Camping experiments: a n00b learns not to freeze

[Thundergod]

did you wear a knitcap to bed? Most of your heatloss is through your head. A mummy bag is the best, soft, very compact and it has the hood installed, so on really cold camping nights you can close the opening up to just your mouth and nose.

as mentioned, pocket warmers are great for the sleeping bag down by your feet.

look into Thermasilk pants/shirts. They are very thin undergarments used for skiing. Very light/thin -- very see through,  and very warm.
Remember to wear very thin layers when camping, if you sweat at all...you will never warm back up.

Agree: Keep your boots in the tent. Keep your feet warm during the night.

Most importantly: Suck it up

[Mr. Whippy]

Nice.  Mid 30's with that bag and a thermarest should be sufficient.  You might pick up a bag liner.  (Is this the write up version of your other thread?).

As for JetBoil food:  Try the Backpacker's Pantry Hawaiian Chicken.  Very good.  I also like their Santa Fe Chicken.  Pad Thai is pretty good too.  I haven't really liked their red sauce meals too much.

Have fun!

[bluepoof]

 (Is this the write up version of your other thread?).

Yep!

I leave in an hour for Camping Experiment #2.  Looks like this one will also feature rain.  

[Mr. Whippy]

Rain:

DON'T LET YOUR DOWN BAG GET WET!!!!1111!  Instant cold night and will be cold until it completely dries.

I hate camping in rain.  One must become one with the wetness, but sheesh.  Not fun.  Good to know if your tent has any leaks though.  Seam seal is a good friend.  

For me, it works best to get anything that has to be done in the rain finished, then retreat to the tent.  Change into dry clothes, shun the wet clothes away from anything you want to be dry.  If necessary, put it outside the tent (like if it is super saturated).  Nicest part of mountaineering? Nearly no rainy nights.

[bluepoof]

Yeah, I don't much like camping in the rain either (even in summer, which is the only time I've done it)....though I do like it when it's warm out and dry when I set up camp and then I wake up in the night to a light rain pitter-pattering on the tent.    

Tonight's forecast is definitely "on and off drizzle," not pouring rain.  Should be fine.  

[skihor]

I use a 40 F. Slumberjack bag. For the ground I use an Air mattress. It is 72"X20" and the tubes are 2 1/2" DIA. I can't recall the brand tho. I got the air mattress @ Sportsman's Warehouse. There is 2 types, One is normal, and, the other is insulated. It's supposed to lower bag temp rating by 15 degrees. Spendy @ $75 + each but well worth every penny. Drawback is blow up by mouth only. It has a strange valve. Pack size is 4" X 8" approx. For a pillow I use a 20" X 20" pack/stuff pillow. Folded in half it works nicely. I can pack my tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, pillow, coffee pot, pack towel, small bag (w/ burner, coffee, light, 2 fuel cans) all in ONE saddlebag on my Concours.

Don

[ol Rocket]

AeroPress.

http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm

It's small, light, easy to use, practically self cleaning, nearly indestructible, quick (once you have hot water), and inexpensive.  You can make regular coffee or espresso with one.  Tons of reviews are out there.

[Mr. Whippy]

Hey!  We need the followup on this experiment.  Howditgo?

[Max Wedge]

Be patient! This one is going to have oodles of Jetboil cooking tips, so it might take a little longer to post up. I anticipate that it will be well worth the wait!

[bluepoof]

  I have all the photos (including the JetBoil ones!) -- I was just swamped this weekend.  I'll do the write up at work tomorrow, unless my boss is reading this, in which case, I'll do the write up after work.  

[bluepoof]

Here's the update!

This past Friday night was Camping Experiment #2 at Butano State Park near Pescadero.  I wanted to try out the tips that I'd gotten after Camping Experiment #1, plus just have a fun night out with my friend/coworker Jean.

I left work early on Friday and took the longish route to Butano State Park.  I stopped for lunch at Alice's, where I parked next to three motorcycle cops from Salinas who were out for a joy ride.  I took Hwy 84 over to the coast and rode south alongside the Pacific. Good times.



Jean was already setting up camp when I arrived.  



Since she was car camping, she brought me her husband's 3" Thermarest.  Talk about comfy! I felt like I was floating at the top of the tent.  Too bad it packs up to the approximate size of all the rest of my gear put together.



Jean also brought her Taj Mahal 4-person family tent, giving me a bit of size anxiety.



One thing that really helped with the cold aspect was starting a campfire.  Yay campfire!  We drove into nearby Pescadero for cinnamon english muffins from Arcangeli's and picked up two boxes of wood while we were there.





Dinner was a mixed salad of spinach greens, fresh tomatoes, and a poppy seed salad dressing (provided by Jean and hauled in her Prius) plus JetBoil-cooked Jambalaya and ChiliMac (provided by me and hauled on my Beemer).  I'm beginning to see why people like car camping.





By the way, both the Jambalaya and ChiliMac were from Mary Jane's Outpost and were very good.  Two hippie thumbs up!

During dinner, it started raining.  Thanks to the canopy of redwoods, though, the picnic table stayed completely dry.  It was really relaxing and wonderful to sit by the fire, drinking beer and chatting, and listening to the rain pitterpatter down all around us.

Nighttime was the real test of my camping experiments and this week, it went very well!

I'd put all of my bike gear and the stuff sack bags underneath the cot when I set it up, and placed Jean's monstrous Thermarest between the cot and my sleeping bag (which I'd also exchanged for a Marmot Women's Teton 0F since last week, after talking to many campers).

Just before crawling into the sleeping bag, I undressed and pushed my clothes into the foot of the sleeping bag.  I put on silk long johns and my hat, and got into bed.

Lo, I was even warm!! It was a miracle.  Hooray!

I woke up a few times in the night, but it was more due to "What's that noise? Oh, rain on the tent." than discomfort.  I actually slept quite well.

In the morning, I found that the outside of the foot of my sleeping bag was damp where it had brushed up against the tent wall.  There was a bit of condensation on the inside of the tent, but nothing else was damp.  Next time I'll make sure to keep the sleeping bag away from the tent wall, though after hanging the bag up at home, it dried in less than an hour.

Other than the condensation, the tent was completely waterproof.  That was a good and unexpected experiment!

Jean and the car camping pulled through once again with a full breakfast spread of eggs, toast, and smoked salmon.  Yessir, we were roughing it.



There was no denying where we'd set up our tents!  



All in all, it was a great night.  We had a lot of fun, and I stayed warm!  I brought a small digital thermometer with, just for fun, and it recorded a minimum temperature of 47F in the tent overnight.  So that's not bad at all.  I think that keeping the tent zipped up and the fly down (instead of staking it out to create vestibules...that part of the fly is also over the large mesh areas of the tent) really helped keep the temperature up.

For what it's worth, I also really liked Butano State Park.  The campsites were clean and not one right on top of each other.  It may be crowded in peak season, but it was perfect when we were there.  The rangers we met were also very friendly and waved with a big smile whenever they drove by.  I'll be going back!

[bluepoof]

Here's the JetBoil scoop.

Packed up, it all looks like this:



Mine has the utensil cozy accessory.

Here's everything unpacked:



To use, set it up like this:



And fill to the fill line with water (2 cups for the "solo" model like I have).

To start, turn the flame adjust knob on slightly so that you can hear the gas hiss:



And then push the ignitor button (my left finger in the photo):



That's it!  Water will boil in just a couple of minutes.

For the backpacker food we ate, you just pour the boiling water right into the bags of food and fold over:



When you're done eating, the bags do double duty:



That's it!  The JetBoil washes out easily with a sponge and water (you can remove the cozy for washing) and packs back together.  

[vulcanbill]

Glad it went well.  

I don't know what those yellow and grey monstrosities are but you need to get one of these.  There are many kinds.  This is but a sample.  Behold, the titanium spork...

http://www.rei.com/product/660002?vcat=REI_SEARCH

I watch with interest as we will soon be using out backpacking gear as motocamping gear.  I hope it translates.

BillO

[Mr. Whippy]

+1 on titanium spork!  It's greater than the sum of it's spoon and fork components.  Perhaps the greatest eating utensil ever devised.

[Max Wedge]

Great work! I KNEW it would be worth the wait. So how did you like the backpackers food? Would you buy it again? Thanks for the Jetboil 'inside scoop', I haven't seen one with a silverware cozy.   Glad you stayed warm.

[Black Ice]

Jean also brought her Taj Mahal 4-person family tent, giving me a bit of size anxiety.

Now you know how us guys feel!!  

I have absolutely fuck-all to add here, but the wife and I are planning to do some camping so I decided to keep track of this thread.  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

 
I don't know what those yellow and grey monstrosities are but you need to get one of these.  There are many kinds.  This is but a sample.  Behold, the titanium spork...

Those 'Monstrosities" that you point rock! They are jetboil utentils that retract back into the handle for storage. And if you have a non-stick surface (which the jetboil doesn't) then they're safe to use there, too!

[homebrew]

Sucess!  
May you never camp cold again.  

[Shhted]

Smoked salmon and Motorcycle camping.  Sure beats my tins of Sardines in Mustard washed down with cans of PBR.  

Glad you found an effective camping combo.  

[kendenton]

FWIW, when folks ask me about camping for their first time, I always advise them to do 2 nights.  The first night camping is always filled with waking up to unfamiliar sounds, but the second night is much better.