Preparing For This Winter: Tips and Tricks (layering pt. 2)

Last post, we learned a lot about layering and conditioning for the winter trips. In this post, I would like to continue some of that and give some tips for hiking and camping in winter that will make your trip more enjoyable. These will simply be some tricks and techniques that you may find beneficial.

Electronics such as phones and cameras hate cold. The cold will eat up batteries and if the electronic is on, the battery will suck down quicker than you would think. Something else I learned recently is that iPhones REALLY don’t like cold and the battery can be very fickle. I started my hike with a full battery to take a short video. After 5 minutes of taking video, the phone shut off. I found that even if the battery is not dead, it will shut off when cold. After I warmed it up and turned it back on, it had 60% battery left. After 2 minutes of video, it dropped to 20% then shut off and was dead. If you don’t need to use the electronic while hiking, put it in your pack, wrapped in clothes to keep it warm and turn it off when not using it. If you will be using it on the trail, put it in the pocket of the layer closest to your body. It my case, I would put it in my jeans pocket, or my fleece sweatshirt pocket. This will help keep the battery warm. If you are using it while hiking, you can put a hand warmer on the back side of it to help warm the battery. Something to remember is, when hiking, you warm up and don’t feels the cold, but it’s still there and can hurt your electronics.

If you wear glasses, you can buy anti fog spray to keep them from fogging over. This can be found in sports stores, dive shops, paintball shops, etc. If it is cold out, you will want to have a neck gator or balaclava over your face which will fog up your glasses (or ski goggles). This spray works very well. Also, if you will be in a wet area, you can put RainX on your glasses to allow the water to run off.

If you layer just right for our hike, you may want to add an extra layer in your pack. When you stop to set up camp and fix dinner, you will cool down significantly, so you want that extra warmth. I suggest building a fire first thing, before you cool down. You can put your pack close to the fire or hang a clothes line nearby and put your extra layer on your pack or line. When you begin to cool down and need that extra layer, it will be nice and warm.

If you haven’t read some of my previous posts, you may learn a cool idea for space blankets. If you place a space blanket on the ground and stake it down, between the fire and your shelter, the heat will reflect into the shelter to warm it up. You can also place your pack on the edge of the space blanket nearest the shelter and the fire will keep your pack warm.

When hiking, the general rule is to take your first break after 30 minutes of hiking, then every 50 minutes after that. But in winter, it is crucial that you keep sweating to a minimum. If you start feeling yourself heat up or sweat, you can start by opening your layers to cool off. But I suggest taking a short break once you start feeling like you’re about ready to sweat. Sit down, get a drink, unzip your jacket, and hang out for about 5 minutes before continuing. When you feel it is starting to get too cold to leave your jacket unzipped, it’s time to keep going. Remember, too, that if there is more than one person in your party, you need to accommodate to everyone. You should take your break when the first person needs to. As soon as one of your buddies says it’s time for a break, take a break. You may feel fine, but if he is starting to sweat, it’s time to stop.

When hiking in snow, I recommend only having one bottle of water with you. You don’t really need any more than that. Yes, you burn more calories in the winter and water consumption goes up, but you really only need one bottle. Keep a Nalgene bottle in an insulator and this is your drinking water for the hike. When you need more water, you can pull out your cook pot and melt snow. Not only can you melt snow, but you can heat it up and add hot cocoa or tea! You already carry more gear in the winter than summer and that extra water only adds unnecessary weight. Not only that, but if you are on a long hike and don’t have insulators for all of your bottles, they could possibly freeze.

Speaking of freezing, you want to carry your water bottle upside down when on long hikes, especially when it’s REALLY cold out. I have an insulator that goes on the outside of my pack, but is still keep the bottle upside down. If your water starts to freeze, it will freeze on top first. If your bottle is right side up and begins to freeze, you will have an ice layer to break through. But if the bottle is upside down, the water will freeze in the bottom of the bottle. Also, another word of advice: leave the Camelback at home! You can get insulators for the bladder and hose and keep the water warm, but it’s more work than needed and a bottle works just as well. If you use a Camelback, you have to blow that water that’s in the hose, back into the bladder to keep it from freezing and even then, the bite piece can freeze.

These are just a few tips to start off the winter. There will be plenty more during the season along with specifics on hiking, packing a gear sled, building a gear sled, skiing, snowshoes, and more. I hope you are ready for your first winter hike and if you are a seasoned hiker, I hope you can take something away from this post. Please comment any questions or suggestions.

Preparing For This Winter: Layering

Well, winter is approaching and so comes the time to start winterizing our gear and preparing for the cold. Yesterday, I began my conditioning for the cold as well as swapping out gear in my pack for the winter. For those who are not used to winter camping and hiking, there’s a lot of learning to do to avoid being miserable on the trip.

First of all, let’s talk about conditioning. To condition for the cold, the best thing to do is start hiking in the cold in growing intervals. Go out and maybe hike for 20 minutes. Then next time, hike for 40 minutes. This is the best way to condition if you aren’t used to being in the cold. However, you might find it a shock that, even in 10 degree weather, you will warm up quite fast when hiking.

If you are going to start going on your “conditioning hikes”, I suggest taking your pack with an extra jacket liner or sweatshirt, extra hat, extra gloves, hand warmers, and water and snack. You could also bring a thermos of coffee. As you hike, you may find that you need to shed layers. If you are cold blooded, you may find that you need to add that extra layer to start out. My hike yesterday was about 12 miles in about 21 degrees. I ended up shedding all of my layers except my base layer, shell, and one insulation layer.

When I mention to people that I hike and camp in winter they respond with an “are you crazy?” But in all reality, most of those people haven’t hiked long distances before. I’m always asked if I get cold. Well, when you are hiking, you are generating heat and will be surprisingly warm. This depends some, too, on how you layer, what materials you wear, and how often you taken breaks. Since you are generating heat when hiking, you will stay relatively warm. To be honest, if you have your camp set up right and a good sleeping bag, you will even stay warm during the night. The only part you have to worry about is when you are setting up camp and fixing dinner. This is when you begin to cool down and are out in the elements. If you have sweated at all, you may cool down pretty rapidly, but that comes back to how you layer.

While we are on the topic, let’s discuss layering. Layering is the best way to regulate your body temperature and avoid getting too hot or too cold. I know people who ask if I have a thick, warm coat and my answer is “no I don’t”. A single, thick, heavy coat will cause you to heat up and you if you take it off, you will cool down in a hurry. Instead, having a lighter coat and multiple insulation layers, you can shed layers to cool down, but not worry about being too cold. If you want to be most effective in your layering, follow these guidelines. You can alter this after you figure out what works, but this is a good start.

You want to, first, have a base layer. This is also called the wicking layer. The base layer will not only keep you warm, but will wick the sweat away from you. When we sweat, evaporation takes place and cools us down. This layer will pull the sweat away from you before it starts to cool you down. A synthetic material is your best option for this. I would go even further to say the some type of thick spandex would be best. I wear spandex for my shirt and leggings. I would also recommend a synthetic sports sock. Your feet will be the first to start sweating, so you want a good wicking material for your base layer socks. And not only does your base layer provide that protection, it also makes great sleepwear which prevents you from having to change before bed.

Next is the insulation layer. This is really what keeps you warm. This layer can be anywhere from a sweatshirt, to a jacket liner. This layer can also be anywhere from one item, to several, depending on the climate. For my insulation layer, I wear a polyester shirt with a half-zip. Then for additional layers, I have a fleece sweatshirt and wool vest. For legs, I just wear jeans. Your legs don’t need quite so many layers because they are almost always moving and staying warm. Something else to consider is thermal underwear. I will generally have a full layer of this over my base layer. If you use thermals, don’t make it your base layer. This material will soak up sweat and just sit there, becoming a wet and soppy mess. These also make great sleepwear. When you are selecting your insulation layer, find some with full zippers. When you hike and heat up, you may want to unzip your jacket and insulation layers to cool down a bit.

The last layer is the shell. This is what really protects you. You will want a waterproof, windproof jacket. I have a Columbia winter jacket that I took the liner out of. It has enough warmth to just wear that for your cool down, but also keeps the wind and snow off of you. I also have some winter pants. They are a waterproof shell with a fleece liner. They also have cargo pockets on them to store items.

I recommend wearing wool socks when hiking. Even if it gets wets, wool will still keep you warm. I wouldn’t use more than 2 layers for the socks though, just your base layer and your wool. When you get more layers or tighter socks, they squeeze the feet which slows circulation and cools your feet.

Because you are only using 2 layers on the feet, you want a good snow boot or shoe. I use a Garmont GTX boot which is well insulated. If you are skiing, you should already have a good boot. Just make sure it’s warm or else, your feet will not like you. Something to also consider when looking for a winter hiking boot is for a little ring on the front. Some people are baffled by what the purpose of this ring is, but it is so you can hook the front of your gators to your shoe. And I highly recommend gators if you are in a snowy area.

You should always have a glove liner for any type of glove you wear. Just a thin, wool liner will work. You want something warm, but will be easy to manipulate small objects such as knots. This will keep your hands from freezing when setting up camp. You should also have your shell. The shell depends on how cold it is outside. In early winter, you may just need a thin winter glove. In colder areas, you will want ski gloves or mittens. Mittens are good because they keep the fingers together which keep your hands warmer.

I will usually wear a beanie for a hat. Where I live, it doesn’t usually reach arctic temperatures so this works fine. I pair this with a neck gator (a balaclava works even better). If you suspect a lot of wind and cold, a hood is also good to have. I have a warmer hat with rabbit fur on the inside, but your head is where all the heat escapes your body and if you wear a too warm of hat, you will begin to sweat very quickly.

To lastly sum up this post, I want to stress the importance of waterproofing your gear. Most new boots don’t come waterproofed so you will need to do it yourself. You can buy a cheaper waterproofing spray from a shoe store and use it on your shoes when they are clean and dry, and about 2 times a year. You can also use this spray on your jacket, pants, or anything else that may get wet.

That is a good basis for layering. Again, alter this list to match your needs. I hope this was a help to you and stay tuned for part 2.