Camping Comfort
Throughout a winter overnight trip, you will most likely experience long durations of physical exertion and extended periods of inactivity. How you stay comfortable, warm and dry will vary depending on time of day and work being performed.
Eat food for warmth - Your body generates heat as it digests food, so if you’re feeling cold try eating some food. Before you go to bed, have a little snack to keep your metabolism going and keep a candy bar nearby if you get cold in the middle of the night.
Spoon your meal - If you are preparing packaged freeze dried food for your meal (such as Mountain House or Backpacker’s Pantry), add the hot water, seal the pouch and place it inside your jacket. Enjoy the heat while your meal stands for 10 minutes.
Add even more ground insulation - Put your waterproof layers between your two sleeping pads to add a little extra insulation from the cold ground.
Use your foam pad for more than sleeping - Use your foam sleeping pad to sit or stand on while you’re cooking. It helps you stay a little warmer and drier. Wrapping over your legs while sitting will help keep you warmer and shield falling snow from your body.
Fill floor space in your tent - A bunch of empty floor space inside your tent will make it hard to warm up the interior space. Bring your backpack and other gear inside (avoid sharp items that could rip your tent, like crampons and axes) and place it around you on the floor of your tent to act as insulation against the cold ground.
Fill a bottle with hot water - Create a little heater that will last long into the night by boiling a liter of water and pouring it into your hard-plastic water bottle. Screw the lid on tight, make sure it doesn’t leak, wrap in a sock and toss it in your sleeping bag. Holding the bottle close to your tummy or between your legs against your femoral artery will really heat you up. In the morning, you'll have non-frozen water to drink.
Keep your boots inside - Bringing your boots inside your tent will keep them a few degrees warmer than if you leave them outside. This will make them a bit more pleasant to put on in the morning. If your boots have removable liners, keep them warm at night by putting them in your sleeping bag. The same is true for socks and boot insoles.
Sleep in clean clothes - Over time, body oils, sweat and dirt can rob your sleeping bag of its insulating power. Change into clean long underwear and socks for sleep.
Use your body as a dryer - If your gloves or socks get wet, put them on top of your base layer on your shoulders, in your armpits or tucked into your pants’ waistband where your body heat will dry them.
Stow your bottles upside down - Water freezes from the top down, so by stowing bottles upside down, the bottle tops are less likely to freeze shut. Just make sure your bottles lids are screwed on correctly and won’t leak.
Start out with your batteries fully charged - Winter nights are long, so make sure your headlamp, GPS and cell phone batteries are new or fully charged before an excursion and always take extras. Lithium batteries perform well in cold weather, but they can overpower some devices like headlamps (check your product's manual for compatibility). Alkaline batteries should work in any device, but they drain at a faster rate.
Keep electronics warm - Cold temps can zap battery power. When not in use, stow things like your headlamp, cell phone, GPS and extra batteries in your sleeping bag or a jacket pocket close to your body. A foot warmers stuck to the back of your cell phone and or GPS will help make the battery last longer.
Two pairs of gloves should be considered minimum - Gloves take a long time to dry, and cold hands make you miserable in a hurry. You should also learn how to do everything shy of tying your boot laces while still wearing your gloves so you don’t unnecessarily expose your bare fingers to frigid winter temps.
Down Booties - Because you’ll love them!
Eye Protection - Snow blindness is a type of temporary eye damage caused by snow reflecting UV light. Because snow is reflective, looking out into white snowy expanse can cause a sunburn to the eyes. So don't forget your sunglasses, even if you know it's not going to be sunny.
Go pee when you need to… and when you don’t - Your body has to burn calories to keep urine warm, so it's better in the long run to just deal when your bladder calls (or force yourself to pee before going to bed). By emptying your bladder, your body needs to use a little less energy to stay warm. If the idea of getting out of your toasty warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night seems unbearable, use a pee bottle. Women can use a pee funnel to go into the bottle. A well prepared vestibule can help alleviate any embarrassment when sharing a tent by providing a private area within your tent.
Harsh times call for harsh measures, and your warm pee jar (and lost body) heat can be used for passive warming—just make sure to tighten the lid and check for leaks. Jars can also be emptied and repurposed to pack out waste or feminine hygiene products. BE SURE TO LABEL YOUR BOTTLE
For ladies it’s your choice if you prefer to drip dry, use a pee rag or pack out your toilet paper. Pee rags can dry when hanging on the outside of pack or inside your tent at night. Pee funnels are a great way to maintain privacy, and keep your bum warm throughout the day’s potty breaks.
If you are menstruating, another way to keep what you need to pack out to a minimum and make your travels easier is a menstrual cup. The menstrual cup is also useful on outings because you can leave it in place longer than tampons. Usually 12 hours for a menstrual cup, instead of 8 for a tampon. Menstrual cups need to be cleaned when emptied, but since they do not need to be changed as often as tampons, this can usually be done in camp instead of on the trail.
When on the snow we can’t dig a cat hole and bury our business. This too needs to be packed out. Here is where you can use a trusty blue bag. Do your business on the snow, collect the waste using the blue bag like a glove. Turn the bag inside out and secure. Then place it in another bag. Deposit the bag in blue barrels at the trailhead (Camp Muir/Sherman). You can also use a WAG bag or other poo kit, which comes with two tear resistant bags, pooh powder, toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The non-toxic Pooh Powder waste treatment treats up to 32 ounces of liquid and solid waste allowing for multiple use and turns liquid waste to a solid for hygienic and spill proof transport. The Pooh Powder waste treatment controls odors and contains a decay catalyst that breaks down solid waste.