When I'm backpacking I often enjoy the weather, even when it's "bad". Too much rain can become a real drag, but most of the time any kind of weather is just part of the journey. I don't mind the tougher parts to enjoy the solitude that comes with the long walks through the wilderness.
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| Flash photo of my favorite backpacking tent (MSR Hubba). I suspected it would snow during the night, and it did. |
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| I love waking up in the morning to fresh snow when I'm backpacking. |
At another campsite (the night before the one above). First it was lightly raining after I'd got my tent set up. Then the temperature dropped and it began to sleet. Some minutes after that it became all snow. Then it warmed up, the clouds broke, and the sun was out.
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| Just a short stroll from my tent. |
I don't like camping in the cold.
ReplyDeleteOne time, when I was about 20, my friends picked me up after I got off work to go camping at night on the shore of Clark Hill Reservoir...on the coldest night of the year. The wind was blowing 20 mph off the lake.
After we drank our 6 packs and smoked our weed, I tried to sleep in the back seat of a car and didn't get a wink because it was too cold.
I frequently reminded them of how miserable a night that was, but they always defended it and claimed we had such a good time.
If I could go back in time, I would have stayed at home in my nice warm bed that night.
My very first night backpacking I took a lousy sleeping bag. I slept right on the ground with no padding beneath my bag. It got down to around freezing during the night. I was miserable because every point where my body touched the ground was ice cold. I kept waking up.
ReplyDeleteLesson learned. Must have thermal padding of some type between your body and the earth (which retains no heat).
I have good backpacking/camping equipment. Down-filled sleeping bag, thermal pad, good tent, warm clothing. The keys.