Can You Backpack in the Snow? Yep. Here’s How.

Benerofe alerts.”Do something a little more predictable, somewhere you’ve been in the past.”Both he and Lichter completed summertime thru-hikes of their particular long-distance tracks before attempting a winter season walking, which showed to help Benerofe through the difficult sections of his winter AT hike. He says: “There were fewer of these big question-mark unknowns in front of me when I was dealing with the trail, which was rather nice due to the fact that there were numerous other things that were new and unidentified and scary.”

Selecting a Trail

To discover a path matched for your very first experience, you need to likewise consider the strenuousness of it. Go for something brief and flat. “When you’re planning your trip, attempt to be cognizant that your mileage and pace could and most likely will be really different than a summer season trip,” Lichter warns. Particularly with the limited daytime, you are much better off ignoring what you can achieve than overstating it. If there is snow present, knock that number down even more– aim for a mile an hour when going uphill. “There were days we moved for 12 or 15 hours and just got seven miles in,” Lichter continues. “And [we were] in leading shape after a month on the path.”

Picking a Camping site

It does matter where you choose to camp. “If you camp by a lake or at the bottom of a valley– not in the trees– you’re probably going to be at one of the coldest areas during the night,” Lichter recommends. Adhere to the treeline to be much better insulated, “where it’s going to be a bit more comfy,” he continued.

If you are camping on snow, make sure to pack down the location you’ll put your tent on as much as possible. This will prevent the snow from melting with your body and tent heat.

Weather

Both Benerofe and Lichter kept a continuous eye on weather report when hiking. It would help them plan around dangerous weather condition.

Benerofe decided not to summit Mount Katahdin, the starting point of his southbound hike, since of the weather. In retrospect, he admits he probably could have made it up and back, “but would it have been an excellent idea? Would I have felt great about my choice? I do not think I would have in that moment. Therefore I was okay with making that decision.”

Check reports and suffer the weather condition if needed. Comprehend that you may be hours (or days) away from a rescue team getting to you, and even then, you’re putting rescue teams in the exact same dangerous conditions you remain in.

However, even after looking at the weather, be prepared for variation. “I think that a person of the most significant things is probably realizing that the weather forecasts aren’t usually made for remote locations,” Lichter said. “There [are] a lot of microclimates in the mountains. Depending upon the method drainages deal with, you could go from one drainage to the next and there might be considerable differences in the depth of the snow or what the over night temperature levels will be.”

There is no shame in turning around or in looking for safety. “That was very important for me,” Benerofe said, “making a decision and honoring [it] and not beating myself up due to the fact that of that choice. And I believe it helped me construct a lot of rely on myself, because I had to trust myself a lot to head out there.”

Drinking Water

Water is not basic in winter season, despite, in some environments, there being an abundance of it in frozen type.

If there is snow, be prepared to melt it and use a pretty penny’s worth of fuel to do so. “It’s quite easy, however it does take a long time,” Lichter alerts. “And you can burn the snow.” Include a little water to your pot before you include snow to avoid burning it. Once melted, cleanse the water before consuming it.

“I just needed to melt snow for water two times,” Benerofe admits. He chose– and was in an environment that permitted him– to take an ice axe to a frozen body of water. “It would take me anywhere in between 10 to in some cases 45 minutes to get through an icy riverbed or lake.” In some locations, this may not be a possibility, because water may be buried under feet of snow.

In either case, do not count on the schedule of running water. Once obtained, be sure to keep water close by at night (in your sleeping bag if possible) to keep it from freezing.

Staying Dry

Image by Jamie Pilgrim Remaining dry depends a lot on your environment, as the suggestions of Benerofe and Lichter exposes. Nevertheless, it is vital to keep your layers and equipment as dry as possible. Wearing soaking-wet clothing or sleeping in a damp sleeping bag expels body heat quicker and can increase your possibilities of hypothermia.

Dry Climates

Due to the dry climate of the PCT, Lichter confesses that drying sweaty or damp items is simplest performed in your sleeping bag in the evening. “If you’re touring and wearing ski boots, you might pull your boot liners out and put them in your sleeping bag and sleep with them.”

While he admits that entirely soaked items probably will not dry by doing this, he likewise said: “You could at least put it under your sleeping bag or in between your sleeping pad and your ground sheet or something so it does not freeze.”

Humid Climates

Over in the humid environment of the AT, Benerofe had a somewhat different experience. “I discovered that absolutely nothing actually dried in any style. Even when I used things to bed, it would be much better in the early morning, however I wouldn’t state that I ever had any piece of clothing really dry,” he said. He needed to think proactively about his restricted layers and what would be best in the long run.

“What works for me is to just suck it up in the morning and wear as little as I can easily get away with while attempting to keep my other clothes dry,” he said. “Because once I get moving with the heavy pack on, I warm up pretty quickly, so I do not want to sweat into the additional layers I have.”

He would squirrel his extra set of dry layers till it was necessary to bring them out. “Even something as small as taking a beverage of my water, I ‘d either lean over to the side or I ‘d connect in front of me. So when I’m [drinking], I’m not doing it on or near any of my clothing, because spilling that on something would be a hard time.”

Neither Lichter nor Benerofe count on fires to dry layers. “It isn’t easy to make a fire in the winter,” Lichter says, communicating that he only turned to making a fire in emergencies.

Emergencies

Frostbite

While on his winter season PCT hike, Lichter experienced frostbite on his toes after getting caught in an unexpected cold snap. A full day’s hike to the nearest town indicated that he and his treking partner had to decide the very best course of action. They made a fire to thaw their toes, socks, and boots (a skill he suggests learning).

“We just layered up the next day and put Ziploc bags on over our socks and in our shoes so that we could remain a little bit warmer and go out to that roadway and kind of re-evaluate. “It can turn rapidly. You don’t necessarily even realize it’s occurring since you lose feeling. You need to be self-aware and figure it out.”

Experience and Self-Awareness

Regrettably, Lichter admits that this sort of self-awareness originates from experience. “So perhaps as you’re starting, if you’re getting nervous and unpleasant and don’t believe that you could change that situation, then it’s probably worth erring on the side of care. However then you find out how to deal with circumstances and can grow that experience,” he states.

Benerofe agrees, noting that there is a distinction between tough I-just-want-to-quit-and-be-warm-and-eat-pizza minutes and minutes that feel risky. “Understanding those moments was a skill that I had to hone out there, due to the fact that I was confronted with the thought of stopping and reversing rather frequently … there’s constantly that little thing, chirping ‘it’s really warm in structures.'”

Backpacking in the snow can be tough in ways you do not anticipate, and an open, favorable mind is necessary to make it through those minutes. Lichter advises to suffer from “a bit of short-term memory loss” while out there.

Benerofe mirrors the sentiment, stating: “Positivity is its own fuel out there.”

Please note: This is not a total guide to winter hiking. Please do your research before you set out, consisting of (but not limited to) winter season emergency treatment, avalanche education, weather, and correct gear. Always let someone understand where you are and what your plans are. Constantly take a satellite gadget in case you require rescue.