Cold Weather Camping Tips: Stay Warm with Just a Tent and a Backpack

Until then, serious consideration must be made to find a campsite for the night, regroup, and start fresh in the morning’s first light…and perhaps avoid the brute force of winter.

Since the nearest KOA is 400 miles away, so you’ll have to rely on your inner prairie-crossing pioneer instincts: Circle the wagons, strike up a campfire, and prepare to be amazed by exactly how cold it can get in the middle of winter.

Human beings live in a delicate temperature balance on a planet that is just the right distance from the sun to create comfortable climates for us. It may seem like we’re pretty tolerant of changing temperatures because we can be comfortable on a hot summer day and also enjoy winter sports, but our core body temperature always stays about the same, 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, when the human body hit its limit of endurance, especially during long exposure to the cold, it will be unable to produce enough heat to replace the amount that is lost, and its resting core temperature will begin to fall.

Planning Your Winter Camping
In this digital age, planning for the weather has never been easier. The nightly news, the app on your phone, and the constant feed on your computer’s homepage can literally give you up-to-the-minute weather reports for any area in the world.

However, when you are out in the wilderness, perhaps lost or in the middle of a true survival situation without gear or any electronic communication devices, you are at the mercy of nature’s sometimes violent displays of weather.

How do you prepare for the unexpected when severe weather-related injuries and even death are very real possible outcomes? The answer lies in interpreting the clues that Mother Nature displays all around you. From the scarcity of normally omnipresent animals to an increase in wind speeds to the varying textures of the overhead clouds, the signals are there if you know where to look.

Keep Your Eyes on the Clouds
Many questions about possible incoming weather changes can be answered, at times, by just looking upward and observing the specific cloud patterns seen throughout the daytime skies. Generally speaking, predicting near-future weather using the sky above can be achieved by knowing what kinds of clouds are visible and which generally indicate either good or bad weather.

Cirrus clouds will appear as wisps or “paint stroke” high up in the earth’s atmosphere and generally indicate a high-pressure area. High-pressure zones will usually exhibit good weather. Cumulus clouds, on the other hand, take the form of the more commonly considered cloud shape—a puffy, thick white form not unlike a cotton ball.

As they roll in, these clouds indicate a low-pressure area, and as such, one can expect precipitation to follow. Cumulus clouds hang low in the atmosphere, so if you observe these clouds, it is wise to head back home, seek shelter if out on the trail or, at the very worst, get your poncho out and prepare for incoming rain.

Looking upward to help determine future weather changes doesn’t have to only be done during the day. Cirrostratus clouds that appear to create rings around the moon are harbingers of low pressure, and as mentioned earlier, low pressure leads to precipitation.

Campsite Location
When initially looking for a campsite, always go uphill. You want to find a campsite that has some elevation in relation to the ground around it, like a small knoll or rise that will deflect any water should foul additional weather arise. A depression will only collect water and snowmelt, and even a light dusting of snow could end up turning into a small flood.

Vast scenic views are nice and relaxing, like a rocky overlook or the peak of a large hill, but high winds are not. The more exposed your site is, the more it will be affected by the weather; it may not be windy now, but it might be in the late afternoon and early evening.

Nothing ruins a camping trip like unforeseen snowfall, and nothing will ruin your life like an unexpected avalanche. Since most avalanches happen during or just after a heavy snowfall, avoid those areas if possible.

Keep your campsite away from hills with slopes that are 30 to 45 degrees, as they are most prone to avalanches (now you know why your compass has an inclinometer). As well, don’t set up your site under trees laden with snow (and especially don’t build a fire under one). Though the weight can vary (fluffy snow weighs less), one cubic foot of snow can weigh around 15 pounds.

Dress to Survive
Cold weather kills more people annually than all other weather-related conditions combined. Though the body still has ways of protecting itself from the cold, from reducing blood flow to the extremities to shivering to slowing down muscle contractions and energy expenditure. Maintaining a higher core temperature, while fighting to stave off frostbite to your extremities, is a just a matter of defending yourself from the chill with layers of clothing.

The Basics: In survival situations, layering maximizes the utility and versatility of your available wardrobe, meaning that you’ll stay warmer and drier with less. One place to make huge savings in both weight and space is by choosing backwoods clothing that can be layered.

Unlike other types of gear, clothing should not be double-duty. This means that your cold-weather jacket doesn’t need to be waterproof and your rain jacket doesn’t need to be warm. They each excel at different things and asking them to compromise to accomplish other purposes means that they are not designed to perform their best at one thing only.

Depending on the climate you live in and/or the climate you expect to travel through, you may need anywhere from three to five layers, but most people need just three: base layer, insulating layer, and shell layer.

Base Layer: This is the layer that you will probably wear the most often in a any cold-weather scenario. The role of the base layer is to regulate your body’s temperature when you are exerting yourself physically, as in hiking, climbing, or preparing a shelter.

It does this through a process known as “wicking,” where the fabric draws up moisture away from your skin to the surface to encourage evaporation. You want any sweat that you’re producing to evaporate quickly, especially in cold climates due to the risk of hypothermia.

To maximize its utility, your base layer needs to be thin enough to be worn under your insulating layer and your shell layer but thick enough to perform as needed. Different materials have different wicking potential, but the two most popular base layer materials are synthetics and merino wool.

Synthetics are very efficient at wicking away moisture, and they are also known for being more durable than other materials. Look for a long-sleeve and pants combo. Both The North Face and UnderArmour make great base layers that work well for long-term backwoods trips.

Merino wool is an increasingly popular material for base layers. The fibers of merino wool are significantly less coarse than standard wool fibers, so you can wear them comfortably and without that itchy feeling.

At the end of even the most humid days it remains soft to the touch, and odor free. This is in part because wool contains lanolin, a naturally occurring anti-fungal and anti-bacterial oil. The only downside to wool is that it’s not as durable as synthetics, so extra care is needed to prevent this material from being damaged during your time in the backwoods.

Insulating Layer: Your insulating layer goes over your base layer to keep you warm when the temperature begins to plunge. Insulation is one area where the available technology is changing at rapid pace, but there are two still popular materials that make up any quality insulating layer: down and synthetics.

Down insulators are made from the fluffy layer of feathers underneath the top layer of geese and ducks. It works well for humans (and ducks) by creating tiny pockets of air that retain warmth. This is known as loft, and besides its low weight, one of down’s strongest qualities is that it can be tightly compressed into your pack without losing its insulating ability.

The caveat emptor moment here is that there are a wide range of temperature ratings for down coats to fit a wide variety of climates, so choose one that is appropriate for your situation. Down is most effective in dry environments. Because of the structure of loft, wet down loses its insulating ability and becomes virtually worthless.

If you live in a wetter climate, it may be more effective to choose a synthetic insulating layer. These work well in wet climates because they dry faster than down and still provide comparable warmth when wet.

As well, within this layer can be other types of clothing, such as a comfortable sweater or a wool shirt. This level of layers is where you can add and subtract elements as you need throughout the day and night. If you are still cold, add another insulating layer, like a button-up shirt that can be buttoned and unbuttoned as your temperature fluctuates.

Shell Layer: The final outer layer is the shell layer. Typically we think of this as our rain jacket, but this layer will protect you from all of the elements, be it rain, wind, snow, or sleet. It should be big enough to fit over all of your other layers and, most importantly, it should not duplicate their functions (avoid shells that have insulation). There are countless manufacturers of shell layers on the market that are minimalist in design but high in function.

Final Thoughts
Although the Hallmark Channel wants us to believe that snow is this light and fluffy stuff, but the reality is that snow is wet and heavy, so you’ll want a shell that can withstand the degree of moisture snow will produce. Keeping warm starts with keeping dry.

In a backwoods situation, be a camping trip, a Jeep excursion or a simple hike into the woods, having the right layers, made from the right materials, and layered in the proper fashion so that they can be added to or subtracted from as the temperature of the day changes is essential to your comfort, enjoyment, and perhaps, survival.

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This article originally appeared in OVR Issue 01. For more informative articles like this, consider subscribing to OVR Magazine in print or digital versions here. You can also find the print edition of OVR at your local newsstand by using our Magazine Finder.