Winter Hot Tent Camping …and Kicking Cancer’s @#S

Backpacking & Winter Camping with a Hot Tent on the Appalachian Trail using a Titanium Wood Stove & 5 person Luxe Twinpeak tent.

For this adventure, we got a guided tour of Virginia’s Mount Pleasant Scenic Area in the George Washington National Forest. The weather at our elevation of roughly 4,000′ was forecast to be in the mid to low 20’s with high winds, so we were excited to see how the tent & wood stove combo would work out.

Cole Mountain Loop Route Overview – Sintax77

No permit is required to camp in the George Washington National forest, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

You can read more about Ricky’s story and his experience with pancreatic cancer here.

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Winter Hammock Camping – Amok Draumr XL – Snow on Unknown Pond

3 Days of Winter Hammock Camping, Backpacking, & Snow Hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains using the Amok Draumr XL Hammock.

For this 3 day, 2 night spring snow camping trip, I’ll be hiking a section of trail in northern New Hampshire to setup a winter base camp in the remote Mt Cabot & Unknown Pond region of the White Mountain National Forest.

For sleep and shelter I packed in my Amok Draumr XL hammock, paired with the Amok Borg tarp and Amok Fjol XL sleeping pad.  I had never used the Amok hammock on a winter trip before, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to test it, as the forecast called for a decent amount of snow and temperatures a little bit below it’s recommended temperature range of 20°F.  More details on my winter backpacking gear can be found at the end of this post.

Unknown Pond Route Overview – Sintax77

No permit is required to camp in the White Mountains NF, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS White Mountains website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Military Surplus Camping Pt 2 – Finding the B-47 Crash Wing

Hiking & Backpacking with Military Surplus Camping Gear in the Adirondacks Eastern High Peaks Region

For this 2 day, 1 night adventure, I’ll be returning to Wright Peak to continue my search for the B-47 wing. I’ll be using the same milsurp backpacking load-out (with some additional cold weather gear), along with MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) food to keep me fueled up while I search for the remnants of a cold war era B-47 bomber that crashed on Wright Peak during the night of January 2nd, 1962.

If you haven’t already seen Part One, where I explored the summit impact zone, you can check that out here.

My “big 3” for this backpacking trip are a medium sized ALICE pack, USGI Modular Sleeping bag with USGI Term-A-Rest sleeping Pad, and a USGI Poncho for shelter / rain gear. I scored each of these items for around $30.  A gear list can be found at the end of this post.

No permit is required to camp in the Adirondacks, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information here.

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Military Surplus Camping – B-47 Crash Site – Adirondack Mountains

Hiking & Backpacking with Military Surplus Camping Gear in the Adirondacks Eastern High Peaks Region

For this 2 day, 1 night adventure, I’ll be testing out and demonstrating my milsurp backpacking load-out, along with MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) food to keep me fueled up while I search for the remnants of a cold war era B-47 bomber that crashed on Wright Peak during the night of January 2nd, 1962.

My “big 3” for this backpacking trip are a medium sized ALICE pack, USGI Modular Sleeping bag with USGI Term-A-Rest sleeping Pad, and a USGI Poncho for shelter / rain gear. I scored each of these items for around $30.  A full gear list can be found at the end of this post.

No permit is required to camp in the Adirondacks, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information here.

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Hiking the Ultimate White Mountains Backpacking Loop

3 Days of Hammock Camping, Hiking & Backpacking on the White Mountains Presicat Loop.

For this 3 day, 2 night summer backpacking trip, I’ll be hiking a 30 mile backpacking loop in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest.  I call this the Presicat loop because it’s comprised of the Carter Range and Wildcat Range on one side, and the northern section of the Presidential Range on the other.

This route creates a grand tour of the northern White Mountains with a section of the Appalachian Trail and Mt Washington as it’s centerpiece.  Along the way we’ll hit 9 major summits (NH48’s) and 8 subsidiary peaks, while racking up 15,228 feet of elevation gain on some pretty rugged trails.

For sleep and shelter I chose a minimalist ultralight hammock camping system. This allowed me to get my base weight down to 9 lb.  Notable gear can be found in the gear section below. Or check out my full printable list with weights and links on LighterPack.

Presicat Loop Route Overview 2019 – Sintax77

No permit is required to camp in the White Mountains, but the trailhead I chose did require a self payment of $3 per day. Rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping can be found on the USFS website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Hammock Camping the Dolly Sods Wilderness – Solo Backpacking Trip

3 Days of Hammock Camping, Hiking, & Backpacking in the Dolly Sods  Wilderness.

For this 3 day, 2 night spring backpacking trip, I’ll be hiking a 23 mile loop in West Virginia’s Dolly Sods Wilderness, part of the larger Monongahela National Forest. Dolly Sods is located in the Allegheny Mountains on the highest plateau east of the Mississippi river and features some of the most varied and scenic terrain available to hikers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

For sleep and shelter system on my Dolly Sods backpacking loop, I packed in my Amok Draumr XL hammock, paired with the Amok Borg tarp and Amok Fjol XL sleeping pad.  I chose this combo based on plateau’s less aggressive terrain and the extra time I expected to be lounging and relaxing at camp.

No permit is required to camp in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS Dolly Sods website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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