This was our first overnight field trip organized by UIA. And even thought this was no way near my first night out, this is no place to be cocky. Sleeping out in snowy conditions with temperatures around zero are always hard and a challenge to get as comfortable as possible.
Overnight field trip, forest winter camp life
Location: Jegersberg, Kristiansand
Wednesday 24th of January
We were divided into smaller groups with whom we had to eat, sleep and build up camp. After Johne told us where we would be going he gave the different groups a map and told what gear to take from the basement. Provided materials were:
– 3/4 persons tent
– Trangia alcohol stove
– Trangia cooking system
– Primus gas stove
– Snow shovels for everybody
– Dry birch wood
– Primus power gas
– Red spirit
After checking the tent and packing everything into our backpacks we set out on our field trip. The first part was done walking and took us over the biking trail that’s next to the forest and leads to the placewhere I life. At the end of the biking trail we put on our skies and started skiing up the skiing trails in Jegersberg. The general direction we were following was north and was pretty must straight forward with some big checkpoints like streams, open areas (in the past used as shooting ranges) and lakes. At the end of our hike we went up a small path and put up camp there. The area is almost my backyard so most of the hike was familiar and even the camp location was familiar since my camp spot on my first night out, here in Norway, was just 300 meters away.
On our route Johne sometimes stopped the groups to ask for the location on the map, to switch the leading group or to give some instruction about walking with a group and what to take in account when doing this.Things like: stay together, walk on one side of the road, if you’re getting behind walk fast or pass on to the front to slow down a bit.
Because I had some problems with my shin, which was a bit over trained from all the skiing, I did not really participate with the group hike.
I was trying not to slow the group down whilst trying not to use my left shin. So the hike was quit hard on me. Sadly this also meant I couldn’t assist my group with there navigation. But never the less I was happy I still joined on the trip.
Camping out and the outdoor recreation act:
We were staying out in Jegersberg which is uncultivated land, this gives us acces and passage through the land at all times of year, provided that consideration and due care is shown. The area we were staying in was normal forest and not regenerating forest, we were further away than 150 meters from inhabited areas and our stay was shorter than two days.
Camp setup:
After finding a good flat area that was big enough for the tent we started compacting the snow so we could have a comfortable nights sleep. This in itself is maybe a little weird because by doing this were crushing the snow to an icy surface and thereby taking out the insulating air in the snow.
To get some insulation back we could have collected some pine branches and put these under our tent. This would also help with keeping the ground sheet dry. But because of the snow it was hard to move around and there were not enough pine branches in the area for the whole class, so we decided not to do this.
We did not have long tent pegs to use in the snow so we just used or skies and poles, which were perfect for the job! In the morning the poles were some work to dig out though.
After everybody finished putting up there tents everybody started picking up some camp duties. There wasn’t really anybody who said who had to do what, everybody started working at a place where there was help needed. It was nice to see that a group who already has some camping experiences picks up these tasks by them selves.
Using the Trangia stove:
I did not work with the Trangia cooking system before but I have used gas stoves in the past. I like gas stoves and the Trangia system but would never carry the system if I went out on a self organized trip. The reason is that I think your carrying to much stuff with to little versatility. Besides this I like cooking on campfire better.
I never really used alcohol stoves before so I was looking forward using this. After having our meal made on the gas stove we were full and not in the mood for our planned chocolate fondue, which the alcohol stove seemed perfect for. So in the end I did not get to use the alcohol stove but I will make sure I try one in the near future.
Staying warm:
In class we talked about different types of clothing when being outdoor. Of course this was not my first lecture about this subject but nevertheless I did learn something. Maybe it has been mentioned in the other lectures as well but at least this time it stuck. The thing I’m talking about is the choice for woolen clothing.
I’ve experienced in the past that my icebreaker underwear works better than my cotton underwear. I experienced that the icebreaker shirts didn’t smell of body odor that fast as cotton and that it didn’t felt that wet when sweating in them. The thing Johne learned me is that the reason why wool works so good is that the structure of the clothing doesn’t collapse when getting wet. This means that the fabric maintains an open structure which enables the sweat to move through the layers of clothing and keeps air in the structure of the fabric which means we maintain the insulating abilities of our clothing better.
And of course we talked about the layering system of which I’m a great fan. I don’t really know if it keeps you warmer than one big layer but it offers much greater versatility because when your working you can take off one or two layers and when getting cold you can put on one or two extra layers. Whilst when you would be wearing one big warm parka you would be sweating when your working because you don’t have any layers to take off.
When going to bed in cold conditions there are a couple of things you have to take in account.
– Check your tent!
Look for stuff sticking out or areas where the inner tent touches the outer tent. If so solve the problem.
– Make sure you’re already warm!
When there’s no body heat to start with your sleeping bag will have no warmth to work with. So run around a bit before going to bed and try to get the blood pumping again.
– Have a extra (dry) beanie!
When you’re going to bed you put your wet beanie out to dry, put on your dry beanie. This way you will have a warm and dry head which is important because you loose most of your body heat at your head and you will not get a wet sleeping bag.
– Check your gear!
Before falling asleep now check if everything is placed in a good location. Maybe somebody accidentally kicked one of your shoes over or you misplaced your bag against the outer tent. Knowing everything is in a good spot will take away all your worry’s and let you be ready for a nice night’s sleep.
If you have a new sleeping bag or afraid you might get cold, pour in some hot water into your drinking bottle and put a sock around it. In case your sleeping bag is warm enough you can always not use the hot water bottle or have it ready for someone who might need it.
If you do wake up cold in the night try tightening all the adjustable area’s. Most sleeping bags have one for your face and one just above you shoulders. Tightening these will really save some extra warmth! And of course shuffling yourself against your buddy will help a lot as well.
If you’re really cold, try to create some body heat by moving a lot in your sleeping bag. Do push ups, sit ups what ever! And if your still having problems after this tell your buddy(s)! Because then you will have to undertake some serious action.
Having a campfire on snow:
There are a couple of challenges when wanting to make a fire on snow.
One is that the ground is just frozen water this means that you have to think about where you will put your dry wood.
Another challenge is that after lighting you fire the snow will start to melt which will result in your fire going deeper and deeper into the snow.
You could choose to dig down to the bare earth but in some situations this isn’t possible. For example when there’s a 3 meter layer of snow or when there are layers of ice in between the snow layers.
A great way of building a fire on snow is the pagode fire. Basicly it means that you put the biggest pieces of wood on the snow and build it up until you end with the smallest wood and tinder on top. The fire will slowly work its way down. Which means that is far away from the snow for a longer period of time. (ofcourse first compact the snow where you’re building the fire)
Dinner:
Nutrition is a complicated story. How much, what, when and why? It’s something I don’t know/understand everything about and actually don’t want to know. For me food is one of the most important things when being out. There is nothing like a good tasting meal after a hard day. Just amazing. I believe that my body knows best what it needs and I listen to that. So I just search out stuff that’s tasty.
Talking about tasty, we had a really great task. We had to make a three course dinner. Outdoor cooking is not easy and takes a lot more time than cooking inside. So here are my secrets to cooking outside..
– Choose something that’s easy to make
– Be prepared
If your going on a one day trip you can choose to cut all your vegetables, meat etc. at home. This will save you a lot of trouble.
If not, have stuff with you which you can use as a cutting surface and storing space. For example a plastic plate or wooden board. For storing you could use your plate, extra pan or cup.
Sources:
– Langmuir, E. (2013). Mountaincraft and Leadership.
– Government.NO (1996) Act of 28 June 1957 No.16 Relating to Outdoor Recreation
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/doc/laws/acts/outdoor-recreation-act.html?id=172932
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Extra experiences:
Camping in the tipi two weeks ago thought me that my Thermarest was actually a bit to cold for sleeping in the snow. Even thought I did sleep with my fleece liner I had a cold back from the ground.
This time I put my fleece liner between me and my sleeping bag and it made a big difference! I’m not sure why and if this was prove that it worked but I will definitely try this again.
Differences between this time and last time:
– Smaller and warmer tent
– No bivy bag –> I have found in the past that sleeping without bivy bag can be warmer because the down gets more space to collect air.
– I was using my normal thin liner this time, which I didn’t use last time.