Extreme Camping

If one decide to set out on the winter camping, and if the day was sunny and frosty, the temperature at night may drop below -20°C. Passing the night in winter under the canvas seem to be an extreme eccentricity for the typical, spoiled by the civilization, city dweller who perceive the world from the perspective of his couch, TV set and car. Let’s remember that people used to deal with life without the blessed central heating. Deer, wild boar or hare does not freeze up in the forest, though it has the fur only and never heard of the convection heater. Believe it or not, but the healthy human body has no problems in adjusting to the winter conditions. Breathing with a cold air in winter is more natural for the human body than continuous staying in the temperature of + 22°C.

The thick sleeping bag and a sleeping pad is necessary for spending the night under the canvas. At the windless weather, the temperature on the meadow by the river may be several degrees lower than higher in the forest (due to temperature inversion), and thus, it is recommended to look for sheltered, upland place. If the night is cloudless, the temperature on the grassland may be 10°C lower than the radio weather forecasts predict.

As the water level in the river may rise during the night, it is even more advisable to choose the upland location for the camping site. Paddling conditions in winter change surprisingly fast – sometimes, within few hours, the navigable river, due to snowfall for instance, may be completely blocked by the ice float.

The wind can suddenly blow out at night. Smaller tent better protects against cold, but it is much more convenient to heat up the food on the gas cylinder in the vestibule – that is why the tent cannot be too small. Winter food should have a proper amount of calories, should be digestible and suitable for quick warming up. There is no point in drinking alcohol to increase the amount of calories in your organism. The alcohol reduces an appetite for normal food, increases heat loss and causes dehydration. Sandwiches are” well preserved” during the winter trips – frozen bread is inedible and it may be impossible to cut the loaf of bread even using the axe. Instant soups on the other hand, as well as instant purees, wheat and milk gruels and similar lyophilisated products are a great solution. It is also recommended to prepare a hot beverage in the thermos for whole day. The fire camp may not heat up sufficiently, frozen and wet timber does not burn well. The candle helps to light the fire, the axe must not be forgotten as well.

It is very important to manage energy wisely, resting in the temperature below 0°C does not fully regenerate our powers, especially during the first night under the canvas (acclimatization). We should expect the gradual loss of our energy during few days outing. Remember that human body is able to generate a given portion of energy daily, if the energy will be used to warm up the sleeping bag or radiated into the space after drinking rum, we will not be strong enough to paddle next day or we will shiver with cold and homecoming will be inevitable. It is necessary to save the energy in winter and perform only indispensable actions. We should carefully prepare our equipment and act in an economical and calm manner. Such trivial actions as pitching up and dismantling the tent, changing clothes pr preparing the meal take much more time than in summer. Don't expect paddling down 40 km a day – sometimes 5 or 10 km is a great achievement. We can run out of the energy on the second day only if we have planned two days trip, we cannot plan four days trip in the same way obviously. During the several days trips, we will have to deal with wet clothes. When the frost grips, the water deposits as a hoarfrost and is safe. Paradoxically, the situation gets worse when it’s thawing.

The rain makes everything wet and it is hard to get anything dry. One day, during my hiking trip, a thawing snow has fallen from the trees and partially covered my tent, I woke up in the completely wet sleeping bag. The old flysheet let the water in. Brr!!! But this is the kind of adventure you can experience in winter.