Winter camping first attempt. Jan 18 2014

It all starts with me needing to get out and do more stuff. Which leads to more hiking and the idea of motorcycle camping, but I do not have the gear. So, I start buying the gear and since I am starting from having very little I decide to go with backpacker weight and style gear... since I am buying this gear I think to myself , I could just go backpack camping.  But, then it gets cold and winter comes and I have not been able to try out my stuff at least any more than a night in a backyard.. so I get a warmer sleeping bag and toy with the idea of winter camping. But, I don't really wanna do it alone. So, I sit on my gear......

Christmas comes and goes and my friend/Boss Dan gets a winter camping hammock rig from his family. He pipes up with hey lets do this winter camping thing on the weekend of Jan 18th,  I have no plans so I say sure why not. The planning begins.

We are both trying out new gear and i have never done this and most of Dan's camping is of the car/snowmobile variety. So, we figure we don't wanna be far from the car so we have an escape rout. on my way back down from my Mt Meader hike I went through the closed Basin Campground and Cold River Campground. I figure that is about a mile from where we can park overnight lets try that.

The Friday before we are watching the weather and it is floating around 30 degrees and snow. if it looks like heavy wet snow we might not wanna do it, cold and dry is ok cold and wet could really suck. but we luck out and it gets colder. Dan is not available till after noon so we plan on meeting at the office around 12:30 or 1:00 and getting in his Jeep and heading up.

The snow is starting to come down as I throw my pack in the car we are right on schedule. Dan is going to swing by Dicks sporting good and grab something and look for a spatula I am going to swing by EMS and look for the same. I packed some eggs for breakfast and he had a fry pan. if we don't find one we can always boil the eggs.. The roads are getting kinda slick as drive over it takes me a little longer to get out to the mall than I thought. EMS had nothing I like and since the roads are crappy i don't look long and head over to the office. As I am heading along Payne Rd I see a white Jeep in my rear view, it is Dan, we get to the office at exactly the same time. We shuffle gear and I put my pack in the Jeep  there is not much snow so I am debating weather or not to bother with then snowshoes and warm boots as opposed to my hiking boost and Microspikes. Dan suggests to just bring them both and decide when we get there.. So, after all the gear is stuffed in the Jeep we head out, ok a quick lunch at subway but we are off. I can feel the Jeep sliding around as we leave the subway parking lot and Dan throws it into 4 wheel we are off. It is slow going out to Fryburg where we stop at the Citgo to top off the gas and use the bathroom. I really don't wanna have to do #2 in the snow if I can help it. Rt 113 is beat up north of Fryburg. Even though they have been plowing it there are thick patches of ice that bounce us around. and when they say BUMP then mean it the Jeep lurches sideways as we hit the heaves and dips.

As we roll into the parking lot we see a couple of guys with a golden retriever getting ready to head out they have Snowboards on their packs so I suspect they are not gong the same way we are. a quick chat with them and we find out they are heading up the closed section of 113 and to one of the trails off that and are gonna snowboard back down. They also have info about where they pay envelopes are for overnight parking there is one at this campground and one at the historic house just up 113 past the gate. I put on the warm winter hiking boots and to COA I hike up to the historic house to get that one and Dan goes into campground to get one there. The air is nice and there seems to be a good snow pack still up here. Much more than I expected given the rain and warm weather we have had. I did not realize, though it seem obvious that the closed part of 113 is part of the ITS snowmobile system i grab the envelope and head back. Dan is putting his snowshoes out and getting his pack ready when I get back to the Jeep he had sunk up to his knees getting the envelope he got so we are using the snowshoes to do our hike, good thing I brought them. We get suited up and head in.

We are both sporting 45lb packs. for the most part we are not sharing anything so we have quite a few duplicate items. I want to make sure I can carry everything I need since I will be doing this alone and need to carry all my own stuff. I also have about 4 liters of water and my MSR pump filter which I am sure is overkill but I have it so I am carrying it. Poles in had showshoes and pack on we start in.

There is a definite packed snowshoes trail up the road and some prints of people who hiked in with out shoes and those footprints are deep I pick back and forth trying to keep on a solidish area so I don't sink too much but away from the uneven area where the non snowshoe people have hiked. The only sound is the crunch of the snow under our snowshoes and our breathing.

We had gotten above the snorm (snow storm) but as we hike in the snow has started up again it is so peaceful and pretty. I am realizing how much more i need to step up my workout regiment if I am going to do more of this backpacking thing. It does not take long for me to start to feel winded, this is a lot of work. I am really only half surprised I knew it would not be easy but I did not think I would be winded this quickly. 

The basin lake and the gate to the campground is a welcome site. The other footprints have turned back or drift off toward the Lake. The snow is coming down more and clouds have covered most of the surrounding mountains. We decide to walk the full circle of the campground and look at all the sites before choosing one. There are no prints other than the odd bunny or squirrel. No one has been through here since the snow has fallen. There are a lot of nice spots, we need one with a nice flat spot for my tent which is easy, good trees for Dan's Hammock and some shelter from the wind. Well if there is wind, is is nice an calm now. We choose plot 14 there is a stream out back which burbles along and sounds great. 

Plot 14 you can see the leaning tree on the right.

The only issue is there is a very dead tree leaning precariously over where I want to put my tent.. Now normally I would not cut down anything and would only pick up dead fall for firewood but this tree will have to come down before the campground opens anyway so I don't feel bad "helping" it to the ground. With that done we hustle to set up before it gets dark. We still need to find firewood. but that we can do with headlamps if we have to.. My tent goes up nice and quickly. The "snow stakes" (canvas parachutists) don't fill me with confidence and the steaks are not getting much to grab so I use the freestanding option by putting my treaking pole in the ends. Once it is up I dig around it so I can get the streaks into something solid and I try to set one of the snow steaks.

Dan gets his Hammock up in about the same amount of time as it takes me to get my tent up and set up with the 2 camp mats and sleeping bag and all that. 

Tent and Hammock up light failing it is time to go find some firewood. it seems that everything is wet and wet on the inside as well we gather a bunch of deadfall and haul it back to the camp fire grill. I get out my stove and set up my stove to make some hot drinks and we set about making a fire. It is tough the wood is all wet and we keep having to take my inflatable cap seat to fan it to get it to flare up for a bit. we put most of our spare wood on top of the grill so it might cook some of the water out

now that there is fire... sort of at least it is time for food. Both Dan and I brought Mountain House freeze dried meals.. I also brought a kielbasa but that is a lot more effort in cooking maybe I will eat that with eggs in the morning. I use the water from my hydration pack since I suspect that it could freeze overnight and that would be bad for it, or it could be. The freeze dried meal is not bad.. I mean it is not a home cooked meal or anything like that but for camp food I surprised. It is lightweight and easy and 1 bag, which they claim is 2 servings is just about enough for me. I expect if I had been really hiking all day I would want some more or some supplemental food. I will be buying more of these. After dinner it is a bit more hang out time and fighting with the fire. We got it going well enough about midway through dinner I found some hanging deadwood that was dry on a pee walk. We ran out of gathered wood and so it is time to hit the sack, as they say. I wander out into the dark for one more pee before going to bed and see a light through the trees... that is odd, there is no house there.. I listen... not a snow mobile there is no noise.. then I realize.. it is the moon coming up.. looking up a few stars are peaking through the clouds the snow has been coming down most of the evening so I did not expect to see the stars or moon but there they are.. I call Dan over and point out the light, I hesitate on telling him it is the moon, it takes him a min too to realize it.. I do not feel so dumb. 

Photos are not working out in the dark so I just don't bother.

I crawl into my tent. pull my boots off and set them in the vestibule. I start to push around my gear in the tent I pulled everything in so it did not get lost if there was more snow overnight. It would be nice if I could have pulled my sleeping bag out of my pack without having to dump the pack now everything is everywhere. I get some semblance of order to the gear and get prepped for sleep.  I take off the shell pants and my jackets, stuff my down jacket and a water bottle into the bottom of my sleeping bag and climb in. after a little shuffling around I fall asleep. I wake up in the middle of the night and crap I have to pee.. maybe it will go away.. no I have to get out and pee. I grab my phone to check the time.. 11:30 really?? sigh.. the moon is up and it is much cooler then when I went to bed. I get back to the sleeping bag and fall back to sleep I wake up a few times one time the opening of the bag is wet with condensation so I curl it out of the way so I don't breath on it. another time I am way too warm and sweating a bit so I pull off my base layer and stuff it to the bottom of the bag.  I keep having to fight my camp mats to stay together and to keep my bag on them. I need to figure out how to fix that. 

Dan got up at 4:00 and was not able to go back to sleep  I heard him walk by but since he did not say anything I continue to doze on and off till about 6:00. I put some hand warmers into my boots to try to preheat them but did not wait long enough so they were not that warm when I put them on. good plan bad implementation. I crawl out of my tent, it is still dark, Dan is sitting on the picnic table reading with his headlamp. We make breakfast I have no inspiration to cook eggs so I make oatmeal and I forgot to pack real coffee so I do instant and burn my mouth.. The instant coffee is not very good not going to buy that again. Dan bought a Mountain House breakfast bag. which he said was pretty good. I really want to take photos of the campsite before we pack up but there is still not much light and my photos look like this.

with some photo fighting I get this

I suggest we go for a walk to the lake and along the trail a bit while we wait for the sun to come up. The wood are beautiful. and it is so peaceful.

 I follow Dan as he shows me where he walked when he could not sleep earlier this morning.

We get down to the basin lake and follow the trail along the bank till we get to the picnic area just outside the entrance to the campground 

After the little explore and the snow is starting to fall again so we head back to our campsite to take photos of our camp and to pack up. I have not tried my water filter yet and would like to. I will do that after we pack everything else up. 

Our hidden little camp

not a bad little camp for the first trip. Time to pack up. 

Tearing down and packing up goes smoothly and uneventful 

all packed up 

I pull out my water filter and am pleased to discover that the filter will screw directly onto my new insulated Hydoflask water bottle so I scramble down to the stream and drop the float hose into the stream and start to pump. I run some through and onto the snow to rinse it out before putting it on the bottle and pumping it full of water. It is not super quick but not bad I fill up the water bottle and climb back up I dry out the filter pack it up and pack it up... Dan has photos I will post them when he gets them to me. 

The hike back is downhill and easy. It has snowed on and off the entire time and it is again to see us out of the woods. I will do this again for sure. I need to push harder with my workouts and do things a little different.

1. bring less water and use the filter for more of the water making the pack lighter..

2. I will prolly not bring the hydro flask and just bring the Dromedary bag. 

3. resort my other backup kit bags so I don't have quite as much stuff. 

4. try to get going earlier so I have more time in the light when getting to the campsite. 

5. for the winter stuff I am thinking about a pull sled for my gear and if i do that I can bring a little dry wood and and it would be useful for gathering firewood. 

6. see if i can put a zipper in my pack so i can get my sleeping bag out without dumping the entire bag. 

7. bring a notebook so i can take notes for the blog right away. 

8. bring something to read in the evening. since night is so long.  

Mount Meader and the Basin Rim 11-30-2013

Ok so it was requested that i give a report of my hike on Mt Meader, so here it is.

I had originally intended to do an overnight from Friday to Saturday but when the weather report said 6 degrees during the overnight i decided not to since I have not done much camping other than SCA camping which is not really camping.. After the hike I kinda wish I had camped. I do have all the gear I need so next time i will.
Ok now the hike, I dragged my ass that morning and did not get up and going out the door till almost 8:30 or 9:00 I will be happier when I do not have to race against the sun going down. I stopped briefly in Fryeburg to use a restroom and do a quick post so people know where I am and where I am going since I am hiking alone. I continue up rt 113, as I drove by the Baldface trail trail head I saw a group of hikers heading across the road to head up the loop trail. I had thought about doing the loop and am now glad I had chosen something different.Mt. Meader trail: fist there in not a good parking spot for this trail I was looking for it and still almost missed it, so I turn around and pull off the side of the road.
I gather up my pack and put on all the layers, lock up the car and head in. The trail is covered in snow and it crunches nicely under my boots as I head in. The air is crisp and cold. The beginning of the trail is wide and more of a double track road. There is one other set of footprints in the snow, I notice as I am walking in, other than that I am the only person who has been on the trail since the last snow two nights earlier. The trail follows a stream at the beginning. There is a wonderful sound of the water burbling along I have to stop a few times to look at the water pouring over the rocks and ice.

The hike has just begun so I move on. At this point i am getting warm and i pull off my outer gloves so i am just wearing the glove liners. The trail narrows for a bit and the other prints have gone away. Then the area around opens up around me and as I look around what pops to mind is that it looks like I am walking through Skyrim. That thought comes back to me repeatedly during this hike, too bad I don't have a sword or axe, glad it is not Skyrim.
The hike has just begun so I move on. At this point i am getting warm and i pull off my outer gloves so i am just wearing the glove liners. The trail narrows for a bit and the other prints have gone away. Then the area around opens up around me and as I look around what pops to mind is that it looks like I am walking through Skyrim. That thought comes back to me repeatedly during this hike, too bad I don't have a sword or axe, glad it is not Skyrim.


I am not real at judging distance but do think I am getting better at it, I think it was about 1.5 miles of a nice easy hike. Then it begins to get quite steep. I use hiking poles to spread the workout to a full body and there are points when it does get to steep that i can't use the poles this hike did not get that way till much later. The was a wonderful spot where the trail cuts left over the stream i had to pause and rearrange my gear pull off my down jacket and my shell I put them on the top of my pack keeping the bright orange open on the outside.

As I chug up the hill spot a little red squirrel peeping at me a full body squeak. It is very cute and I crept close as I could so I could get a photo. 

The trail switches back and forth up the hill. I start to see the valley through the trees as the trees start to really get that stunted look I take a pause to get out some trail mix and have a little rest. It was nice and quiet and a kinda sheltered grove I put a small amount of trail mix into a zip lock bag in my pocket and continue on. The trail opens up onto an area that looks like the summit there is the sign pointing out the various trails and the view is wonderful.

I decide to go to the summit before doing the loop that will lead me back to the car. there is quite a bit of ice up here and I am debating if I want to put on my Microspikes but I keep telling myself I would have less traction on the rock, bla bla bla. I slip and whack my elbow... ouch.. I feel dumb. I pull out the Microcrospikes and put them on. They make the ice no problem and on the rock not really that much worse than if I did not have them on. boy am i feeling kinda stupid. i come down a small gully and find an area where where the ice has completely covered the slope and a trees root ball, it is as good a time as any to try the Microspikes for climbing I toss my hiking pols up and scramble up. the Microspikes are not crampons but they are enough for that little climb.  I pick up my poles and walk on. I think I see where the summit is and so i check the GPS it says I am at the summit, it is really not that interesting so I turn around and head back to the signpost.

I brought my camp stove and stuff for hot chocolate or tea. I debate the time and how far I have to go i wish i had more daylight so I decide to move on and have my lunch break at the rim junction where there are 5 trails coming together. I also will have a better feel for how much daylight I have left.

I leave the crossroads near the summit of mount Meader and work my way down and across the Basin Rim trail it occurs to me that I am going down the north side of the mountain and there is a lot more ice, in fact there are many areas the entire trail was an ice flow I am so glad to have my Microspikes they made it easy.

 Well, they made the traction easy, but I am starting to feel the tired knees that I know will turn to knee pain but I solder on. Many areas reminded me of hiking in the woods near my old family camp in Linconville, the way the trees are close and full. The trail is a lot steeper than the one near the camp but the same type of woods. In an area of soft snow I see some tracks, at first I thought they a person cutting cross the trail which would have been nuts, since the trail is cutting horizontally across the hillside. As I looked closer I see it must be moose way to big for just a dear.

 I can feel it getting later and later. I can still see the sun hitting the top of the hills around me so I know I am not in real danger, Still I have to keep moving. it is getting colder since the sun is not on me and I am glad I pput the layers back on. so i am not cold. 

 I noticed some more tracks in the ice.
I suspect about a day old. these were much more interesting they had toes and claws and were as big as my feet, a bear. Well, now i know for certain i am in bear country thankfully black bears are not real interested in humans.

I was thinking I would take a break at the Rim junction and I pull out the GPS to see how close I am and was surprised to see I am way off where the map said the trail was.. I look back, there were not any forks in the trail or areas that looked like side trails. I push on seeing on my map that I will either return to the trail or hit the Black Angel trail and will turn right and still just hit the Rim Junction. and the trail that will bring me back to 113 and home, just might be a bit further than I intended. As I hike on I pay more attention to the the GPS and the path I am on just loops around and dropps me right at the junction. Five trails come together here and it totally looks like something out of a D&D game or in the game Fable. I really wanted to set up my stove and make a hot drink and sit for a bit but the sun was almost off the mountains around me, at this point I really wish I had brought stuff to camp.

If I had brought the tent, seeping pad and sleeping bag I would stop make some hot coco at the crossroads and then head a mile west and camp at the Blue Brook Shelter but alas all I have is an emergency bivy sack so I would survive but it would suck a little. So, down the basin trail toward the Coldriver campground, rt113, the car and home. There is an overlook just before heading down that trail that is fantastic. I just stand there looking at the lake for a min. Considering the coco break again but seeing where the sun is I move on.

As I head down my knees really started screaming, so I know I will have to take a bunch of breaks I did not wear knee braces and that was a mistake I need to do more stabilizing exercises and wear the braces when I hike till they get stronger. But, that is the future and right now I just need to get down. On the way down the trail is harder to see and the blazes are much more space apart than I would prefer. I have my bearing as far as where I need to go so I keep with that when I loose the trail. Often I pause to find a blaze and and when I look back up the hill I see the blaze on the tree I am standing next to. I am fairly certain no one else has been on this trail in a while.
  After about 2 or 3 miles of the down hill it flattens out in the basin and the knees settle down halfway down I sit down and had a snack, I do some stretches to loosen up my knees but i know they really just need rest right now. I cross the flattish area that follows the stream to the basin lake it burbles along. The stream widens and winds through the valley the trail is mostly straight and I am following the blazes and then I come to a tree with a clear blaze on it right next to the stream that is at last 20 ft across and a goo 3ft deep... I check my map and GPS I am in the right place and then I see it. Across the stream in a straight line from the tree I am standing at another blue blaze... the trail crosses the stream I work my way back and forth up and down the bank trying to see a way across the stream. It  has been quite wide for a wile now I do not want to backtrack that far. I spot a downed tree it crosses the stream and looks solid. I decide to use that as my bridge.

So, I get out the go pro and film it, you know in case it gets funny and I fall in maybe I can send it to funny videos and win $$ for my pain. The Video is on FB I will find a way to attach it  here.  I climb up and cross the log with no issue despite the knee pain. I had taken my Microspikes off at this point and my Asolo boots gave me great traction I am quite fond of them. I have to bushwack a bit to get back to the trail and then I see the beaver dam... so that is why I had to climb over the log.. damn river rats. Darkness is coming fast so I choose to take an abandoned road instead of the trail because it is more direct to 113. The road get more and more overgrown and harder and harder to push through and I end up cutting off it to find the trail again. I come to the campground first and so I can just follow the camp road out it is mush easier to walk on this. Even though I am tired and my knees are still sore at least they are not screaming. As I near the gate to 113 I see a truck pulling away The road is closed just around the corner for the winter so I suspect it was a ranger, If I had been a bit sooner maybe I could have hitched a ride to the car.. crap 2 mile walk ahead of me.. and it is full dark. So I pull out my headlamp turn it on to red and put it on facing backwards. I pull out my maglight and carry it, if i see headlights heading toward me i turn it on. I finish my walk back to the car with no event a few cars do go by, no one stops but that is ok. I get back to the car and head home..

All in all a good hike though I do wish I had camped.