How to go Winter Backpacking. Cold Weather Camping Gear & options for every Budget.
Playlists Mentioned in the Video
Winter Backpacking Gear Discussed
How to go Winter Backpacking. Cold Weather Camping Gear & options for every Budget.
Playlists Mentioned in the Video
Winter Backpacking Gear Discussed
Join Mike & I as we Attempt to Winter Camp in a Snow Trench at -15° F, Deep in the Woods of the White Mountains.
For this winter backpacking & Snow Camping adventure, we’ll be heading into the austere terrain of the Dry River Wilderness in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Our main challenge for this adventure will be to sleep without the comforts of a tent of hammock. Our goal is to use bivvy sacks to protect our sleeping bags from the elements as well as extend the range of our sleeping bags. The latter of which is of particular importance because we’ll be packing in sleeping bags rated for around 15° to 20° F, in temperatures of around -15° F. Our secondary objective will be to hit the summit of Mt Crawford, replete with stunning, 360° views of the White Mountains. Oh, and we’ve got some pretty fun backpacking food on the menu as well. We’ll be camp cooking all “real food” on this trip, thanks to the sub-zero temps, no traditional dehydrated backpacking food.
Topics Covered in this Episode
Trailhead Parking
GPS Data for this trip is available on the Trip Data Page, or by using this link for direct download: GPS Data – Snow Trench Camping Mt Crawford NH 2018 – Sintax77
Stats & Trails Used, Day One
Day 1 Mileage: 2.0 miles
Day 1 Elevation Gain: 1,725′
Stats & Trails Used, Day Two
Day 2 Mileage: 3.1 miles *0.65 miles to the summit of Mt Crawford, 2 miles from camp to the Davis Path Trailhead Parking Lot.
Day 2 Elevation Gain: 974′
Trip Totals
Total Elevation Gain: 2,699′
Total Mileage: 5.1 Miles
Notable Gear Used / Seen on this Backpacking Trip:
Pack
Backpack – EMS Longtrail 70 (2011 model)
Location
GPS Unit – Garmin Oregon 650
Cooking & Eating Utensils
Multi-fuel Camping Stove – Optimus Polaris Optifuel
Cook Pot, 1L – MallowMe
Cup – Vargo 450ml Titanium Cup
Spork, Plastic – Sea to Summit Delta Spork
Seating
Byer of Maine Tri-Lite Camp Stool
Bivvy Bag System
SOL Escape Lite Bivvy Bag – Emergency Bivvy Sack for Survival and Camping
Sleep System
Sleeping Bag – Outdoor Vitals Mummy 15° Down Model
Shelter
Tarp – Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp
Ground Cloth – Tyvek, long
Water Storage
Water Bottle – 40 Below 1 Liter Bottle w/ Bottle Boot
Light Sources
Headlamp – Olight H16 Wave LED Headlamp
12,000 lumen Mega Flashlight used to illuminate our campsite in sub-zero temps – Olight X7R Marauder
First Aid & SOS Messenger
Spot Messenger
Traction & Traversal
MSR Denali Ascent Snowshoes *No longer in production, I got them on Ebay. A modern equivalent would be something like the MSR Evo Ascent Snowshoe.
Kahtoola Micro Spikes *I didn’t end up using them, as I had my snowshoes on most of the time, but I always throw these in the pack for snow trips to deal with icy terrain.
Trekking Poles – CNOC Outdoors Carbon Fiber Vertex Trekking Poles
Snow Camping Tools
Camp Brand Snow Shovel *I’m not sure my model is in production anymore. The closest current version seems to be the Camp Rocket Shovel.
Clothing
Mid Layer – Surplus Military Fleece
US Army Gen III Extreme Cold Weather Trousers
Gloves – Sealskinz Water Proof Ultra Grip Gloves
EMS Over-mittens w/ US Army Wool Gloves
Boots, Winter High Top Garmont GTX
Face mask / neck gaiter by Seirus Innovation
Join me for 3 days of Winter Camping, Hammock setup, Snowshoeing, Camp Stove testing with multiple Fuel types for Snow Melting, Cold Weather Clothing tips & more on this mega episode.
For this solo winter backpacking and snow camping adventure, I’ll be heading into the deep snow of the Sandwich Range Wilderness in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. If you’re serious about geeking out on the finer details of camping in deep snow in temperatures below zero F, this video is for you. We’ll be spending a lot of time at camp experimenting, demonstrating and discussing a lot of winter camping topics in detail, including –
Trailhead Parking
GPS Data for this trip is available on the Trip Data Page, or by using this link for direct download: Sandwich Range Winter 2018 Hammock Camping Trip GPS Data – Sintax77
Stats & Trails Used, Day One
Day 1 Mileage: 2.5 miles
Day 1 Elevation Gain: 502′
Stats & Trails Used, Day Two
Day 2 Mileage: 4 miles
Day 2 Elevation Gain: 1,473′
Notable Gear Used / Seen on this Backpacking Trip:
Pack
Backpack – EMS Longtrail 70 (2011 model)
Location
GPS Unit – Garmin Oregon 650
Cooking & Eating Utensils
Multi-fuel Camping Stove – Optimus Polaris Optifuel
Cook Pot, 1L – MallowMe
Cup – Vargo 450ml Titanium Cup
Spork, Long – Sea to Summit Alpha
Hammock System
Hammock Body – Dutchware NylonD 11′ Netless
Hammock Suspension – Dutchware Polyester Tree Straps with Titanium Cinch Buckles
Sleep System
Sleeping Bag / Hammock Quilt – Outdoor Vitals Mummy 15° Down Model
Shelter
Tarp – Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp
Ground Cloth – Tyvek, long
Water Storage
Water Bottle – 40 Below 1 Liter Bottle w/ Bottle Boot
Light Sources
Flashlight / Clip-on Headlamp – Olight S1 Mini Baton
First Aid & SOS Messenger
Spot Messenger
Traction & Traversal
MSR Denali Ascent Snowshoes *No longer in production, I got them on Ebay. A modern equivalent would be something like the MSR Evo Ascent Snowshoe.
Kahtoola Micro Spikes *I didn’t end up using them, as I had my snowshoes on most of the time, but I always throw these in the pack for snow trips to deal with icy terrain.
Trekking Poles – CNOC Outdoors Carbon Fiber Vertex Trekking Poles
Snow Camping Tools
Camp Brand Snow Shovel *I’m not sure my model is in production anymore. The closest current version seems to be the Camp Rocket Shovel.
Clothing
Mid Layer – Surplus Military Fleece
US Army Gen III Extreme Cold Weather Trousers
Gloves – Sealskinz Water Proof Ultra Grip Gloves
EMS Over-mittens w/ US Army Wool Gloves
Boots, Winter High Top Garmont GTX
Face mask / neck gaiter by Seirus Innovation
Come along for 2 days of Winter Hammock Camping, Backpacking, & Camp cooking as we hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail near Port Clinton, PA.
For this winter camping adventure, I’ll be taking advantage of a couple of free days by heading up to Port Clinton, Pennsylvania for a spur of the moment solo backpacking trip. Along the way, we’ll see some sections of the Appalachian Trail that PA has to offer, go over my winter backpacking gear, setup a winter hammock camping rig, build a campfire, and do a a decent amount of camp cooking on my trusty, old-school canister stove.
Trailhead Parking
GPS Data for this trip is available on the Trip Data Page, or by using this link for direct download: Port Clinton Winter Hammock Camping 2018 GPS Data – Sintax77
This was a relatively simple ‘in and out’ hike with a total one way distance of just under 3 miles and an elevation gain of 1,284′.
Notable Gear Used / Seen on this Backpacking Trip:
For a more detailed account, check out my full Winter Ultralight Backpacking Gear List Blog Post / Video.
Pack
Backpack – ULA Ohm 2.0
Pack Cover – Dutchware Argon
Location
GPS Unit – Garmin Oregon 650
Cooking & Eating Utensils
Spork, Plastic – Sea to Summit
Stove – MSR Rapidfire
Hammock System
Hammock Body – Dutchware Chameleon
Hammock Sock – Dutchware Winter Vented Sock with Optional Zipper
Hammock Suspension – Dutchware Polyester Tree Straps with Titanium Cinch Buckles
Sleep System
Under Quilt – Hammock Gear Incubator 20
Top Quilt – HG Burrow 20
Shelter
Tarp – Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp
Ground Cloth – Tyvek, long
Tent spike – Titanium
Water Treatment & Storage
Water Filter – Sawyer Micro (came with my Sawyer S3 system)
Dirty Water Bag – CNOC Outdoors 2L Vecto Water Container Bag
Water Bottle – 40 Below 1 Liter Bottle w/ Bottle Boot
Light Sources
Flashlight / Clip-on Headlamp – Olight S1 Mini Baton
First Aid & SOS Messenger
Spot Messenger
Clothing
Mid Layer – Surplus Military Fleece
US Army Gen III Extreme Cold Weather Trousers
Gloves – Sealskinz Water Proof Ultra Grip Gloves
Boots, Winter High Top Garmont GTX
Face mask / neck gaiter by Seirus Innovation
Chair
Alite Mayfly Chair
A cross-post of my Live Event on Katadyn USA’s Facebook page discussing my recent Winter Snow Camping trip, & a general discussion Q&A on winter Backpacking Gear, Clothing, Food and personal experiences.
Link to original ‘Survival of the Chillest’ Live Event Post (Main Video)
Link to original ‘Survival of the Chillest’ Live Event Post (BeFree Filter Winner Announcement)
Winter Camping Gear Seen / Discussed
Tips, Gear Used, & Things I Could Have Done Differently while Climbing Mt Washington in Winter.
Primary Winter Ascent Gear Shown
My Preferred map for Mt Washington Hikes: AMC Map: Presidential Range: White Mountains Trail Map
Other Gear Seen / Discussed
Opening Music: Beethoven – Coriolan Overture, Op. 62, 1807
Stock Footage: Various Public Domain pieces from the U.S. War Department, circa WWII.