Sunday, March 10, 2013

Winter camping

Winter camping is one of those things that people seem to view from a very binary perspective. There are those who think winter should involve minimizing snow exposure and those who think sleeping outside in freezing weather sounds like fun. In March I spent a couple nights camped on Big Deer Lake north of my place on the Mag. The pulk sled I used in Killarney in 2010 is great for lake and open country travel, but I was expecting lots of bushwacking on this excursion so I used a backpack for all the gear. For the same reason, I used snowshoes rather than skis. Unfortunately the weather was a little too warm and the snow became soft, wet and sticky. On my return, every step plunged deep into the snow and heavy wet snow would fall onto the deck of the snowshoe. It was exhausting, but I really enjoy the winter -- it is the season when you get to see animal tracks and when you can reach places like the little river below that would be very difficult to reach in the other seasons.