when I attempt to summit Mt. Rainier, but otherwise those two experiences were miserable enough that I don’t really want to seek out that experience.
I think it was more of a gear issue. I knew what to do, but I was poor and didn’t really have the right clothing or gear. I’ve thought about trying it again now, but those experiences put me off enough that I’m not going to try again until my Mt. Rainier summit attempt. For that trip I expect to be miserable the whole time anyways, so if I am, no love lost.
Yeah, late Spring, Summer, or early Fall camping is a lot more enjoyable than being freezing cold during Winter. Dragging out tons of gear just to keep yourself from literally freezing to death isn’t that fun IMO.
I’ve tried winter camping twice. Both times I was cold, wet, and miserable the entire time. Cold, wet, and miserable are things that I try to avoid, not seek out.
Winter camping can be pretty hard but with practice you can really enjoy it. Its a balance of adjusting layers based on temperature and activity level and changing your layers as needed when sweaty or wet.
Also you need a pretty good sleeping pad alongside the warm blankets/sleeping bag.
That sounds like a lot of work just to sleep outside.
Yeah, I had a cotton sleeping bag, and a cardboard ground pad. I was a poor kid, going with my boy scout troop. I have thought about doing it again with the right gear, but decided against it. I’ll be sleeping in the snow when I attempt to summit Mt. Rainier, but otherwise those two experiences were miserable enough that I don’t really want to seek out that experience.
Skill issue
I think it was more of a gear issue. I knew what to do, but I was poor and didn’t really have the right clothing or gear. I’ve thought about trying it again now, but those experiences put me off enough that I’m not going to try again until my Mt. Rainier summit attempt. For that trip I expect to be miserable the whole time anyways, so if I am, no love lost.
Yeah, late Spring, Summer, or early Fall camping is a lot more enjoyable than being freezing cold during Winter. Dragging out tons of gear just to keep yourself from literally freezing to death isn’t that fun IMO.