Cold Weather Camp

[Poser]

Fill up your stove pots before you go to sleep. On the event some, most or all of your water is frozen, at least you have coffee.

 

[taskswap]

Down booties. Down hood. Pair of toe warmers in the booties. Brushtail Possum gloves. With a moderately decent bag and pad plus those accessories, I believe anybody can be comfortable down to -10 or more.

 

[fmyth]

I’m taking my boys to Nebraska in a Nov for a rifle deer hunt and will be taking my truck w/rooftop tent that has attached annex…it’s a great setup that we used last summer in Rocky mtn national park and a New Hampshire/Maine trip this year…coldest nights were high 20s/low 30s…looking to add a stove to the annex room…any suggestion for a stove and retro fit stove jack?


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I had a rooftop tent and annex for a couple seasons. I ran my Little Buddy heater in the annex off a 20lb bottle. W 2 of us sleeping up in the tent and with the buddy heater on high we got a considerable amount of condensation and frost on the roof/walls. By the 4th day the mattress was pretty damp.

 

[SonnyDay]

As many have said, water has to be insulated (e.g. in the bottom of your bag) or heated (next to a wood stove that stays stoked through the night)... or both. In my experience water filters and hydration packs are garbage below about 25 degrees F.

And yeah, the backpack stove will last 4 hours if you are lucky/skilled... but 2 is more like it before it's not putting out enough heat to matter. Piling rocks helps. I have found that using wood from the roots/stumps of trees lasts longer than branch wood. Adds another hour or two.

With the right gear I have slept in -60F no problem with no heat of any kind... but that's not usually something one would encounter during hunting season in the lower 48!

And yeah, don't forget your hat and piss bottle!

 

[tcpip95]

When I did my SERE training it was 4th - 26th, Jan 1982 north of Spokane, WA. Was in single digits every night. Strip down to your underwear, put your boots, gloves, clothing, etc. in your sleeping bag with you. Cover the top of your head. You'll be fine.

 

[BOEHuntingEdition]

Just to report back made it 4 days camping, with temps getting down to -10 the last night. Stove and my 15 degree bag with merino bottoms and base layer top kept me plenty warm along with my knit hat. Feet did get cold though so I threw one of my extra layers in the bottom of the bag.
Water filter froze and couldn’t get it unthawed but had a Steripen so wasn’t a big deal.

Did have an issue with the stove though after burning 4 straight days with pine the creosote started building up so bad in the pipe and spark arrestor that it was actually starting to smoke out through the front door so we made the decision to pull camp and hike out.

Anyone have that happen to them? No hardwood to be found. How do you clean it in the field or keep it from building up or is that impossible?

 

[Customweld]

Just to report back made it 4 days camping, with temps getting down to -10 the last night. Stove and my 15 degree bag with merino bottoms and base layer top kept me plenty warm along with my knit hat. Feet did get cold though so I threw one of my extra layers in the bottom of the bag.
Water filter froze and couldn’t get it unthawed but had a Steripen so wasn’t a big deal.

Did have an issue with the stove though after burning 4 straight days with pine the creosote started building up so bad in the pipe and spark arrestor that it was actually starting to smoke out through the front door so we made the decision to pull camp and hike out.

Anyone have that happen to them? No hardwood to be found. How do you clean it in the field or keep it from building up or is that impossible?

I've got to clean mine about every 4th day. I just let the fire go out and take the flue apart and run a pine of fir limb (with needles still on) through each piece. It's kinda like a poor man's chimney sweep.

 

[rcook10]

My experience with hot tenting has been really positive. I tend to keep my large/heavy/slow burning wood for the night and really focus on decreased-airflow/increase fuel density. Depending on what kind of stove you have you can also play with running your top plate flipped to the loading door as it will keep the back wood smoldering longer (my seek XL is leaky enough that i still get plenty of draw from the seams). I agree using the thermal mass of rocks, a big water pot, etc can really help as well. Spending some time working on how to run your damper/flume is really helpful. I find it pretty easy to get 4+ hours of burn/smoulder depending on how windy it is.
I use a big agnes system with a very thick air pad. A reflective foam base pad can help a lot too in the snow. If its really cold i will put an over quilt on. I’ve slept very comfortably down to zero in this set up even without a stove but am large and run hot. Another great comfort tool is hot water in a Nalgene tucked down in the bottom of my bags.

Ultimately the best system is to have a cold girlfriend or hunting buddy that will wake up and run the stove for you while you nap cozily.

 

[Poser]

Just to report back made it 4 days camping, with temps getting down to -10 the last night. Stove and my 15 degree bag with merino bottoms and base layer top kept me plenty warm along with my knit hat. Feet did get cold though so I threw one of my extra layers in the bottom of the bag.
Water filter froze and couldn’t get it unthawed but had a Steripen so wasn’t a big deal.

Did have an issue with the stove though after burning 4 straight days with pine the creosote started building up so bad in the pipe and spark arrestor that it was actually starting to smoke out through the front door so we made the decision to pull camp and hike out.

Anyone have that happen to them? No hardwood to be found. How do you clean it in the field or keep it from building up or is that impossible?

Yeah, after a couple of consecutive days, you’ll need to clean the spark arrester and bang the pipe -it can get really clogged up.

 

[Wrench]

As many have said, water has to be insulated (e.g. in the bottom of your bag) or heated (next to a wood stove that stays stoked through the night)... or both. In my experience water filters and hydration packs are garbage below about 25 degrees F.

And yeah, the backpack stove will last 4 hours if you are lucky/skilled... but 2 is more like it before it's not putting out enough heat to matter. Piling rocks helps. I have found that using wood from the roots/stumps of trees lasts longer than branch wood. Adds another hour or two.

With the right gear I have slept in -60F no problem with no heat of any kind... but that's not usually something one would encounter during hunting season in the lower 48!

And yeah, don't forget your hat and piss bottle!

Where did you find those temps? I spent 7 years on the slope and saw 60 once. I had frost nip in about 2 minutes of exposed skin.

At 60 below I'd be afraid to sleep.

 

[Wrench]

I bought a titanium nalgene style bottle. I can toss it on the stove and then in the foot of my bag.

 

[3Esski]

Just to add though your trip is done, i recently got a power bank to recharge electronics and found that at a certain temp (i was at 9°) some stuff is too cold to recharge apparently. So stick a toe warmer on your phone to keep it warm is my bit of advice. In your sleeping bag may work but i never considered it until it happened.

 

[SonnyDay]

Where did you find those temps? I spent 7 years on the slope and saw 60 once. I had frost nip in about 2 minutes of exposed skin.

At 60 below I'd be afraid to sleep.

On Denali. High camp (~17K).

We used vapor barrier liners inside our sleeping bags the whole climb--which keeps your insulation completely dry... but means every morning you wake up as if you had slept in a garbage bag (which, you pretty much had). Kept me warm for 2+ weeks in my -40-rated bag... but man the mornings sucked!

 

[SonnyDay]

Yeah, after a couple of consecutive days, you’ll need to clean the spark arrester and bang the pipe -it can get really clogged up.

Yes, this. Clean that thing every 2-3 days if you want good draw.

 

[chindits]

Do any of you guys that hunt in that cold weather have a cold camp? I'm wondering what you guys do to keep your water thawed and your water filter from freezing, other than having it inside your sleeping bag. I don't have a stove, and sleeping with my water filter and water bottles is the only solution that I have found.

Yes when ever I’m stuck hunting 4th rifle or just out backpacking after November, which usually has long sub zero nights.

I love my duomid but if there’s a chance of descent snow I’m in a scarp 1+. I plan for long term even if it’s only 5 days, that means a vapor barrier in my bag which is just a WM Apache with a down quilt thrown over for a condensation trap. Even with a VB there’s condensation issues around your face. Protect your down.

The last thing I do after supper is fill 2 water bottles with hot water. They go in the foot of the bag. I only wear a base layer when I sleep so my down layers don’t get compromised with moisture. I put my boots outside my sleeping bag but under the quilt. You don’t want frozen boots when you roll out well before sunrise. I sleep on an exotherm with a small closed cell foam pad under my torso. That pad is also my sit pad when glassing. No water filters or water bladders due to freeze risk and previous experience. Aqua Mira will freeze in sub zero so I keep it in an inside pocket. All my jackets from puffy to micro fleece have inside torso pockets big enough for my water bottles. You got to force yourself to drink even in the cold. When you get back to camp it will be dark and cold. Getting some chocolate and hot Gatorade in you before supper is heated up will jump start that internal stove. Leave the alcohol for the wall tent crowd, you can’t afford to make mistakes.

Don’t forget to open the bolt on your rifle before you go to sleep. That will freeze up too.

Take your time, adjust your layers, try not to sweat, and don’t make mistakes. Climbers and backpackers do this stuff all the time with out a hot tent so don’t think it’s hard.

 

[HighUintas]

What are you guys do with your rifles at night and super cold weather to ensure no condensation forms inside the barrel and chamber. I experienced it this year and wondered why it happened. I left my rifle with the muzzle taped and the bolt closed and had it on the ground inside my shelter overnight. What is the best way to avoid creating condensation in there? Leave the rifle outside the tent with the bolt open?

 

[ReaptheHeat]

Just camped in -15 this season with only a buddy heater. I would not recommend it! Propane creates moisture so it's hard to run it for long periods of time without icing out the tent. A new stove is in the works for me.

 

[Z Barebow]

What are you guys do with your rifles at night and super cold weather to ensure no condensation forms inside the barrel and chamber. I experienced it this year and wondered why it happened. I left my rifle with the muzzle taped and the bolt closed and had it on the ground inside my shelter overnight. What is the best way to avoid creating condensation in there? Leave the rifle outside the tent with the bolt open?

Not experienced with rifles, but I don't bring my archery equipment inside/warm up. Once it is frozen, let it stay frozen. If my bow get's iced up/frozen (EX Arrow Rest freezes due to moisture), only then will I bring it inside. And then it needs to totally dry out. Otherwise you will have squeaks and creaks due to refreeze.

I would just put rifle in a case outside and call it good.