Why two posts on hot weather camping, especially so close together? Well, isn't that when we do most of our camping? Sure, I could have just updated the original post, but adding a second one will increase awareness. Here are a few more thoughts and tips for hot weather camping.
The most ideal camping weather would usually be under clear skies with moderate temperatures. However, since camping is, at least for many people, a summer activity, you may frequently find yourself facing hot weather. If you are planning outings for July and August you may want to think about heading up into the mountains or down to the beach instead of your favorite local haunts to escape the heat but even there you may get struck with unexpectedly warm temperatures.
Hot weather makes demands on both you and your equipment and you will need to be prepared to address the issues for both. Sometimes you can plan activities that will mitigate the affects of hot weather. Swimming and other water sports are probably near the top of the list for most people. If you don't have access to aquatic facilities you may have to simply adapt your normal activities to accommodate the weather. Scaling back, moving them into the shade, or choosing less strenuous pursuits are some of the ways of dealing with the heat.
Yes, I know, I just posted an article on Hot Weather Camping not long ago. However, because most of us to most of our camping in summer, we will encounter hot weather most of the time and it bears a second look.
Hot weather can be very hard on vehicles. You will want to make sure the cooling system on your vehicles (motorhomes, tow vehicles, family car, OHVs) is in good shape and that liquid cooled engines have sufficient antifreeze. Check radiator and heater hoses regularly to ensure they are in good condition and have no leaks. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge if your vehicle has one and if it starts to climb unexpectedly, stop and figure out why. Some increase in temperature is expected in hot weather, especially if you are running your air conditioner or are climbing hills. Many steep or long hills may have signs admonishing you to turn off your air conditioner. Doing so will reduce the load on your engine and the amount of heat the radiator has to disperse. Turning on your heater is one way to boost engine cooling, but it will be more uncomfortable for you and your passengers. The heater core is essentially a little radiator that can remove some heat from the coolant that flows through the heater hoses. You will have to decide whether the additional cooling is worth the extra discomfort.
Hot weather will stress coolers and RV refrigerators. Limit opening them as much as possible. Try to keep coolers in the shade. If your RV fridge has a vent fan, be sure to use it. If it doesn't have one,consider adding one. I like the solar powered versions because they don't put any drain on the battery system.
Keep curtains or shades drawn in RVs or protect the windows with awnings to reduce accumulation of heat inside. Use reflective foam panels in the windows for even better protection against unwanted heat. Start the A/C early in the day BEFORE things heat up. It is usually easier and more efficient for the A/C to keep up than to have to cool down an already hot rig.
Hang out in the shade. It is sometimes surprising how much cooler it is in the shade. Many campgrounds offer tree-shaded sites and activity areas but you can always create your own shade using your patio awning or standalone canopy.
Mist systems are a handy way to cool things down under your patio awning or standalone canopy. If you're in a campground with hookups and running off city water you can usually use them without worrying about running out of water but if you're relying on your on board water supply you'll need to keep an eye on usage so you don't run out. I like to have a separate pump drawing water from a separate tank or from 5-gallon water jugs to supply my mist system so I don't run the risk of burning up my main RV pump or running our of fresh water. Personal mist systems can be used to keep your cool too. Or just spritz yourself from a spray bottle of clean water now and then. Spray bottles are a very inexpensive and effective way to keep cool and they're portable enough to take just about anywhere. You can even spray the outside of your tent and the windows to help reduce temperatures inside but they are most effective when sprayed on you. You can even buy spray bottles at your local dollar store so they are inexpensive and can be easily replaced if lost or damaged.
Cool treats are always enjoyable on hot days. Topping the list are cold beverages and icy treats like snowcones. See the article on Cool Summer Camping Refreshments for even more suggestions.
Fun in the sun!
Information on recreational vehicles (RVs) and Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs), Camping, Sailing, and Survival
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Cold Weather Camping
Cold weather is usually not the time of year for most camping trips, but sometimes the weather may turn bad and we get stuck in cold weather -- and, believe it or not, sometimes, people actually choose winter camping activities. A properly equipped RV makes a good base camp for snowmobiling, snowboarding, sledding, ice skating, ice fishing, and skiing. A good four-season tent can also be a fairly comfortable winter home away from home. Admittedly most of the intentional winter camping experiences I've done have involved Boy Scout tent camping activities rather than personal or family RV outings, but many trips have been memorable. We've experienced unseasonably cold weather on more than one dirt bike trip in southern California, even to the point of an unusual several inches of snow in the Mojave Desert a couple of times! Cold weather camping can be fun and even comfortable if you are properly prepared. Keep in mind that everything takes "twice" as long in the winter (getting there and back, setting up camp, breaking camp, cooking, even going to the bathroom (remember those snow suits as a kid?), etc.) and plan accordingly. I'm sure more than one child wet his or her pants while wrestling with the multitude of zippers, buttons, snaps, belts, and strings on multiple layers of clothing. You can enjoy almost any cold weather if you're properly dressed for it -- neither rain nor snow nor dark of night need stay the avid camper from his appointed (or chosen) rounds.
RV Cold Weather preparations. Most RVs do not come from the factory equipped for use in sub-freezing weather. At least most RVs made in the United States. Canadian models are more likely to be winter ready. Fortunately, most unexpected cool weather during camping season isn't going to plunge you into days of sub-freezing conditions. I have seen RVs with dual furnaces and even dual hot water heaters to enhance winter camping, but most units aren't well equipped for cold weather, at least those made in the U.S. Many Canadian built RVs ARE, out of necessity, designed for cold weather use. If you do plan to use your RV in sub-freezing temperatures you may have to make some modifications to prevent the water and sewer systems from freezing. Even in milder cool weather you will want to ensure your RV is free from drafts and insulate the windows to prevent unnecessary heat loss for your own comfort and to conserve propane. Some RVs have heavy drapes or shades but most can benefit from the installation of foam/foil window covers behind whatever window coverings are there. Reflectix brand is an example of bubble foil/foam insulation that can be easily cut to fit any window. Make sure you top off your propane tank before you leave, since cool/cold weather is going to put a higher demand on your furnace, water heater, and, most likely the stove as well since you'll want more hot meals and beverages and probably won't be doing a lot of campfire cooking or outdoor BBQs. Because heat rises, roof vents can be a major source of heat loss. RV stores sell square pillows that can be stuffed into the opening and vinyl covers that snap over the vents on the inside to block heat loss. Make sure your furnace is in good condition before you leave home. Replacing a faulty thermocouple or even a bad computer control board is a lot easier and less expensive at home than it will be in the wild, not to mention more convenient. Make sure your batteries are in good condition and fully charged. You'll need them to keep the furnace going through long winter nights. Run your vehicle or on board or portable generator enough each day to recharge your batteries. If your vehicle isn't equipped with a good multi-stage charger, get an automatic battery charger from an auto parts store and connect it to your batteries so they will be charging anytime there is 120-volt power available. If you wake up in the middle of the night and it is cold in your RV yet the furnace fan is running, you have most likely run down your batteries to where the furnace won't operate properly -- or run out of propane. It is ironic that a low battery condition will cause the fan to continue to run after the burner has shut off, further depleting the batteries. If this happens, about all you can do is shut off the furnace to avoid running the batteries down even more, put an extra blanket on the bed or put on your favorite "bunny" pajamas, and recharge your batteries as soon as you can. For future trips, make sure your batteries are in good condition and monitor your power usage to conserve them to run the furnace at night. If it becomes a recurring problem, consider upgrading your battery system. Keep your slippers near the bed for late night ventures to the bathroom or to adjust the thermostat for the furnace, especially if you'll be walking on hard surface floors.
Your next biggest problem in sub-freezing weather, after keeping your furnace going all night, will be keeping your water and sewer systems from freezing. You can add antifreeze to drains and holding tanks but you'll need to keep your fresh water tank and all water lines warmer than 32°F to prevent them from freezing. A 100 watt incandescent bulb (soon to be obsolete) can be used to heat an outside compartment containing holding tanks and/or dump valves if you have access to 120 volt power. Just keeping the inside of your RV warm and cozy won't necessarily prevent plumbing from freezing. Some sewer and even fresh water components are in unheated compartments or even completely outside the RV. Heating pads are available to protect holding tanks. Some run on either 120 Volt AC or 12 Volt DC power and most are thermostatically controlled so they only turn on when temperatures approach freezing to conserve energy. If you don't know how to protect your RV, take it to a qualified RV technician to see what, if anything, you can do to make it suitable for winter camping. If you're tent camping you'll need to either find a place to store your water where it won't freeze, or be prepared to thaw it out when you need to use it. I've seen people avoid freezing pipes at home by leaving a faucet open so the water keeps moving, continually bringing ground temperature water into the pipes. We used to do that on my grandfather's ranch in Idaho. This isn't likely to be a good solution for RVs. In the first place, if you're, connected to city water, you have several feet of hose directly exposed to the cold outside. Second, there is no safe place for the water to go. Leaving a faucet open would only transfer the freezing problem from the fresh water line to other plumbing like drains, holding tanks, and dump valves. Of course you wouldn't want to even think about leaving water running if you're dry camping and depending on the water you have on board. If you are connected to city water be sure to wrap your hose and the faucet all the way to the ground with heat tape or disconnect and drain your hose. If you leave it connected and the faucet freezes you'll be facing an expensive repair bill from the campground. Digging out and repairing or replacing those frost-resistant faucets isn't cheap, especially if the ground is frozen!
Windows, windshields, and goggles are likely to fog or frost up in cold weather. Using a good anti-fog preparation will help minimize problems, but you may still end up having to scrape ice and/or snow off your windshield, sometimes inside as well as outside. I recommend starting the vehicle and running the defroster to loosen any ice or snow before trying to scrape if off. Then use only a plastic scraper, not a metal one like a putty knife or metal spatula. Metal can damage the glass. Also avoid pouring hot water on an icy windshield. It may crack the glass! Goggles, face shields, and OHV windscrreens will become brittle in cold weather so exercise extra caution in handling them. You may have frost on the inside of windows other than the windshield and it is a good idea to carefully scrape it off to avoid have it melt and run down the walls or damage fixtures or furniture.
Cold vehicle seats are one of the discomforts of cold weather camping. Heated seats are really nice, but not all that common except on high end luxury vehicles. Adding electric seat heaters is an appealing solution, but not usually a good job for the average do-it-yourselfer so it can be expensive. A simple, effective, inexpensive alternative is to install slip on plush or fleece seat covers. The best are real sheep-skin, but even a plush fabric will be warmer than sitting on cold vinyl or leather seats. Fake sheep skin will put a thicker pad between you and the cold seat material and you may be able to machine wash them when needed. Real sheepskin is the warmest and most comfortable and the most durable -- and the most expensive. Sometimes you can find heated slip-on seat covers or a heated vibrator cushion to warm your backside. Of course you should only use seat heaters when the engine is running to provide power. Running them off the battery will run the battery down very quickly. Heaters are high-resistance wire and essentially a dead short that uses a lot of current.
Tent cold weather preparations. There is little you can do to increase the ability of a tent to hold in the heat. Of course a heavy canvas tent will retain heat a little better than a thin nylon one, but neither gives you very much of an R-factor when it comes to insulation. A dual-wall tent provides some additional heat retention due to the air space between the tent wall the the rain fly. You may get some additional protection from wind and moisture as well as help trap heat by putting a tarp over your tent, but you will probably ant to focus more on sleeping comfort. I found that rolling out one or two sleeping bags on the floor of the tent before I put in my sleeping pad and personal sleeping bag helps keep us warm when sleeping when camping on snow. Foam/foil insulation can be used in your tent when car camping to add insulation and reflect your body heat back inside instead of letting it escape through thin tent walls. You might also want to use it on the floor and cover it with a tarp. Foam tiles on the floor will really be appreciated in cold weather! Tent heaters are available but always exercise caution when using them. Even flameless, catalytic heaters get hot enough to melt or set the tent or other fabric on fire if they come in contact with it. And although properly designed interior heaters usually don't produce toxic fumes, they will consume oxygen so you MUST keep a couple of windows slightly open to avoid suffocation. An old pioneer trick is to heat up some rocks or potatoes in the fire and put them inside your sleeping bag or bedding. Be careful that there are no coals clinging to the items and that the items are not TOO hot or you may burn your feet or melt nylon fabrics or set your bedding on fire. A trick used by the well-to-do in medieval times was a foot warmer. This was long-handled metal pan with a lid that was filled with coals. You might have seen one in Pirates of Caribbean when Elizabeth Swan was being kidnapped and dumped one on the pirate's head. An old mountain man trick is to lay out your sleeping bag or bedroll over a warm fire pit. If you try this, make sure the fire is well covered with dirt beforehand. Y ou might recall the scene in the movie Jeremiah Johnson where Robert Redford discovers he didn't have enough dirt. His seasoned companion quipped "Didn't have enough dirt. See'd that right off." An extra wool blanket over your sleeping bag or an extra sleeping bag laid flat over the top can also preserve heat and keep you warmer. T his technique is especially effective when covering two or more sleeping bags side by side so you can share body heat. If your sleeping bags are the style that can be zipped together and you have a willing partner, you will sleep warmer when you share than you will alone in individual sleeping bags. Do NOT try cooking in your tent -- unless you have a properly installed and ventilated tent stove! The temptation may be great when the weather is bad, but it is definitely NOT worth the risk! Both being out of the weather and the potential for warming your tent is definitely an attractive idea, but a dangerous one, unless you have the right kind of stove. Find a sheltered spot outside where you won't risk setting your abode on fire, breathing toxic fumes, or suffocating when the stove uses up all the oxygen! Plan ahead and set up a weather-proof (or at least weather-resistant) camp kitchen BEFORE the bad weather hits. Wind usually comes from a single direction (prevailing wind) so you can set up a permanent wind break to protect your cooking area. If you are in an area where the wind direction shifts frequently you may want to try to rig up a movable wind break or just settle for small wind breaks right around your stove to protect the flame and prevent the wind from blowing the heat away before it cooks your food! The lid and side panels of most Coleman-style camp stoves provide a pretty good wind break and you can usually purchase add-on wind breaks for other stoves that protect three sides, leaving the front open so you can access your pots and pans.
Make sure your wardrobe is stocked with clothing appropriate to the weather and dress in layers for maximum warmth and flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. For the most comfort, start with thermal underwear and add layers as needed, depending on temperature and activities. If you expect or experience wet weather you will need rain gear. Even the warmest parkas will be of little use if they aren't water resistant and they get wet. Hats with ear flaps are very important. I really like the furry Russian military hats known as "ushankas" (means "ear hat" in Russian). They are very warm and protect your neck, ears, and part of your cheeks. You can lose as much as 80% of your body heat through your head. My grandmother always said "If your feet are cold, put on your hat!" -- and it works! Speaking of feet, make sure you bring along plenty of dry socks. You will NEVER get your feet warm in wet socks! If you get your feet wet, change to dry socks and dry your shoes or boots as soon as you can. Gloves or mittens are essential for any outdoor activity in cold weather. Wearing latex or nitrile gloves under your winter gloves will add a little insulation and prevent the inside of the gloves from getting sweaty but your hands will get sweaty. You can use rubber gloves over your knit or other gloves for extra exterior protection against water. Be sure to by them at least a size bigger than you would normally wear so they'll fit over your gloves. You can get glove liners or simply wear a pair of small knit gloves inside your gloves for extra warmth. You lose some dexterity with mittens, but they will keep your hands warmer than gloves. Chemical hand and toe warmers can be used to provide up to 10 hours of additional heat to keep your extremities more comfortable. Large versions are available as "body patches" to warm your chest or back if necessary. I t may seem like the special clothing available for various outdoor activities (skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, riding OHVS, horseback riding) is extravagant, but if you've ever tried to "get by" without it, you'll appreciate the comfort and functionality the right clothing provides. The right gear is designed to fit properly and allow appropriate movement and ventilation while retaining body heat to keep you warm. The wrong gear, even if designed for cold weather, may retain moisture, restrict movement, or otherwise interfere with activities. You will be far more comfortable in clothing appropriate for the activity you are involved in. After one winter of having my feet freeze while horseback riding, I broke down and bought a pair of insulated cowboy boots. The next year things weren't nearly so bad. "Windchill" jersey's and gloves added a lot of comfort to winter dirt biking and I've never regretted investing in quality snowboarding clothing when we tried snowboarding, which kept me warm and comfortable in daytime temperatures around zero, although I did thoroughly enjoy the hot air hand dryers in the restrooms when we took a break. Nothing takes the fun out of a hot activity faster than being cold! Winter clothing should also breathe or you will get soaked in your own sweat, and then you'll freeze. Properly designed winter clothing also allow for correct ventilation to prevent overheating and then getting chilled from excess sweat.
Cold weather health hazards. The two most obvious, serious and well known cold weather health hazards are frost bite and hypothermia. Many people are surprised to learn that dehydration is also a major concern during winter activities. You lose body fluids through both respiration (breathing) and perspiration (sweating). Too much physical activity can make you sweat which will then cause you to get chilled when you slow down or stop. Think you don't lose much to respiration? Just look at the little clouds that appear when you breath out or look what happens when you breath on your glasses or goggles to clean them. You still need several glasses of water per day. Eating snow or drinking water from melted snow can provide hydration but it also contributes to hypothermia because it uses core body heat to warm the snow. Better to heat your drinks and sip warm liquids, which will hydrate you AND help keep you warm. However, if you don't have any other source of hydration, by all means, eat snow.
Frost bite usually occurs on exposed extremities like fingers, toes, noses, and ears. The cells of the skin and muscles near the surface literally freeze solid and rupture. Water expands when it turns to ice and our bodies are about 70% water. If you or one of your companions gets frost bite, do NOT rub the area with snow! That has been a popular myth, but it is not sound medical advice. What you want to do is to gently warm the frozen area. Be aware that severe frost bite is likely to have done irreparable damage to the tissue. Ultimately affected areas may die and slough off or may have to be surgically amputated. Less severe cases may benefit from gently warming to thaw the frozen parts. Sometimes just placing the frozen fingers or toes next to warm body parts (like arm pits) will do the trick. Warm water can be helpful but do NOT use hot water. To prevent frost bite, avoid exposing the skin to cold air. Wear gloves, thick socks, and boots and cover your ears and nose. A full-face ski mask may not look very fashionable, but it may keep your cheeks and nose and chin from freezing. Even something like a nylon stocking pulled over your face will provide some protection. DO NOT warm frozen tissue if you won't be able to keep it warm. Thawing and refreezing will cause even more damage. Wait until you are sure you can keep it warm before you attempt to thaw it.
Dress for the weather. If you are dressed appropriately for the weather you can stay relatively comfortable in just about anything short of severe weather conditions. Take a lesson from skiers and mountain climbers who sometimes face fairly extreme weather conditions. Dress in layers. This provides both maximum insulation and greatest flexibility to deal with changing weather conditions and levels of activity. You don't want to stay all bundled up when involved in strenuous activities that make you sweat. Doing so may subject you to chilling that can lead to hypothermia and even death. Dress for the type of weather you are going to experience. Even the warmest parka or snowsuit will not keep you warm in rain if it isn't waterproof or at least water resistant. Avoid getting wet! You lose body heat 25 faster in wet clothing. You can become dangerously hypothermic even in fairly mild weather when you get wet. As water evaporates is absorbs more heat than ice melting! It takes 539 calories to convert 1 gram of water to water vapor but only 80 calories to convert 1 gram of ice to liquid water so you will lose heat faster from evaporation in wet clothing than from melting snow or ice.
Hypothermia occurs when the core temperature in the body drops below the minimum required to sustain life. Hypothermia can occur even on warm days if you are submerged in cold water or stay in wet clothes. A drop of only a few degrees in your core temperature can be serious, even fatal. Typically you can't survive more than about 3 hours in cold weather. The normal body temperature is 98.6° F or 37° C. Hypothermia occurs when the core temperature drops to only 95° F or 35° C. Your body reacts to cold by first reducing circulation to the extremities to save heat for the vital organs so extremities, like hands, feet, nose and ears, will stop being warmed by your blood as your body redirects it to protect the vital organs in your core. That is one reason your hands and feet and face are hard to keep warm. Feeling cold and shivering, especially uncontrolled shivering, is an early sign of hypothermia. When shivering stops without getting warmed up, the victim has progressed from mild to moderate hypothermia. Since loss of mental function is also an initial sign of hypothermia, early signs often go unnoticed. Initial hunger and nausea will give way to apathy as the core temperature continues to temperature drop. Confusion, lethargy, and eventually even coma may develop. Eventually you stop feeling cold, even though your temperature has dropped dangerously low. At this point people often just want to go to sleep -- an extremely dangerous thing to do in such circumstances. As hypothermia takes hold people often just lay down and die! Victims may develop "raccoon eyes" and pale, bluish or grayish skin. Anyone showing or experiencing signs of hypothermia should be moved to a warm location as soon as possible. Passive rewarming with warm clothing in a warm environment may be all that is required for a conscious person who is still shivering. Warm compresses or chemical heat packs may be applied to the chest, neck, and groin. Do NOT apply direct heat, but use warm blankets and body-to-body contact to warm the victim. Chemical hand and toe warmers may be used, but should be wrapped in a cloth to prevent direct contact which could cause injury. An effective procedure for warming a hypothermia victim is affectionately called the "burrito", where you wrap the victim in successive layers of dry clothing and blankets. For mild to moderate hypothermia, the victim will usually warm enough from just their own body heat to start struggling to get out of the wrappings in 15-20 minutes. Severe cases may require wrapping a warm healthy individual in with the victim to provide enough heat to warm the victim. Always remove wet clothing and replace it with dry clothing as soon as possible and definitely before wrapping up your victim in the burrito. Avoid shaking or rough handling of lethargic victims as this can cause heart problems. If the victim is conscious, warm fluids may be given to help warm internal organs. If you have a victim in moderate to severe hypothermia, notify emergency medical services (call 911 or send for help) as soon as possible. Someone in severe hypothermia may appear to be deceased. Normal vital signs (blood pressure, heartbeat, breathing) may not be detectable in a severely hypothermic patient. An emergency medical axiom states that a person isn't dead until they are warm and dead. A person in severe hypothermia can sometimes be successfully revived through appropriate professional medical care, so don't give up too soon! If you are in a situation where hypothermia might occur, keep an eye on each other for the "umbles": fumbles (unusually poor coordination), grumbles (irritability), and mumbles (slurred speech). All are symptoms of hypothermia.
Dehydration. Believe it or not, hydration is just as important in cold weather as it is in hot. We still lose a lot of moisture through respiration -- just look at those little clouds we breathe out in cold weather. We can also lose quite a bit through perspiration. Vigorous activity will cause you to sweat even in cold weather, especially if you start out comfortably wrapped in cold weather gear. You won't need quite as much water as you would in hot weather, but you still need to maintain hydration levels. For comfort you might want to drink hot cider or even warm up your Gatorade. Remember, alcoholic and caffeinated beverages contribute to dehydration and should be avoided during strenuous activities. Cold drinks, especially iced drinks, can speed lowering of your core body temperature and should be avoided.
Cold weather activities. It is possible to still have fun in cold weather if you are properly prepared. Dirt bikes are kind of skittish on snow and ice but ATVs, especially if they have 4 wheel drive, can be a lot of fun, but you have to dress appropriately or you're going to be VERY uncomfortable, perhaps even to the point of becoming hypothermic, which can be very dangerous, even lethal. And, of course, snowmobiles are a fantastic means of getting around on the white stuff. Consider skiers and snowboarders. How do THEY do handle cold weather? First of all, they are dressed for it. They know to dress in layers for maximum warmth retention and flexibility in adjusting clothing as activity increases. You don't have to be involved in sub-freezing temperatures to be subject to hypothermia. A cold rain or immersion in a cold lake or stream can create fatal hypothermia even in mild weather, especially if there is a breeze. If you expect or experience rain, use rain gear -- not just warm winter clothes. Warm does not necessarily mean water proof. W et clothing is one of the fastest ways to become hypothermic. If your clothing does become wet, switch to dry clothing as soon as possible. If you have no dry clothing, remove the wet clothing and wrap up in whatever you have to keep you warm while you dry your clothing -- blankets, sleeping bags, burlap bags, tarps, trash bags -- anything that will hold in the heat and keep out any additional cold and wetness. The last thing you need is to waste your body heat trying to warm up wet clothing! Wet clothing will suck the warmth out of you 20-25 times faster than dry clothing. Avoid activities that may take you far from camp in the late afternoon or evening. Y ou don't want to be stuck out in the cold after dark! And don't overlook traditional winter fun like sledding, skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and ice fishing. Make sure you are dressed appropriately and for added comfort and fun, bring a long some warm treats.
Fire. Man has always had a fascination with fire. It is certainly one of our best friends in cold weather. Take care that you don't build your fire under trees. Rising heat may cause accumulated snow to fall and put your fire out and possibly injure you or your companions. Try to build your fire in a sheltered spot, out of direct wind. Having a large boulder or fat tree behind you as you face your fire can help keep off the wind and even reflect a little of the heat onto your backside. If your windbreak isn't big enough, it may just create eddies that are even more troublesome. The temptation may be to build a big fire when it is cold but in many cases you'll just be wasting fuel. Make your fire only as big as you need it to warm yourself and your companions. That doesn't mean you have to all try to crowd around a tiny little Dakota fire pit, but it does mean you don't need a raging bonfire with flames higher than your head! If you need more heat, it may be better to build several small fires, perhaps in a circle so you can gather in the middle of them and be warmed on all sides. Better yet if you can build a fire in front of some kind of shelter that keeps the wind and elements off and captures some of the heat from the fire. Sometimes you can build a short wall of logs or even snow on the "far side" of your fire to reflect some of the heat back toward where you want it. A fire in a cave is tempting but you need to be constantly aware of maintaining adequate fresh air to avoid suffocation. Fires in caves can also heat up the rocks, sometimes causes big chunks overhead to break off. Fires are less likely to spread when we're in wet or snowy weather, but it is still of some concern. Monitor the direction and extent of blowing embers and be sure to build your fire on a non-combustible surface. Just building it on snow may not be safe, since the snow will melt and the fire may quickly sink down to where it can ignite grass or debris beneath the surface and then it will be hard to control. Building directly on deep snow may result in a short-lived fire as melting snow may drown it. If you have to build a fire on deep snow, try to create a platform beneath it using rocks or even green logs. Your goal is to prevent loosing your fire into a big hole in the snow as the snow melts.
Staying warm at night. Ever try going to sleep when you are cold? Doesn't work very well -- unless you are seriously hypothermic, then sleep will come all too easily -- and you will never wake up! Laying there shivering is sure to keep you awake -- for a while. To get a good night's sleep in cold weather, prepare your bed so it will keep you warm. Start off with either a sleeping bag designed for the temperatures you'll be in or several good wool blankets. A thick, down comforter might be a nice option in an RV. It might be difficult to transport and to keep clean when tent camping and too bulky for backpacking, but it could add greatly to your comfort there too when car camping. Try to make sure your body is already warm before you go to bed. Get out of wet or damp clothes. Dress warmly and comfortably for bed. Don't wear your daytime clothes to bed. Y ou won't be comfortable and they probably contain moisture that will make you colder. However, warm flannel pajamas would be a good idea. W arm them up in front of a heater or fire before putting them on for added comfort. Remember the old-time sleeping caps? You'll stay warmer if you wear a stocking cap to bed. You can lose up to 80% of your body heat through your unprotected head. I've seen folks try to sleep in exercise sweats. I don't find this very comfortable as they tend to be bulky and restrict movement in bed and often have bulky seams that create painful pressure points, but if they are dry and you're freezing, give it a try. Don't wear sweats you've been wearing all day to bed. They are probably damp and you will be cold all night. Some people like to wear socks to bed to keep their feet warm. Others find them uncomfortable or claustrophobic. Got cold feet? Try tucking them alternately behind the other knee. The warm flesh of your thigh and calf will help warm those cold toes. Do what works for you. Some warm rocks or baked potatoes in the foot of your sleeping bag or bed can help keep your feet warm and warm the entire sleeping area, just make sure they aren't hot enough to burn or scorch your bedding or burn your feet. Make sure you have adequate insulation between you and the ground or snow when you're sleeping in a tent. If after all your preparations you are still cold when you go to bed, get up and warm yourself and your bedding at the fire and give it another try. If you run out of blankets, open a coat over your coldest parts to help conserve heat or put on a sweater. Usually you will need to focus on maintaining your core temperature, so protecting your torso is probably your first priority. Anything that may mitigate the effect of any breeze and help reflect heat back on your body will be helpful. A tarp or a large plastic trash bag, for example, or even several layers of newspaper. Your body has its own mechanisms for combating cold. It will automatically protect your vital organs. In doing so it reduces blood flow to extremities so your hands and feet -- and nose and ears -- will get cold first. Your body will willingly sacrifice fingers and toes to preserve vital organs. Wear thick wool socks to protect your feet. Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves. Chemical hand and toe warmers (see more below) work wonders. A good ski mask or balaclava can help protect your nose and ears. I have a fairly thin nylon mask I can wear under my helmet when dirt-biking and it provides a surprising amount of protection for my face against the cold. The only problem I have is, if I cover my nose and mouth, it fogs my goggles. If I don't cover my nose, my nose gets cold. When snow camping I found it helpful to double up the ground cloth, then roll out an open sleeping bag on the tent floor to put the sleeping bags on. We then pulled another extra open sleeping bag over the top of our individual bags and stayed warm all night, even with outside temps into the lower teens. Remember the movie Jeremiah Johnson? He rolled out his bedding over a fire that he had somewhat covered with earth. His more experienced partner later noted, when Jeremiah jumped out of bed on fire, that he hadn't used enough dirt "see'd that right away". Putting your bed on top of a defunct fire may be one way of staying warm, but be sure there is enough dirt to prevent catching your bedding on fire! Some sleeping bags can be zipped together. This doesn't work with "mummy" style bags, but it does with most rectangular bags. By zipping two bags together you and a willing partner can share each other's warmth throughout the night.
Hand and toe warmers can provide a lot of comfort. There are reusable hand warmers that run on lighter fluid or butane but the most popular and convenient styles are chemical packs. You simply remove them from their air-tight packaging, shake them in the air, and slide them inside your gloves -- or stick them to your socks. The chemicals inside react with air to produce heat. Larger versions are available as "body warmers" and you can put these on your chest or your back. Hand and toe warmers can be used to help warm your blood to raise your overall body temperature. The best places to put the smaller packets for general warming are in your armpits and on your thigh near the groin where it can warm blood in large arteries close to the surface. Blood vessels are also near the surface on the inside or your wrists. Sometimes you can warm cold fingers faster with warming pads here than in your palms. Hand warmers work better in mittens than they do in gloves, just as mittens generally keep your hands warmer than gloves. On cold nights I pulled one of my hand warmers out to warm my nose too. Hand warmers can last for several hours. If they start cooling down, take them out and shake them. This exposes more of the chemical to fresh air and restarts the heating process. Same thing applies to toe warmers, but its a lot harder to take off your boots to shake the toe warmers than it is to refresh the ones in your gloves. Unless you have a sheltered place to remove your boots, your feet will probably be colder than if you'd just left your boots on. Sometimes stomping your feet or wiggling your toes will reactivate the toe warmers. It is definitely worth a try -- and, if nothing else, the exercise may help increase blood flow and help warm those tingling toes. Your hands will freeze in wet gloves. Change to dry gloves as often as you can if they keep getting wet. Store wet gloves on a broom handle or a small bottle with the fingers pointing up to allow them dry inside more quickly. Do not put them in an oven or close to a heater or fireplace. Rapid drying will stiffen leather gloves and may cause a fire hazard. If you have trouble getting them dry inside, try using the blunt end of a pencil to turn each finger inside out so moisture isn't trapped inside.
Staying warm in your RV. Your RV provides several basic features to help keep you warm. First, it keeps you out of the wind and weather. Second, its walls provide insulation to preserve heat. And, of course, its furnace should be able to maintain a comfortable temperature inside 24 hours a day. Sometimes, if it is cold enough, your furnace may have trouble keeping up with the demand. Give it all the help you can by limiting opening of doors and by covering the windows with foam bubble insulation inserts and keep the blinds or curtains closed. Check for drafts, even inside cabinets. Many times you can seal cracks with spray foam insulation or by stuffing pieces of fiberglass insulation into the openings. Adding styrofoam sheet insulation to exterior cabinet doors can also help. Of course, these are all things you need to do BEFORE you go camping in cold weather. If you find drafts in camp you might get away with stuffing paper towels or tissue into the openings to reduce heat loss. If you do a lot of cold weather camping and your furnace is not adequate to keep you comfortable, you may need to upgrade your furnace. One option is to replace the existing unit with one with higher output. Another alternative is to add a second furnace. This is an especially good option for large RVs where one end stays cold. You just have to find appropriate cabinet space you can sacrifice for the installation, run appropriate fuel and electrical lines, and provide proper ventilation. Another option is to install a catalytic heater. Permanently mounted catalytic heaters will require plumbing for the propane. Portable units run off 1 lb bottles. Catalytic heaters are usually radiant heaters and don't require any fans so they won't run your batteries down. If you have a generator or are usually staying in campgrounds with electric hookups, an electric heater can sometimes add enough heating capacity if your existing furnace performs marginally. The electric fireplace we use in our motorhome gives a nice ambiance and delivers 1500 watts of heat. Higher output heaters are available if you need more. Keep ALL heaters away from curtains, drapes, upholstery, carpets, and other combustible materials. You may be able to reduce the heat loss by parking in a sheltered area when possible. And don't forget sweaters and long johns! If your RV isn't warm enough, maybe just putting on a sweater will be enough to keep you comfortable during waking hours. At night, forget the sexy silk pajamas and go for the fluffy flannel ones with bunny feet! You may be warm enough in bed without them, but you'll appreciate them if/when you have to make a middle of the night trip to the bathroom! If your RV has hard surface floors, add some carpet runners. They will help insulate the floor against the cold and be more comfortable to walk on. Keep some warm slippers handy. I have an old pair of snow boots I use as "desert bedroom slippers" in my RV and around the campfire.
Staying warm in your tent my be a little more challenging. Even 4-season tents are fairly thin compared to the walls of an RV and tent heaters aren't nearly as efficient or as effective as RV furnaces. Exercise caution whenever using a tent heater and carefully follow all of the manufactures instructions and recommendations. Even a catalytic heater that doesn't give off toxic fumes will consume oxygen and you can suffocate without adequate ventilation. Using an extra long rain fly or extending the original rain fly so it nearly reaches the ground will help prevent excessive heat loss from your tent. Or cover it with a tarp. Provide as much insulation between you and snow or cold ground as you can. Extra layers of ground cloth will help. Foam tiles like those used in front of workbenches will add even more comfort and insulation. You may get some benefit by setting up your tent where it will receive maximum sunlight. That won't help you a lot after dark, but it will make it more comfortable during the day and may even capture a little heat in the things inside the tent to stave off the cold as long as possible. Try to protect your tent from direct wind whenever you can. Wind will carry the heat away much faster than still air. That is one reason for using a long rain fly or a tarp over your tent. Keep the doors and windows closed as much as you can while maintaining sufficient ventilation for safety and avoid going in and out except when it is absolutely necessary. Tents with a vestibule to protect the entrance may help minimize losing heat when going in and out. An extra sleeping bag, extra sleeping pads, air mattress, or foam times beneath your sleeping bags help you stay warmer at night. You may be surprised how much warmer it will be in your tent than it is outside even without a tent heater. I recall a rather rude awakening on one boy scout outing with one of my son's. It was cool in the tent when we woke up, but it was freezing outside (literally!). Even though it may seem counterintuitive, snow is actually a pretty good insulator. If your tent is strong enough to support some snow, it might actually help keep the inside warmer, essentially turning it into an igloo! If you choose to try this, keep an eye on the weight and don't let it build up enough to bend or snap the poles.
Whenever you are caught in cold weather there is a good chance you're going to get wet. Cold rain, sleet, snow, hail, any kind of precipitation is likely to get your clothing wet. And once it gets wet, you're going to get cold. You will loose body heat as much as 25 times faster in wet clothes than you will in dry ones. Therefore, if you get wet, try to change into dry clothing as soon as possible. If you don't have any dry clothes to change into, hang your wet clothes somewhere to dry (inside a warm vehicle or tent or near -- but not TOO near -- a fire or stove. Wrap yourself in a blanket or crawl into your sleeping bag to get and keep warm while your clothes are drying. If you have leather gloves that get wet, they are likely to get very stiff when they dry. You might be able to restore some of their flexibility and suppleness by rubbing them with leather balm or even hand lotion. A leather preparation such as Leather Balm is better, but you probably don't carry that around with you whereas you just might have some hand lotion in your RV or camp kit. The best way to dry gloves is to put them on a stick with the fingers pointing up. Or hang them by the finger tips. Either way lets the damp air fall out as it cools. And don't rush the drying. That will only increase the risk of scorching and will most likely make them stiffer than if they dry slowly. Take care when donning clothes that have been dried near a stove or fire. They may be very in some spots! If there were near a fire there might be embers that have blown inside. Zippers and the copper rivets on jeans can be especially treacherous.
Keep warm!
RV Cold Weather preparations. Most RVs do not come from the factory equipped for use in sub-freezing weather. At least most RVs made in the United States. Canadian models are more likely to be winter ready. Fortunately, most unexpected cool weather during camping season isn't going to plunge you into days of sub-freezing conditions. I have seen RVs with dual furnaces and even dual hot water heaters to enhance winter camping, but most units aren't well equipped for cold weather, at least those made in the U.S. Many Canadian built RVs ARE, out of necessity, designed for cold weather use. If you do plan to use your RV in sub-freezing temperatures you may have to make some modifications to prevent the water and sewer systems from freezing. Even in milder cool weather you will want to ensure your RV is free from drafts and insulate the windows to prevent unnecessary heat loss for your own comfort and to conserve propane. Some RVs have heavy drapes or shades but most can benefit from the installation of foam/foil window covers behind whatever window coverings are there. Reflectix brand is an example of bubble foil/foam insulation that can be easily cut to fit any window. Make sure you top off your propane tank before you leave, since cool/cold weather is going to put a higher demand on your furnace, water heater, and, most likely the stove as well since you'll want more hot meals and beverages and probably won't be doing a lot of campfire cooking or outdoor BBQs. Because heat rises, roof vents can be a major source of heat loss. RV stores sell square pillows that can be stuffed into the opening and vinyl covers that snap over the vents on the inside to block heat loss. Make sure your furnace is in good condition before you leave home. Replacing a faulty thermocouple or even a bad computer control board is a lot easier and less expensive at home than it will be in the wild, not to mention more convenient. Make sure your batteries are in good condition and fully charged. You'll need them to keep the furnace going through long winter nights. Run your vehicle or on board or portable generator enough each day to recharge your batteries. If your vehicle isn't equipped with a good multi-stage charger, get an automatic battery charger from an auto parts store and connect it to your batteries so they will be charging anytime there is 120-volt power available. If you wake up in the middle of the night and it is cold in your RV yet the furnace fan is running, you have most likely run down your batteries to where the furnace won't operate properly -- or run out of propane. It is ironic that a low battery condition will cause the fan to continue to run after the burner has shut off, further depleting the batteries. If this happens, about all you can do is shut off the furnace to avoid running the batteries down even more, put an extra blanket on the bed or put on your favorite "bunny" pajamas, and recharge your batteries as soon as you can. For future trips, make sure your batteries are in good condition and monitor your power usage to conserve them to run the furnace at night. If it becomes a recurring problem, consider upgrading your battery system. Keep your slippers near the bed for late night ventures to the bathroom or to adjust the thermostat for the furnace, especially if you'll be walking on hard surface floors.
Your next biggest problem in sub-freezing weather, after keeping your furnace going all night, will be keeping your water and sewer systems from freezing. You can add antifreeze to drains and holding tanks but you'll need to keep your fresh water tank and all water lines warmer than 32°F to prevent them from freezing. A 100 watt incandescent bulb (soon to be obsolete) can be used to heat an outside compartment containing holding tanks and/or dump valves if you have access to 120 volt power. Just keeping the inside of your RV warm and cozy won't necessarily prevent plumbing from freezing. Some sewer and even fresh water components are in unheated compartments or even completely outside the RV. Heating pads are available to protect holding tanks. Some run on either 120 Volt AC or 12 Volt DC power and most are thermostatically controlled so they only turn on when temperatures approach freezing to conserve energy. If you don't know how to protect your RV, take it to a qualified RV technician to see what, if anything, you can do to make it suitable for winter camping. If you're tent camping you'll need to either find a place to store your water where it won't freeze, or be prepared to thaw it out when you need to use it. I've seen people avoid freezing pipes at home by leaving a faucet open so the water keeps moving, continually bringing ground temperature water into the pipes. We used to do that on my grandfather's ranch in Idaho. This isn't likely to be a good solution for RVs. In the first place, if you're, connected to city water, you have several feet of hose directly exposed to the cold outside. Second, there is no safe place for the water to go. Leaving a faucet open would only transfer the freezing problem from the fresh water line to other plumbing like drains, holding tanks, and dump valves. Of course you wouldn't want to even think about leaving water running if you're dry camping and depending on the water you have on board. If you are connected to city water be sure to wrap your hose and the faucet all the way to the ground with heat tape or disconnect and drain your hose. If you leave it connected and the faucet freezes you'll be facing an expensive repair bill from the campground. Digging out and repairing or replacing those frost-resistant faucets isn't cheap, especially if the ground is frozen!
Windows, windshields, and goggles are likely to fog or frost up in cold weather. Using a good anti-fog preparation will help minimize problems, but you may still end up having to scrape ice and/or snow off your windshield, sometimes inside as well as outside. I recommend starting the vehicle and running the defroster to loosen any ice or snow before trying to scrape if off. Then use only a plastic scraper, not a metal one like a putty knife or metal spatula. Metal can damage the glass. Also avoid pouring hot water on an icy windshield. It may crack the glass! Goggles, face shields, and OHV windscrreens will become brittle in cold weather so exercise extra caution in handling them. You may have frost on the inside of windows other than the windshield and it is a good idea to carefully scrape it off to avoid have it melt and run down the walls or damage fixtures or furniture.
Cold vehicle seats are one of the discomforts of cold weather camping. Heated seats are really nice, but not all that common except on high end luxury vehicles. Adding electric seat heaters is an appealing solution, but not usually a good job for the average do-it-yourselfer so it can be expensive. A simple, effective, inexpensive alternative is to install slip on plush or fleece seat covers. The best are real sheep-skin, but even a plush fabric will be warmer than sitting on cold vinyl or leather seats. Fake sheep skin will put a thicker pad between you and the cold seat material and you may be able to machine wash them when needed. Real sheepskin is the warmest and most comfortable and the most durable -- and the most expensive. Sometimes you can find heated slip-on seat covers or a heated vibrator cushion to warm your backside. Of course you should only use seat heaters when the engine is running to provide power. Running them off the battery will run the battery down very quickly. Heaters are high-resistance wire and essentially a dead short that uses a lot of current.
Tent cold weather preparations. There is little you can do to increase the ability of a tent to hold in the heat. Of course a heavy canvas tent will retain heat a little better than a thin nylon one, but neither gives you very much of an R-factor when it comes to insulation. A dual-wall tent provides some additional heat retention due to the air space between the tent wall the the rain fly. You may get some additional protection from wind and moisture as well as help trap heat by putting a tarp over your tent, but you will probably ant to focus more on sleeping comfort. I found that rolling out one or two sleeping bags on the floor of the tent before I put in my sleeping pad and personal sleeping bag helps keep us warm when sleeping when camping on snow. Foam/foil insulation can be used in your tent when car camping to add insulation and reflect your body heat back inside instead of letting it escape through thin tent walls. You might also want to use it on the floor and cover it with a tarp. Foam tiles on the floor will really be appreciated in cold weather! Tent heaters are available but always exercise caution when using them. Even flameless, catalytic heaters get hot enough to melt or set the tent or other fabric on fire if they come in contact with it. And although properly designed interior heaters usually don't produce toxic fumes, they will consume oxygen so you MUST keep a couple of windows slightly open to avoid suffocation. An old pioneer trick is to heat up some rocks or potatoes in the fire and put them inside your sleeping bag or bedding. Be careful that there are no coals clinging to the items and that the items are not TOO hot or you may burn your feet or melt nylon fabrics or set your bedding on fire. A trick used by the well-to-do in medieval times was a foot warmer. This was long-handled metal pan with a lid that was filled with coals. You might have seen one in Pirates of Caribbean when Elizabeth Swan was being kidnapped and dumped one on the pirate's head. An old mountain man trick is to lay out your sleeping bag or bedroll over a warm fire pit. If you try this, make sure the fire is well covered with dirt beforehand. Y ou might recall the scene in the movie Jeremiah Johnson where Robert Redford discovers he didn't have enough dirt. His seasoned companion quipped "Didn't have enough dirt. See'd that right off." An extra wool blanket over your sleeping bag or an extra sleeping bag laid flat over the top can also preserve heat and keep you warmer. T his technique is especially effective when covering two or more sleeping bags side by side so you can share body heat. If your sleeping bags are the style that can be zipped together and you have a willing partner, you will sleep warmer when you share than you will alone in individual sleeping bags. Do NOT try cooking in your tent -- unless you have a properly installed and ventilated tent stove! The temptation may be great when the weather is bad, but it is definitely NOT worth the risk! Both being out of the weather and the potential for warming your tent is definitely an attractive idea, but a dangerous one, unless you have the right kind of stove. Find a sheltered spot outside where you won't risk setting your abode on fire, breathing toxic fumes, or suffocating when the stove uses up all the oxygen! Plan ahead and set up a weather-proof (or at least weather-resistant) camp kitchen BEFORE the bad weather hits. Wind usually comes from a single direction (prevailing wind) so you can set up a permanent wind break to protect your cooking area. If you are in an area where the wind direction shifts frequently you may want to try to rig up a movable wind break or just settle for small wind breaks right around your stove to protect the flame and prevent the wind from blowing the heat away before it cooks your food! The lid and side panels of most Coleman-style camp stoves provide a pretty good wind break and you can usually purchase add-on wind breaks for other stoves that protect three sides, leaving the front open so you can access your pots and pans.
Make sure your wardrobe is stocked with clothing appropriate to the weather and dress in layers for maximum warmth and flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. For the most comfort, start with thermal underwear and add layers as needed, depending on temperature and activities. If you expect or experience wet weather you will need rain gear. Even the warmest parkas will be of little use if they aren't water resistant and they get wet. Hats with ear flaps are very important. I really like the furry Russian military hats known as "ushankas" (means "ear hat" in Russian). They are very warm and protect your neck, ears, and part of your cheeks. You can lose as much as 80% of your body heat through your head. My grandmother always said "If your feet are cold, put on your hat!" -- and it works! Speaking of feet, make sure you bring along plenty of dry socks. You will NEVER get your feet warm in wet socks! If you get your feet wet, change to dry socks and dry your shoes or boots as soon as you can. Gloves or mittens are essential for any outdoor activity in cold weather. Wearing latex or nitrile gloves under your winter gloves will add a little insulation and prevent the inside of the gloves from getting sweaty but your hands will get sweaty. You can use rubber gloves over your knit or other gloves for extra exterior protection against water. Be sure to by them at least a size bigger than you would normally wear so they'll fit over your gloves. You can get glove liners or simply wear a pair of small knit gloves inside your gloves for extra warmth. You lose some dexterity with mittens, but they will keep your hands warmer than gloves. Chemical hand and toe warmers can be used to provide up to 10 hours of additional heat to keep your extremities more comfortable. Large versions are available as "body patches" to warm your chest or back if necessary. I t may seem like the special clothing available for various outdoor activities (skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, riding OHVS, horseback riding) is extravagant, but if you've ever tried to "get by" without it, you'll appreciate the comfort and functionality the right clothing provides. The right gear is designed to fit properly and allow appropriate movement and ventilation while retaining body heat to keep you warm. The wrong gear, even if designed for cold weather, may retain moisture, restrict movement, or otherwise interfere with activities. You will be far more comfortable in clothing appropriate for the activity you are involved in. After one winter of having my feet freeze while horseback riding, I broke down and bought a pair of insulated cowboy boots. The next year things weren't nearly so bad. "Windchill" jersey's and gloves added a lot of comfort to winter dirt biking and I've never regretted investing in quality snowboarding clothing when we tried snowboarding, which kept me warm and comfortable in daytime temperatures around zero, although I did thoroughly enjoy the hot air hand dryers in the restrooms when we took a break. Nothing takes the fun out of a hot activity faster than being cold! Winter clothing should also breathe or you will get soaked in your own sweat, and then you'll freeze. Properly designed winter clothing also allow for correct ventilation to prevent overheating and then getting chilled from excess sweat.
Cold weather health hazards. The two most obvious, serious and well known cold weather health hazards are frost bite and hypothermia. Many people are surprised to learn that dehydration is also a major concern during winter activities. You lose body fluids through both respiration (breathing) and perspiration (sweating). Too much physical activity can make you sweat which will then cause you to get chilled when you slow down or stop. Think you don't lose much to respiration? Just look at the little clouds that appear when you breath out or look what happens when you breath on your glasses or goggles to clean them. You still need several glasses of water per day. Eating snow or drinking water from melted snow can provide hydration but it also contributes to hypothermia because it uses core body heat to warm the snow. Better to heat your drinks and sip warm liquids, which will hydrate you AND help keep you warm. However, if you don't have any other source of hydration, by all means, eat snow.
Frost bite usually occurs on exposed extremities like fingers, toes, noses, and ears. The cells of the skin and muscles near the surface literally freeze solid and rupture. Water expands when it turns to ice and our bodies are about 70% water. If you or one of your companions gets frost bite, do NOT rub the area with snow! That has been a popular myth, but it is not sound medical advice. What you want to do is to gently warm the frozen area. Be aware that severe frost bite is likely to have done irreparable damage to the tissue. Ultimately affected areas may die and slough off or may have to be surgically amputated. Less severe cases may benefit from gently warming to thaw the frozen parts. Sometimes just placing the frozen fingers or toes next to warm body parts (like arm pits) will do the trick. Warm water can be helpful but do NOT use hot water. To prevent frost bite, avoid exposing the skin to cold air. Wear gloves, thick socks, and boots and cover your ears and nose. A full-face ski mask may not look very fashionable, but it may keep your cheeks and nose and chin from freezing. Even something like a nylon stocking pulled over your face will provide some protection. DO NOT warm frozen tissue if you won't be able to keep it warm. Thawing and refreezing will cause even more damage. Wait until you are sure you can keep it warm before you attempt to thaw it.
Dress for the weather. If you are dressed appropriately for the weather you can stay relatively comfortable in just about anything short of severe weather conditions. Take a lesson from skiers and mountain climbers who sometimes face fairly extreme weather conditions. Dress in layers. This provides both maximum insulation and greatest flexibility to deal with changing weather conditions and levels of activity. You don't want to stay all bundled up when involved in strenuous activities that make you sweat. Doing so may subject you to chilling that can lead to hypothermia and even death. Dress for the type of weather you are going to experience. Even the warmest parka or snowsuit will not keep you warm in rain if it isn't waterproof or at least water resistant. Avoid getting wet! You lose body heat 25 faster in wet clothing. You can become dangerously hypothermic even in fairly mild weather when you get wet. As water evaporates is absorbs more heat than ice melting! It takes 539 calories to convert 1 gram of water to water vapor but only 80 calories to convert 1 gram of ice to liquid water so you will lose heat faster from evaporation in wet clothing than from melting snow or ice.
Hypothermia occurs when the core temperature in the body drops below the minimum required to sustain life. Hypothermia can occur even on warm days if you are submerged in cold water or stay in wet clothes. A drop of only a few degrees in your core temperature can be serious, even fatal. Typically you can't survive more than about 3 hours in cold weather. The normal body temperature is 98.6° F or 37° C. Hypothermia occurs when the core temperature drops to only 95° F or 35° C. Your body reacts to cold by first reducing circulation to the extremities to save heat for the vital organs so extremities, like hands, feet, nose and ears, will stop being warmed by your blood as your body redirects it to protect the vital organs in your core. That is one reason your hands and feet and face are hard to keep warm. Feeling cold and shivering, especially uncontrolled shivering, is an early sign of hypothermia. When shivering stops without getting warmed up, the victim has progressed from mild to moderate hypothermia. Since loss of mental function is also an initial sign of hypothermia, early signs often go unnoticed. Initial hunger and nausea will give way to apathy as the core temperature continues to temperature drop. Confusion, lethargy, and eventually even coma may develop. Eventually you stop feeling cold, even though your temperature has dropped dangerously low. At this point people often just want to go to sleep -- an extremely dangerous thing to do in such circumstances. As hypothermia takes hold people often just lay down and die! Victims may develop "raccoon eyes" and pale, bluish or grayish skin. Anyone showing or experiencing signs of hypothermia should be moved to a warm location as soon as possible. Passive rewarming with warm clothing in a warm environment may be all that is required for a conscious person who is still shivering. Warm compresses or chemical heat packs may be applied to the chest, neck, and groin. Do NOT apply direct heat, but use warm blankets and body-to-body contact to warm the victim. Chemical hand and toe warmers may be used, but should be wrapped in a cloth to prevent direct contact which could cause injury. An effective procedure for warming a hypothermia victim is affectionately called the "burrito", where you wrap the victim in successive layers of dry clothing and blankets. For mild to moderate hypothermia, the victim will usually warm enough from just their own body heat to start struggling to get out of the wrappings in 15-20 minutes. Severe cases may require wrapping a warm healthy individual in with the victim to provide enough heat to warm the victim. Always remove wet clothing and replace it with dry clothing as soon as possible and definitely before wrapping up your victim in the burrito. Avoid shaking or rough handling of lethargic victims as this can cause heart problems. If the victim is conscious, warm fluids may be given to help warm internal organs. If you have a victim in moderate to severe hypothermia, notify emergency medical services (call 911 or send for help) as soon as possible. Someone in severe hypothermia may appear to be deceased. Normal vital signs (blood pressure, heartbeat, breathing) may not be detectable in a severely hypothermic patient. An emergency medical axiom states that a person isn't dead until they are warm and dead. A person in severe hypothermia can sometimes be successfully revived through appropriate professional medical care, so don't give up too soon! If you are in a situation where hypothermia might occur, keep an eye on each other for the "umbles": fumbles (unusually poor coordination), grumbles (irritability), and mumbles (slurred speech). All are symptoms of hypothermia.
Dehydration. Believe it or not, hydration is just as important in cold weather as it is in hot. We still lose a lot of moisture through respiration -- just look at those little clouds we breathe out in cold weather. We can also lose quite a bit through perspiration. Vigorous activity will cause you to sweat even in cold weather, especially if you start out comfortably wrapped in cold weather gear. You won't need quite as much water as you would in hot weather, but you still need to maintain hydration levels. For comfort you might want to drink hot cider or even warm up your Gatorade. Remember, alcoholic and caffeinated beverages contribute to dehydration and should be avoided during strenuous activities. Cold drinks, especially iced drinks, can speed lowering of your core body temperature and should be avoided.
Cold weather activities. It is possible to still have fun in cold weather if you are properly prepared. Dirt bikes are kind of skittish on snow and ice but ATVs, especially if they have 4 wheel drive, can be a lot of fun, but you have to dress appropriately or you're going to be VERY uncomfortable, perhaps even to the point of becoming hypothermic, which can be very dangerous, even lethal. And, of course, snowmobiles are a fantastic means of getting around on the white stuff. Consider skiers and snowboarders. How do THEY do handle cold weather? First of all, they are dressed for it. They know to dress in layers for maximum warmth retention and flexibility in adjusting clothing as activity increases. You don't have to be involved in sub-freezing temperatures to be subject to hypothermia. A cold rain or immersion in a cold lake or stream can create fatal hypothermia even in mild weather, especially if there is a breeze. If you expect or experience rain, use rain gear -- not just warm winter clothes. Warm does not necessarily mean water proof. W et clothing is one of the fastest ways to become hypothermic. If your clothing does become wet, switch to dry clothing as soon as possible. If you have no dry clothing, remove the wet clothing and wrap up in whatever you have to keep you warm while you dry your clothing -- blankets, sleeping bags, burlap bags, tarps, trash bags -- anything that will hold in the heat and keep out any additional cold and wetness. The last thing you need is to waste your body heat trying to warm up wet clothing! Wet clothing will suck the warmth out of you 20-25 times faster than dry clothing. Avoid activities that may take you far from camp in the late afternoon or evening. Y ou don't want to be stuck out in the cold after dark! And don't overlook traditional winter fun like sledding, skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and ice fishing. Make sure you are dressed appropriately and for added comfort and fun, bring a long some warm treats.
Fire. Man has always had a fascination with fire. It is certainly one of our best friends in cold weather. Take care that you don't build your fire under trees. Rising heat may cause accumulated snow to fall and put your fire out and possibly injure you or your companions. Try to build your fire in a sheltered spot, out of direct wind. Having a large boulder or fat tree behind you as you face your fire can help keep off the wind and even reflect a little of the heat onto your backside. If your windbreak isn't big enough, it may just create eddies that are even more troublesome. The temptation may be to build a big fire when it is cold but in many cases you'll just be wasting fuel. Make your fire only as big as you need it to warm yourself and your companions. That doesn't mean you have to all try to crowd around a tiny little Dakota fire pit, but it does mean you don't need a raging bonfire with flames higher than your head! If you need more heat, it may be better to build several small fires, perhaps in a circle so you can gather in the middle of them and be warmed on all sides. Better yet if you can build a fire in front of some kind of shelter that keeps the wind and elements off and captures some of the heat from the fire. Sometimes you can build a short wall of logs or even snow on the "far side" of your fire to reflect some of the heat back toward where you want it. A fire in a cave is tempting but you need to be constantly aware of maintaining adequate fresh air to avoid suffocation. Fires in caves can also heat up the rocks, sometimes causes big chunks overhead to break off. Fires are less likely to spread when we're in wet or snowy weather, but it is still of some concern. Monitor the direction and extent of blowing embers and be sure to build your fire on a non-combustible surface. Just building it on snow may not be safe, since the snow will melt and the fire may quickly sink down to where it can ignite grass or debris beneath the surface and then it will be hard to control. Building directly on deep snow may result in a short-lived fire as melting snow may drown it. If you have to build a fire on deep snow, try to create a platform beneath it using rocks or even green logs. Your goal is to prevent loosing your fire into a big hole in the snow as the snow melts.
Staying warm at night. Ever try going to sleep when you are cold? Doesn't work very well -- unless you are seriously hypothermic, then sleep will come all too easily -- and you will never wake up! Laying there shivering is sure to keep you awake -- for a while. To get a good night's sleep in cold weather, prepare your bed so it will keep you warm. Start off with either a sleeping bag designed for the temperatures you'll be in or several good wool blankets. A thick, down comforter might be a nice option in an RV. It might be difficult to transport and to keep clean when tent camping and too bulky for backpacking, but it could add greatly to your comfort there too when car camping. Try to make sure your body is already warm before you go to bed. Get out of wet or damp clothes. Dress warmly and comfortably for bed. Don't wear your daytime clothes to bed. Y ou won't be comfortable and they probably contain moisture that will make you colder. However, warm flannel pajamas would be a good idea. W arm them up in front of a heater or fire before putting them on for added comfort. Remember the old-time sleeping caps? You'll stay warmer if you wear a stocking cap to bed. You can lose up to 80% of your body heat through your unprotected head. I've seen folks try to sleep in exercise sweats. I don't find this very comfortable as they tend to be bulky and restrict movement in bed and often have bulky seams that create painful pressure points, but if they are dry and you're freezing, give it a try. Don't wear sweats you've been wearing all day to bed. They are probably damp and you will be cold all night. Some people like to wear socks to bed to keep their feet warm. Others find them uncomfortable or claustrophobic. Got cold feet? Try tucking them alternately behind the other knee. The warm flesh of your thigh and calf will help warm those cold toes. Do what works for you. Some warm rocks or baked potatoes in the foot of your sleeping bag or bed can help keep your feet warm and warm the entire sleeping area, just make sure they aren't hot enough to burn or scorch your bedding or burn your feet. Make sure you have adequate insulation between you and the ground or snow when you're sleeping in a tent. If after all your preparations you are still cold when you go to bed, get up and warm yourself and your bedding at the fire and give it another try. If you run out of blankets, open a coat over your coldest parts to help conserve heat or put on a sweater. Usually you will need to focus on maintaining your core temperature, so protecting your torso is probably your first priority. Anything that may mitigate the effect of any breeze and help reflect heat back on your body will be helpful. A tarp or a large plastic trash bag, for example, or even several layers of newspaper. Your body has its own mechanisms for combating cold. It will automatically protect your vital organs. In doing so it reduces blood flow to extremities so your hands and feet -- and nose and ears -- will get cold first. Your body will willingly sacrifice fingers and toes to preserve vital organs. Wear thick wool socks to protect your feet. Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves. Chemical hand and toe warmers (see more below) work wonders. A good ski mask or balaclava can help protect your nose and ears. I have a fairly thin nylon mask I can wear under my helmet when dirt-biking and it provides a surprising amount of protection for my face against the cold. The only problem I have is, if I cover my nose and mouth, it fogs my goggles. If I don't cover my nose, my nose gets cold. When snow camping I found it helpful to double up the ground cloth, then roll out an open sleeping bag on the tent floor to put the sleeping bags on. We then pulled another extra open sleeping bag over the top of our individual bags and stayed warm all night, even with outside temps into the lower teens. Remember the movie Jeremiah Johnson? He rolled out his bedding over a fire that he had somewhat covered with earth. His more experienced partner later noted, when Jeremiah jumped out of bed on fire, that he hadn't used enough dirt "see'd that right away". Putting your bed on top of a defunct fire may be one way of staying warm, but be sure there is enough dirt to prevent catching your bedding on fire! Some sleeping bags can be zipped together. This doesn't work with "mummy" style bags, but it does with most rectangular bags. By zipping two bags together you and a willing partner can share each other's warmth throughout the night.
Hand and toe warmers can provide a lot of comfort. There are reusable hand warmers that run on lighter fluid or butane but the most popular and convenient styles are chemical packs. You simply remove them from their air-tight packaging, shake them in the air, and slide them inside your gloves -- or stick them to your socks. The chemicals inside react with air to produce heat. Larger versions are available as "body warmers" and you can put these on your chest or your back. Hand and toe warmers can be used to help warm your blood to raise your overall body temperature. The best places to put the smaller packets for general warming are in your armpits and on your thigh near the groin where it can warm blood in large arteries close to the surface. Blood vessels are also near the surface on the inside or your wrists. Sometimes you can warm cold fingers faster with warming pads here than in your palms. Hand warmers work better in mittens than they do in gloves, just as mittens generally keep your hands warmer than gloves. On cold nights I pulled one of my hand warmers out to warm my nose too. Hand warmers can last for several hours. If they start cooling down, take them out and shake them. This exposes more of the chemical to fresh air and restarts the heating process. Same thing applies to toe warmers, but its a lot harder to take off your boots to shake the toe warmers than it is to refresh the ones in your gloves. Unless you have a sheltered place to remove your boots, your feet will probably be colder than if you'd just left your boots on. Sometimes stomping your feet or wiggling your toes will reactivate the toe warmers. It is definitely worth a try -- and, if nothing else, the exercise may help increase blood flow and help warm those tingling toes. Your hands will freeze in wet gloves. Change to dry gloves as often as you can if they keep getting wet. Store wet gloves on a broom handle or a small bottle with the fingers pointing up to allow them dry inside more quickly. Do not put them in an oven or close to a heater or fireplace. Rapid drying will stiffen leather gloves and may cause a fire hazard. If you have trouble getting them dry inside, try using the blunt end of a pencil to turn each finger inside out so moisture isn't trapped inside.
Staying warm in your RV. Your RV provides several basic features to help keep you warm. First, it keeps you out of the wind and weather. Second, its walls provide insulation to preserve heat. And, of course, its furnace should be able to maintain a comfortable temperature inside 24 hours a day. Sometimes, if it is cold enough, your furnace may have trouble keeping up with the demand. Give it all the help you can by limiting opening of doors and by covering the windows with foam bubble insulation inserts and keep the blinds or curtains closed. Check for drafts, even inside cabinets. Many times you can seal cracks with spray foam insulation or by stuffing pieces of fiberglass insulation into the openings. Adding styrofoam sheet insulation to exterior cabinet doors can also help. Of course, these are all things you need to do BEFORE you go camping in cold weather. If you find drafts in camp you might get away with stuffing paper towels or tissue into the openings to reduce heat loss. If you do a lot of cold weather camping and your furnace is not adequate to keep you comfortable, you may need to upgrade your furnace. One option is to replace the existing unit with one with higher output. Another alternative is to add a second furnace. This is an especially good option for large RVs where one end stays cold. You just have to find appropriate cabinet space you can sacrifice for the installation, run appropriate fuel and electrical lines, and provide proper ventilation. Another option is to install a catalytic heater. Permanently mounted catalytic heaters will require plumbing for the propane. Portable units run off 1 lb bottles. Catalytic heaters are usually radiant heaters and don't require any fans so they won't run your batteries down. If you have a generator or are usually staying in campgrounds with electric hookups, an electric heater can sometimes add enough heating capacity if your existing furnace performs marginally. The electric fireplace we use in our motorhome gives a nice ambiance and delivers 1500 watts of heat. Higher output heaters are available if you need more. Keep ALL heaters away from curtains, drapes, upholstery, carpets, and other combustible materials. You may be able to reduce the heat loss by parking in a sheltered area when possible. And don't forget sweaters and long johns! If your RV isn't warm enough, maybe just putting on a sweater will be enough to keep you comfortable during waking hours. At night, forget the sexy silk pajamas and go for the fluffy flannel ones with bunny feet! You may be warm enough in bed without them, but you'll appreciate them if/when you have to make a middle of the night trip to the bathroom! If your RV has hard surface floors, add some carpet runners. They will help insulate the floor against the cold and be more comfortable to walk on. Keep some warm slippers handy. I have an old pair of snow boots I use as "desert bedroom slippers" in my RV and around the campfire.
Staying warm in your tent my be a little more challenging. Even 4-season tents are fairly thin compared to the walls of an RV and tent heaters aren't nearly as efficient or as effective as RV furnaces. Exercise caution whenever using a tent heater and carefully follow all of the manufactures instructions and recommendations. Even a catalytic heater that doesn't give off toxic fumes will consume oxygen and you can suffocate without adequate ventilation. Using an extra long rain fly or extending the original rain fly so it nearly reaches the ground will help prevent excessive heat loss from your tent. Or cover it with a tarp. Provide as much insulation between you and snow or cold ground as you can. Extra layers of ground cloth will help. Foam tiles like those used in front of workbenches will add even more comfort and insulation. You may get some benefit by setting up your tent where it will receive maximum sunlight. That won't help you a lot after dark, but it will make it more comfortable during the day and may even capture a little heat in the things inside the tent to stave off the cold as long as possible. Try to protect your tent from direct wind whenever you can. Wind will carry the heat away much faster than still air. That is one reason for using a long rain fly or a tarp over your tent. Keep the doors and windows closed as much as you can while maintaining sufficient ventilation for safety and avoid going in and out except when it is absolutely necessary. Tents with a vestibule to protect the entrance may help minimize losing heat when going in and out. An extra sleeping bag, extra sleeping pads, air mattress, or foam times beneath your sleeping bags help you stay warmer at night. You may be surprised how much warmer it will be in your tent than it is outside even without a tent heater. I recall a rather rude awakening on one boy scout outing with one of my son's. It was cool in the tent when we woke up, but it was freezing outside (literally!). Even though it may seem counterintuitive, snow is actually a pretty good insulator. If your tent is strong enough to support some snow, it might actually help keep the inside warmer, essentially turning it into an igloo! If you choose to try this, keep an eye on the weight and don't let it build up enough to bend or snap the poles.
Whenever you are caught in cold weather there is a good chance you're going to get wet. Cold rain, sleet, snow, hail, any kind of precipitation is likely to get your clothing wet. And once it gets wet, you're going to get cold. You will loose body heat as much as 25 times faster in wet clothes than you will in dry ones. Therefore, if you get wet, try to change into dry clothing as soon as possible. If you don't have any dry clothes to change into, hang your wet clothes somewhere to dry (inside a warm vehicle or tent or near -- but not TOO near -- a fire or stove. Wrap yourself in a blanket or crawl into your sleeping bag to get and keep warm while your clothes are drying. If you have leather gloves that get wet, they are likely to get very stiff when they dry. You might be able to restore some of their flexibility and suppleness by rubbing them with leather balm or even hand lotion. A leather preparation such as Leather Balm is better, but you probably don't carry that around with you whereas you just might have some hand lotion in your RV or camp kit. The best way to dry gloves is to put them on a stick with the fingers pointing up. Or hang them by the finger tips. Either way lets the damp air fall out as it cools. And don't rush the drying. That will only increase the risk of scorching and will most likely make them stiffer than if they dry slowly. Take care when donning clothes that have been dried near a stove or fire. They may be very in some spots! If there were near a fire there might be embers that have blown inside. Zippers and the copper rivets on jeans can be especially treacherous.
Keep warm!
Hot Weather Camping
Since most of us prefer camping in the summer months, HOT WEATHER is something we will encounter quite often. Some folks try to escape hot weather at home by going camping at the beach or in the mountains. While that is definitely an attractive and useful option, many times you will encounter hot weather while you're camping and/or enjoying other outdoor activities no matter where you go, even in the mountains or at the beach.
Hot weather presents specific health hazards we must be aware of and deal with. Most of us do most of our camping in warmer, sunny weather. There is always the issue of sunburn. It is especially intense when we are involved in water sports. The reflection from the water's surface can be as damaging as direct sunlight but we are often unaware of it until it is too late. Be sure to wear sunblock on exposed skin and minimize how much skin is exposed and for how long. Recent studies I've read indicate as a society we have a Vitamin D deficiency, which may be related to the overuse of sunblock. Our skin creates Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, so an appropriate amount is healthy. Overexposure IS dangerous and can lead to cancers as well as the immediate suffering and potential scarring from sunburn. The bottom line is, moderation. You need enough sun for healthy Vitamin D production but you want to avoid sunburn. I can't tell you how much that is for you and timing may well vary depending on cloud cover and latitude as well as your own sensitivity to sunlight. And remember, the ultraviolet light that causes sunburn can penetrate clouds so you might get sunburned even on a cloudy day. Use a "waterproof" sunblock when involved in water sports, but realize that it, too, is eventually diluted or washed away by sweat and exposure to water.
Dressing for hot weather. Obviously you don't want to wear lots of heavy clothing in hot weather, but sometimes more clothing will actually keep you cooler than less. Light, loose, long-sleeved shirts are actually cooler than T-shirts and tank tops, plus they protect your arms against sunburn, dirt, and insects. Consider the dress style of the Nomads who live in the desert. Their robes cover their entire bodies and are loose to allow air to circulate. A broad-brimmed hat helps keep you cool. Keeping the sun off your head and your face adds greatly to your comfort and helps keep body temperature down. If your activity (like OHVs, horseback riding, or hiking) involves wearing boots, take them off between rides to let your feet cool down and the to boots air out. We've found a damp bandanna tied around the neck is a good addition in hot weather. It helps cool the blood as it circulates in your neck and protects the exposed neck against sunburn. I've seen "cooling vests" you can wear. These are usually quilted vests that you soak in water and the evaporation cools your upper body. Some very expensive versions may have tubes that a cool liquid is pumped through but for me they don't seem anywhere near worth the price or the weight of packing them around. And they require battery packs to run the pumps. Sandals and flip-flops are popular footwear for hot weather, but wearing them all too often results in sunburn on the exposed portions of the feet and stripes where the straps are. Better to wear some light weight "sneakers". Sandals and flip-flops also expose the feet to stinging insects and other ground hazards found in many primitive locations, so be cautious. If you are an area where you may encounter poisonous snakes, the protection offered by boots, which may get hot, is well worth the discomfort. Sweaty feet are a lot less of a problem and less deadly than a snake bite!
Dehydration is serious condition and too often people allow themselves to become dehydrated without realizing it. Effects may range from discomfort to death. Dehydration occurs as the body loses water and electrolytes through respiration and perspiration. Hot weather and vigorous activities speed the loss. Perspiration drains necessary minerals, called electrolytes, from the body. Without sufficient electrolytes the body cannot use water and many cellular functions are inhibited. There is a condition (hypnoatremia) sometimes called "water intoxification" that occurs when you're drinking plenty of water but do not have sufficient electrolytes for the body to make use of it. Symptoms of hypnoatremia include nausea and vomiting, headache, confusion, loss of energy and fatigue, restlessness and irritability, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, and even coma. Interestingly enough, these are also symptoms of dehydration. When you think about it, it makes sense. Both are the result of insufficient electrolytes. The bottom line is that just drinking lots of water may not be enough. You need proper electrolytes too. One of the early symptoms of dehydration you will want to watch for is dark colored urine. However, you can have pale urine and still be in trouble if you don't have enough electrolytes. Salt is one of the primary electrolytes lost through perspiration, but there are others your body needs. The current popularity of low sodium diets tends to make us more susceptible to salt deficiency than we would be on a standard diet. If you are involved in hot-weather activities, drink lots of sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade. They are formulated with a balance of electrolytes intended to replenish those lost through vigorous exercise. Thirst is initially a sign of dehydration and by the time you feel thirsty you are already beginning to become dehydrated. By the time you have dry mouth you are seriously in need of liquid refreshment. Your best defense is to sip a little water frequently. Interestingly enough, loss of thirst is also a sign of advanced dehydration. If you have been thirsty and stop being thirsty without consuming any liquids, you are headed toward dangerous dehydration and should seek immediate treatment to avoid serious complications. If you start getting "charlie horses", especially in unexpected places, you need to seek rehydration as soon as possible. Drink a little salt water or dill pickle brine and a glass or two of water. And avoid alcohol and caffeine which accelerate dehydration. Focus on drinking plenty of water or sports drinks. Oh, and watch out for "low calorie" drinks. The artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame, can have serious side affects. Aspartame is said to block the release of lactic acid from muscles, causing them to tire and begin to fatigue and ache more quickly than usual. Add that to heat cramps and you could be in a world of hurt! There is a lot of misinformation being circulated that carbonated drinks contribute to dehydration. This is not true. Caffeinated drinks may contribute to dehydration so avoid colas and so-called "energy" drinks with high caffeine content. Sparkling water, club soda, ginger ale, and other non-caffeinated soft drinks should be OK. However, if you hanker for Coke or Pepsi, the amount of water in each serving will probably offset the diuretic affect of the caffeine. Still, the very best source of hydration is good old water unless you need to replenish your electrolytes. Then sports drinks or ordinary dill pickle juice will boost the chemicals your body needs. Pickle juice is very effective in combating heat cramps, providing almost immediate relief. The action may be part placebo effect, but some of the chemicals are absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the membranes under your tongue. For best results, hold a little pickle juice in your mouth and under your tongue before swallowing to maximize immediate absorption.
As a general rule, summer is camping season, along with moderate portions of the spring and fall. But some parts of the summer in some locations can be TOO hot. At times like that its time to head for the beach or the mountains to get some relief from the heat. Choosing an appropriate destination for the climate and the weather forecast is one of the primary ways of achieving enjoyable warm weather camping. But there are still things to consider to avoid discomfort, heat-related health problems, and potential equipment overheating issues. Unfortunately, sometimes we get extremely hot weather in places we go to escape the heat, so its always good to be prepared.
Heat cramps are one of the painful symptoms of moderate dehydration. The cramps usually occur in the large muscles of the arms and legs some time after vigorous activity, often when you are resting after activities -- or trying to! They are like Charlie Horses on steroids! If you start having heat cramps, drink some salt water or dill pickle juice right away to restore electrolyte balance and boost fluid intake. Consuming additional quantities of sports drinks is also advisable. A glass of salt water or dill pickle juice can provide almost immediate relief from heat cramps. No doubt part of the effect is psychological, but there is a valid physical reason it works so quickly too. Some of the electrolytes are immediately absorbed through the soft tissue under your tongue actually entering your bloodstream to provide relief and begin telling your brain help is on the way. While there are other important minerals your body needs, salt is one of the most important to maintain during hot weather activity. I grew up near a railroad yard where they sorted out box cars and made up trains. There were boxes on posts all around the yard that contained salt tablets for the workers during the summer months. It was said you could get fired by the railroad if you didn't take your salt tablets. Heat cramps are not fun (been there done that, don't want to do it again) but other than being painful they are not usually serious -- unless you fail to get treat your dehydration and let it progress until it gets worse. Heat cramps can bruise your muscles so you will want to treat them as soon as possible to avoid prolonged suffering or, possibly, even permanent damage. The bruised muscles have a tendency to be even more susceptible to additional heat cramps, adding injury to insult. If you don't have any sports drinks, drink plenty of water. Add a teaspoon or two of salt to glass of water now and then to help restore electrolytes, but don't continue drinking salt water or sip it as your primary source of hydration. While you may need salt to combat heat cramps, processing salt water consumes water already in your body and speeds dehydration so don't over do it. Your best bet to avoid dehydration is to sip water or sports drinks frequently throughout the day. Some guidelines suggest drinking a pint of water an hour during strenuous hot weather activities. I like to wear a Camelbak hydration pack while dirt biking so I can drink often, then down several glasses of sports drinks over the next couple of hours when I get back to camp. Sitting in the shade or in an air conditioned RV with a tall, cool, glass of a refreshing beverage is a wonderful respite from the heat and a good way to cool down and restore hydration and electrolytes.
Heat exhaustion is the next level of more serious heat related illnesses. Symptoms include heavy sweating, feeling weak and/or confused, dizziness, nausea, headache, fast heart beat, and dark-colored urine. Get out of the heat as soon as possible. Remove any tight-fitting or unnecessary clothing, cool your skin with water. Drink plenty of water and clear fluids but avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks such as coffee and colas as they make dehydration worse. Be aware you may find caffeine in other than the usual cola drinks. Some brands of Creme Soda and Orange Soda are even caffeinated. Here is a caffeine comparison chart to help you know what to expect. If you don't feel better and start to cool down within 30 minutes, contact a doctor before your condition progresses to heat stroke, which can be fatal. Adults shouldn't consume more than 400 mg of caffiene per day. That's 4 cups of coffee or 10 cans of cola. Energy drinks often contain close to 200 mg per can. Watch your intake to avoid upleasant and unhealthy side effects. Symptoms of too much caffeine include the following:
Heat stroke is a very serious medical condition. If you think you or someone in your group has heat stroke, seek medical attention immediately. While waiting for medical attention, try to cool the victim down as described for heat exhaustion. Warning signs for heat stroke include hot, dry skin, frequent vomiting, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and confusion or loss of consciousness. Failure to get immediate help could result in death! By the time you reach this condition you will no longer sweat (you don't have enough fluid left to produce sweat). That is why the skin is hot and dry. Since you can't sweat, your body can't cool itself and you need external assistance to get your temperature down and your fluids up. Even without external heat, your body will generate enough of its own to kill you if you can't cool down. Get the victim into a cool place, remove tight and unnecessary clothing, give them clear fluids to drink, and apply cool compresses or spray them with a fine mist of water. A light breeze or fan can aid removal of heat and speed cooling. Do NOT plunge them into icy water! The sudden change in temperature can cause extreme cardio-pulmonary reactions that can be harmful and even fatal.
Preventing heat related illnesses. Avoid strenuous activity in hot sun if you can. Stay in an air conditioned environment or in the shade if possible. Schedule vigorous activities for the cooler parts of the day. Drink plenty of water -- at least a cup or so every 15-20 minutes even if you don't feel thirsty. Wear, loose, light clothing that will protect your skin from the sun yet allow heat escape. Cut down on caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, colas) and alcohol. Wear a hat or use an umbrella to keep heat off your head. Wear sunscreen with an SPF factor of 15 or more. Check with your doctor if you have any chronic medical problems that might be exaggerated or otherwise affect how your body responds to heat. That includes the effect of medications you may be taking including over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements as well as prescriptions.
Hot weather activities. We can't always schedule our outings according to the weather so we sometimes have to adapt our daily plans. Avoid long, vigorous activities during the hottest part of the day when you can. If your outing includes water activities, try to interlace them with other activities to cool down between vigorous bouts in the sun. Dress appropriately, in light, loose-fitting clothing that protects your skin from direct sunlight and allows air movement to assist evaporation to keep you cooler. Have a spray bottle handy to cool yourself and/or your companions from time to time. You can get new spray bottles at your local dollar store. If you must re-use an old bottle, be sure to wash it out well before using it. You don't want to spray yourself with cleaning solution! Carry water with you all the time and take frequent sips. Shoot for drinking about a glass of water every hour, more if you're active and sweating a lot. Hydration packs are especially helpful when your activities include OHV or horseback riding but can also be convenient for hiking and other activities. If you don't have a hydration pack, carry a canteen or water bottle. Hot summer afternoons are good times to take naps -- in the shade. Take care not to fall asleep lying in the sun! You may wake up thoroughly cooked! A young couple I knew fell asleep under tanning lamps on their honeymoon and ended up with their front sides lobster red and painful to even the lightest breeze. Definitely NOT a good situation on a honeymoon, or any time else for that matter! Falling asleep in the sun could lead to more than a sunburn. You could become dehydrated to the point of heat stroke without even waking up -- and then you might never wake up!
Keeping cool in your RV. Many modern RVs are equipped with generators and roof air conditioners that can keep our homes on wheels quite comfortable in even the hottest weather. You will want to give your air conditioner all the help you can when the temperatures rise outside. Try to park in the shade if you can. Avoid opening doors or windows any longer than necessary. Place reflective shades in windows to block direct sunlight and help insulate the interior from high external temperatures. Permanently installed reflective film will help keep the heat out without blocking your view. If you have awnings and it isn't windy, use them to help keep sun off the windows and the sides of the vehicle. Some RVs equipped with multiple roof air conditioners don't have enough shore power to run both at the same time when hooked up in a campground. There will usually be a switch that will allow you to choose which A/C to run at any given time. Switch back and forth regularly to keep all parts of your coach cool and comfortable. Some units will allow you to run both A/Cs at the same time using the on-board generator. You can augment the comfort through the use of fans, which can be used to distribute cool air where you want it and to just move air to make you feel more comfortable. If you don't have a roof A/C or don't have a generator to run one when boondocking, you may have to rely on fans for your personal comfort. Lacking an A/C, you may find it more comfortable outside under your awning where there might be a little breeze -- especially if you equip your awning with a mist system. How you dress will also affect your personal comfort. Light, loose clothing is best. Remove hot, heavy riding boots and body armor when you return from a ride. Drink plenty of water and other cool, clear liquids. Use a spray bottle to aid your own perspiration in cooling your body. Even room temperature water is usually cooler than your skin and a sprayed mist begins to evaporate immediately so it feels cool when it hits you and helps you feel cooler right away and then, as it evaporates from your skin continues to cool you. Roof vents, especially fan-powered vents, can expel a lot of heat. Open the vent and then open a few windows part way to allow the rising hot air to exit through the vent and draw in cooler air from outside. I have had excellent luck in my RV with a product called Fantastic Vents. These powered vents use large, 12" fans. Reversible motors allow you to push out hot air or draw in cool air. Some can be used ceiling fans, even with the vent closed, to circulate air inside your RV. T he top of the line models have rain sensors to automatically close the vent if it starts to rain. ome have thermostats so they can shut down automatically when the temperature in your RV drops to your pre-selected level. You can even get remote control kits which are very helpful if you have a high ceiling like you find parts of some fifth wheel trailers. Most RVs come with at least an unpowered roof vent. They fit a 14" square opening. Pretty much every powered roof vent is designed to fit the same opening so replacing an existing vent with a more powerful one is fairly easy. If there is no power to the original vent, you may have to pull wires through from a nearby ceiling light fixture or run wires across the ceiling inside wire covers. Either way, you'll find having a powered roof vent is well worth the installation investment (both time, money, and effort). In "OUT" mode they can help clear your RV of cooking or other offensive odors and help remove steam/vapor from the bathroom as well as dispel heat. When it cools off outside in the evening, you can reverse the fan to draw in cool air.
Keeping cool in a tent. Let's face it. There really is no good way to cool a tent. Double wall tents (those with rain flys) will stay a little cooler than single wall tents whose walls are exposed to direct sunlight. I've seen folks try using a residential window air conditioner powered by a portable generator to cool their tent. It feels pretty good if you're right in front of the cool discharge, but it is going to have a very hard time keeping up with the heat transfer through the thin tent walls so it won't do a very good job of keeping a tent cool for very long. A more energy efficient alternative is the evaporative cooler, but these move so much air they tend to over-inflate the tent, even with windows open, and fill it with moisture, which is not good for the tent fabric nor the contents. More traditional methods that can be used without heavy hardware or expensive generators include setting up your tent in the shade or setting up a shade over your tent (a tarp, dining fly, or EZ-up). Keep windows open on opposite sides of the tent to allow cross-ventilation. Choose the windows to take advantage of prevailing breezes if there are any. You might gain some cooling effect by spraying the window screen on the up-wind side lightly with water, but take care not to over-do it and soak the tent wall, floor or contents. Better to spray yourself directly. It is more effective. Sometimes a damp cloth hung in the window will help cool the incoming breeze. Battery powered fans can be used in tents to improve ventilation and provide a direct breeze on occupants to aid evaporation to speed cooling. Lacking any powered assistance, you can fold a paper plate to other piece of cardboard to make a hand-held fan that can help you move air and improve your comfort level. Once again, dress in loose, light clothing and drink plenty of water. As long as you're inside your tent and out of the sun (and out of sight!) you might get away to stripping down to a bare minimum to keep cool. But remember, it may be cooler sitting outside under trees or a canopy where you can get a little breeze than it is in your tent. I've seen plans for a battery powered tent cooler. It is essentially an ice chest with a fan added to blow air across the melting ice to cool it and eject it into the tent. Might be worth looking into if you will be where you have plenty of ice. Spritzing yourself with water from a spray bottle from time to time is a convenient, refreshing, and inexpensive way of staying cool.
Keeping cool around camp and during activities. Dress appropriately and wear a broad-brimmed hat. Apply sun block to exposed skin. Stay in the shade as much as possible. Spray yourself frequently with a fine mist of water. Drink plenty of liquids. If you aren't in a shady campground take advantage of your RV awning or set up a sunshade or umbrella. Sometimes the breeze of riding an OHV will be sufficient to keep you comfortable when riding in hot weather. If not, dump some water down the front and back of your shirt and wet your hair. Wet hair may create a bad case of "helmet hair" and eventually produce unpleasant odors in your helmet, but if it keeps you from overheating it is a small price to pay. You can comb out your hair and wash out the odors. The pads in most helmets can be removed and washed and any helmet can be freshened using a fabric freshener like Fabreze.
Sleeping through those hot August nights. Sleeping can be difficult when you are too warm. Even in a tent you may need to resort to sleeping under just a sheet or even on top of the covers until things cool down. If you have an air conditioned RV, you won't be able to run the A/C all night unless you're camping in a full service campground and then there might be a curfew for running your A/C. Even if you are boondocking and the noise of the generator wouldn't bother anyone, there is danger of carbon monoxide from the generator exhaust. Try to keep your unit cool throughout the day. Start early in the morning before things heat up. That way fixtures, furniture, and walls won't already be hot when you turn on the A/C. For both RV and tent camping use 12-volt or battery powered fans to move the air and open windows to allow some cross-ventilation to help keep you cool -- after it starts to cool down outside. Keep your spray bottle handy. You may need a spritz now and then to keep cool. Dress lightly. Summer is NOT the time for flannel jammies and bunny slippers! You might be tempted to sleep nude, but if you aren't accustomed to doing so it will probably only ad to your difficult getting to sleep. As you prepare for bed, keep your regular blankets and sleeping bags accessible. Even though it may be too hot to sleep when you go to bed, you could get quite cold before morning. I've seen desert nights in the 40s after daytime temps over 100. It was too hot for any covers at bedtime, then became cool enough for sleeping bags or comforters in the wee hours of the morning.
Be cool!
Hot weather presents specific health hazards we must be aware of and deal with. Most of us do most of our camping in warmer, sunny weather. There is always the issue of sunburn. It is especially intense when we are involved in water sports. The reflection from the water's surface can be as damaging as direct sunlight but we are often unaware of it until it is too late. Be sure to wear sunblock on exposed skin and minimize how much skin is exposed and for how long. Recent studies I've read indicate as a society we have a Vitamin D deficiency, which may be related to the overuse of sunblock. Our skin creates Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, so an appropriate amount is healthy. Overexposure IS dangerous and can lead to cancers as well as the immediate suffering and potential scarring from sunburn. The bottom line is, moderation. You need enough sun for healthy Vitamin D production but you want to avoid sunburn. I can't tell you how much that is for you and timing may well vary depending on cloud cover and latitude as well as your own sensitivity to sunlight. And remember, the ultraviolet light that causes sunburn can penetrate clouds so you might get sunburned even on a cloudy day. Use a "waterproof" sunblock when involved in water sports, but realize that it, too, is eventually diluted or washed away by sweat and exposure to water.
Dressing for hot weather. Obviously you don't want to wear lots of heavy clothing in hot weather, but sometimes more clothing will actually keep you cooler than less. Light, loose, long-sleeved shirts are actually cooler than T-shirts and tank tops, plus they protect your arms against sunburn, dirt, and insects. Consider the dress style of the Nomads who live in the desert. Their robes cover their entire bodies and are loose to allow air to circulate. A broad-brimmed hat helps keep you cool. Keeping the sun off your head and your face adds greatly to your comfort and helps keep body temperature down. If your activity (like OHVs, horseback riding, or hiking) involves wearing boots, take them off between rides to let your feet cool down and the to boots air out. We've found a damp bandanna tied around the neck is a good addition in hot weather. It helps cool the blood as it circulates in your neck and protects the exposed neck against sunburn. I've seen "cooling vests" you can wear. These are usually quilted vests that you soak in water and the evaporation cools your upper body. Some very expensive versions may have tubes that a cool liquid is pumped through but for me they don't seem anywhere near worth the price or the weight of packing them around. And they require battery packs to run the pumps. Sandals and flip-flops are popular footwear for hot weather, but wearing them all too often results in sunburn on the exposed portions of the feet and stripes where the straps are. Better to wear some light weight "sneakers". Sandals and flip-flops also expose the feet to stinging insects and other ground hazards found in many primitive locations, so be cautious. If you are an area where you may encounter poisonous snakes, the protection offered by boots, which may get hot, is well worth the discomfort. Sweaty feet are a lot less of a problem and less deadly than a snake bite!
Dehydration is serious condition and too often people allow themselves to become dehydrated without realizing it. Effects may range from discomfort to death. Dehydration occurs as the body loses water and electrolytes through respiration and perspiration. Hot weather and vigorous activities speed the loss. Perspiration drains necessary minerals, called electrolytes, from the body. Without sufficient electrolytes the body cannot use water and many cellular functions are inhibited. There is a condition (hypnoatremia) sometimes called "water intoxification" that occurs when you're drinking plenty of water but do not have sufficient electrolytes for the body to make use of it. Symptoms of hypnoatremia include nausea and vomiting, headache, confusion, loss of energy and fatigue, restlessness and irritability, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, and even coma. Interestingly enough, these are also symptoms of dehydration. When you think about it, it makes sense. Both are the result of insufficient electrolytes. The bottom line is that just drinking lots of water may not be enough. You need proper electrolytes too. One of the early symptoms of dehydration you will want to watch for is dark colored urine. However, you can have pale urine and still be in trouble if you don't have enough electrolytes. Salt is one of the primary electrolytes lost through perspiration, but there are others your body needs. The current popularity of low sodium diets tends to make us more susceptible to salt deficiency than we would be on a standard diet. If you are involved in hot-weather activities, drink lots of sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade. They are formulated with a balance of electrolytes intended to replenish those lost through vigorous exercise. Thirst is initially a sign of dehydration and by the time you feel thirsty you are already beginning to become dehydrated. By the time you have dry mouth you are seriously in need of liquid refreshment. Your best defense is to sip a little water frequently. Interestingly enough, loss of thirst is also a sign of advanced dehydration. If you have been thirsty and stop being thirsty without consuming any liquids, you are headed toward dangerous dehydration and should seek immediate treatment to avoid serious complications. If you start getting "charlie horses", especially in unexpected places, you need to seek rehydration as soon as possible. Drink a little salt water or dill pickle brine and a glass or two of water. And avoid alcohol and caffeine which accelerate dehydration. Focus on drinking plenty of water or sports drinks. Oh, and watch out for "low calorie" drinks. The artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame, can have serious side affects. Aspartame is said to block the release of lactic acid from muscles, causing them to tire and begin to fatigue and ache more quickly than usual. Add that to heat cramps and you could be in a world of hurt! There is a lot of misinformation being circulated that carbonated drinks contribute to dehydration. This is not true. Caffeinated drinks may contribute to dehydration so avoid colas and so-called "energy" drinks with high caffeine content. Sparkling water, club soda, ginger ale, and other non-caffeinated soft drinks should be OK. However, if you hanker for Coke or Pepsi, the amount of water in each serving will probably offset the diuretic affect of the caffeine. Still, the very best source of hydration is good old water unless you need to replenish your electrolytes. Then sports drinks or ordinary dill pickle juice will boost the chemicals your body needs. Pickle juice is very effective in combating heat cramps, providing almost immediate relief. The action may be part placebo effect, but some of the chemicals are absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the membranes under your tongue. For best results, hold a little pickle juice in your mouth and under your tongue before swallowing to maximize immediate absorption.
As a general rule, summer is camping season, along with moderate portions of the spring and fall. But some parts of the summer in some locations can be TOO hot. At times like that its time to head for the beach or the mountains to get some relief from the heat. Choosing an appropriate destination for the climate and the weather forecast is one of the primary ways of achieving enjoyable warm weather camping. But there are still things to consider to avoid discomfort, heat-related health problems, and potential equipment overheating issues. Unfortunately, sometimes we get extremely hot weather in places we go to escape the heat, so its always good to be prepared.
Heat cramps are one of the painful symptoms of moderate dehydration. The cramps usually occur in the large muscles of the arms and legs some time after vigorous activity, often when you are resting after activities -- or trying to! They are like Charlie Horses on steroids! If you start having heat cramps, drink some salt water or dill pickle juice right away to restore electrolyte balance and boost fluid intake. Consuming additional quantities of sports drinks is also advisable. A glass of salt water or dill pickle juice can provide almost immediate relief from heat cramps. No doubt part of the effect is psychological, but there is a valid physical reason it works so quickly too. Some of the electrolytes are immediately absorbed through the soft tissue under your tongue actually entering your bloodstream to provide relief and begin telling your brain help is on the way. While there are other important minerals your body needs, salt is one of the most important to maintain during hot weather activity. I grew up near a railroad yard where they sorted out box cars and made up trains. There were boxes on posts all around the yard that contained salt tablets for the workers during the summer months. It was said you could get fired by the railroad if you didn't take your salt tablets. Heat cramps are not fun (been there done that, don't want to do it again) but other than being painful they are not usually serious -- unless you fail to get treat your dehydration and let it progress until it gets worse. Heat cramps can bruise your muscles so you will want to treat them as soon as possible to avoid prolonged suffering or, possibly, even permanent damage. The bruised muscles have a tendency to be even more susceptible to additional heat cramps, adding injury to insult. If you don't have any sports drinks, drink plenty of water. Add a teaspoon or two of salt to glass of water now and then to help restore electrolytes, but don't continue drinking salt water or sip it as your primary source of hydration. While you may need salt to combat heat cramps, processing salt water consumes water already in your body and speeds dehydration so don't over do it. Your best bet to avoid dehydration is to sip water or sports drinks frequently throughout the day. Some guidelines suggest drinking a pint of water an hour during strenuous hot weather activities. I like to wear a Camelbak hydration pack while dirt biking so I can drink often, then down several glasses of sports drinks over the next couple of hours when I get back to camp. Sitting in the shade or in an air conditioned RV with a tall, cool, glass of a refreshing beverage is a wonderful respite from the heat and a good way to cool down and restore hydration and electrolytes.
Heat exhaustion is the next level of more serious heat related illnesses. Symptoms include heavy sweating, feeling weak and/or confused, dizziness, nausea, headache, fast heart beat, and dark-colored urine. Get out of the heat as soon as possible. Remove any tight-fitting or unnecessary clothing, cool your skin with water. Drink plenty of water and clear fluids but avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks such as coffee and colas as they make dehydration worse. Be aware you may find caffeine in other than the usual cola drinks. Some brands of Creme Soda and Orange Soda are even caffeinated. Here is a caffeine comparison chart to help you know what to expect. If you don't feel better and start to cool down within 30 minutes, contact a doctor before your condition progresses to heat stroke, which can be fatal. Adults shouldn't consume more than 400 mg of caffiene per day. That's 4 cups of coffee or 10 cans of cola. Energy drinks often contain close to 200 mg per can. Watch your intake to avoid upleasant and unhealthy side effects. Symptoms of too much caffeine include the following:
- Migraine headache
- Insomnia
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Restlessness
- Frequent urination or inability to control urination
- Stomach upset
- Fast heartbeat
- Muscle tremors
Heat stroke is a very serious medical condition. If you think you or someone in your group has heat stroke, seek medical attention immediately. While waiting for medical attention, try to cool the victim down as described for heat exhaustion. Warning signs for heat stroke include hot, dry skin, frequent vomiting, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and confusion or loss of consciousness. Failure to get immediate help could result in death! By the time you reach this condition you will no longer sweat (you don't have enough fluid left to produce sweat). That is why the skin is hot and dry. Since you can't sweat, your body can't cool itself and you need external assistance to get your temperature down and your fluids up. Even without external heat, your body will generate enough of its own to kill you if you can't cool down. Get the victim into a cool place, remove tight and unnecessary clothing, give them clear fluids to drink, and apply cool compresses or spray them with a fine mist of water. A light breeze or fan can aid removal of heat and speed cooling. Do NOT plunge them into icy water! The sudden change in temperature can cause extreme cardio-pulmonary reactions that can be harmful and even fatal.
Preventing heat related illnesses. Avoid strenuous activity in hot sun if you can. Stay in an air conditioned environment or in the shade if possible. Schedule vigorous activities for the cooler parts of the day. Drink plenty of water -- at least a cup or so every 15-20 minutes even if you don't feel thirsty. Wear, loose, light clothing that will protect your skin from the sun yet allow heat escape. Cut down on caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, colas) and alcohol. Wear a hat or use an umbrella to keep heat off your head. Wear sunscreen with an SPF factor of 15 or more. Check with your doctor if you have any chronic medical problems that might be exaggerated or otherwise affect how your body responds to heat. That includes the effect of medications you may be taking including over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements as well as prescriptions.
Hot weather activities. We can't always schedule our outings according to the weather so we sometimes have to adapt our daily plans. Avoid long, vigorous activities during the hottest part of the day when you can. If your outing includes water activities, try to interlace them with other activities to cool down between vigorous bouts in the sun. Dress appropriately, in light, loose-fitting clothing that protects your skin from direct sunlight and allows air movement to assist evaporation to keep you cooler. Have a spray bottle handy to cool yourself and/or your companions from time to time. You can get new spray bottles at your local dollar store. If you must re-use an old bottle, be sure to wash it out well before using it. You don't want to spray yourself with cleaning solution! Carry water with you all the time and take frequent sips. Shoot for drinking about a glass of water every hour, more if you're active and sweating a lot. Hydration packs are especially helpful when your activities include OHV or horseback riding but can also be convenient for hiking and other activities. If you don't have a hydration pack, carry a canteen or water bottle. Hot summer afternoons are good times to take naps -- in the shade. Take care not to fall asleep lying in the sun! You may wake up thoroughly cooked! A young couple I knew fell asleep under tanning lamps on their honeymoon and ended up with their front sides lobster red and painful to even the lightest breeze. Definitely NOT a good situation on a honeymoon, or any time else for that matter! Falling asleep in the sun could lead to more than a sunburn. You could become dehydrated to the point of heat stroke without even waking up -- and then you might never wake up!
Keeping cool in your RV. Many modern RVs are equipped with generators and roof air conditioners that can keep our homes on wheels quite comfortable in even the hottest weather. You will want to give your air conditioner all the help you can when the temperatures rise outside. Try to park in the shade if you can. Avoid opening doors or windows any longer than necessary. Place reflective shades in windows to block direct sunlight and help insulate the interior from high external temperatures. Permanently installed reflective film will help keep the heat out without blocking your view. If you have awnings and it isn't windy, use them to help keep sun off the windows and the sides of the vehicle. Some RVs equipped with multiple roof air conditioners don't have enough shore power to run both at the same time when hooked up in a campground. There will usually be a switch that will allow you to choose which A/C to run at any given time. Switch back and forth regularly to keep all parts of your coach cool and comfortable. Some units will allow you to run both A/Cs at the same time using the on-board generator. You can augment the comfort through the use of fans, which can be used to distribute cool air where you want it and to just move air to make you feel more comfortable. If you don't have a roof A/C or don't have a generator to run one when boondocking, you may have to rely on fans for your personal comfort. Lacking an A/C, you may find it more comfortable outside under your awning where there might be a little breeze -- especially if you equip your awning with a mist system. How you dress will also affect your personal comfort. Light, loose clothing is best. Remove hot, heavy riding boots and body armor when you return from a ride. Drink plenty of water and other cool, clear liquids. Use a spray bottle to aid your own perspiration in cooling your body. Even room temperature water is usually cooler than your skin and a sprayed mist begins to evaporate immediately so it feels cool when it hits you and helps you feel cooler right away and then, as it evaporates from your skin continues to cool you. Roof vents, especially fan-powered vents, can expel a lot of heat. Open the vent and then open a few windows part way to allow the rising hot air to exit through the vent and draw in cooler air from outside. I have had excellent luck in my RV with a product called Fantastic Vents. These powered vents use large, 12" fans. Reversible motors allow you to push out hot air or draw in cool air. Some can be used ceiling fans, even with the vent closed, to circulate air inside your RV. T he top of the line models have rain sensors to automatically close the vent if it starts to rain. ome have thermostats so they can shut down automatically when the temperature in your RV drops to your pre-selected level. You can even get remote control kits which are very helpful if you have a high ceiling like you find parts of some fifth wheel trailers. Most RVs come with at least an unpowered roof vent. They fit a 14" square opening. Pretty much every powered roof vent is designed to fit the same opening so replacing an existing vent with a more powerful one is fairly easy. If there is no power to the original vent, you may have to pull wires through from a nearby ceiling light fixture or run wires across the ceiling inside wire covers. Either way, you'll find having a powered roof vent is well worth the installation investment (both time, money, and effort). In "OUT" mode they can help clear your RV of cooking or other offensive odors and help remove steam/vapor from the bathroom as well as dispel heat. When it cools off outside in the evening, you can reverse the fan to draw in cool air.
Keeping cool in a tent. Let's face it. There really is no good way to cool a tent. Double wall tents (those with rain flys) will stay a little cooler than single wall tents whose walls are exposed to direct sunlight. I've seen folks try using a residential window air conditioner powered by a portable generator to cool their tent. It feels pretty good if you're right in front of the cool discharge, but it is going to have a very hard time keeping up with the heat transfer through the thin tent walls so it won't do a very good job of keeping a tent cool for very long. A more energy efficient alternative is the evaporative cooler, but these move so much air they tend to over-inflate the tent, even with windows open, and fill it with moisture, which is not good for the tent fabric nor the contents. More traditional methods that can be used without heavy hardware or expensive generators include setting up your tent in the shade or setting up a shade over your tent (a tarp, dining fly, or EZ-up). Keep windows open on opposite sides of the tent to allow cross-ventilation. Choose the windows to take advantage of prevailing breezes if there are any. You might gain some cooling effect by spraying the window screen on the up-wind side lightly with water, but take care not to over-do it and soak the tent wall, floor or contents. Better to spray yourself directly. It is more effective. Sometimes a damp cloth hung in the window will help cool the incoming breeze. Battery powered fans can be used in tents to improve ventilation and provide a direct breeze on occupants to aid evaporation to speed cooling. Lacking any powered assistance, you can fold a paper plate to other piece of cardboard to make a hand-held fan that can help you move air and improve your comfort level. Once again, dress in loose, light clothing and drink plenty of water. As long as you're inside your tent and out of the sun (and out of sight!) you might get away to stripping down to a bare minimum to keep cool. But remember, it may be cooler sitting outside under trees or a canopy where you can get a little breeze than it is in your tent. I've seen plans for a battery powered tent cooler. It is essentially an ice chest with a fan added to blow air across the melting ice to cool it and eject it into the tent. Might be worth looking into if you will be where you have plenty of ice. Spritzing yourself with water from a spray bottle from time to time is a convenient, refreshing, and inexpensive way of staying cool.
Keeping cool around camp and during activities. Dress appropriately and wear a broad-brimmed hat. Apply sun block to exposed skin. Stay in the shade as much as possible. Spray yourself frequently with a fine mist of water. Drink plenty of liquids. If you aren't in a shady campground take advantage of your RV awning or set up a sunshade or umbrella. Sometimes the breeze of riding an OHV will be sufficient to keep you comfortable when riding in hot weather. If not, dump some water down the front and back of your shirt and wet your hair. Wet hair may create a bad case of "helmet hair" and eventually produce unpleasant odors in your helmet, but if it keeps you from overheating it is a small price to pay. You can comb out your hair and wash out the odors. The pads in most helmets can be removed and washed and any helmet can be freshened using a fabric freshener like Fabreze.
Sleeping through those hot August nights. Sleeping can be difficult when you are too warm. Even in a tent you may need to resort to sleeping under just a sheet or even on top of the covers until things cool down. If you have an air conditioned RV, you won't be able to run the A/C all night unless you're camping in a full service campground and then there might be a curfew for running your A/C. Even if you are boondocking and the noise of the generator wouldn't bother anyone, there is danger of carbon monoxide from the generator exhaust. Try to keep your unit cool throughout the day. Start early in the morning before things heat up. That way fixtures, furniture, and walls won't already be hot when you turn on the A/C. For both RV and tent camping use 12-volt or battery powered fans to move the air and open windows to allow some cross-ventilation to help keep you cool -- after it starts to cool down outside. Keep your spray bottle handy. You may need a spritz now and then to keep cool. Dress lightly. Summer is NOT the time for flannel jammies and bunny slippers! You might be tempted to sleep nude, but if you aren't accustomed to doing so it will probably only ad to your difficult getting to sleep. As you prepare for bed, keep your regular blankets and sleeping bags accessible. Even though it may be too hot to sleep when you go to bed, you could get quite cold before morning. I've seen desert nights in the 40s after daytime temps over 100. It was too hot for any covers at bedtime, then became cool enough for sleeping bags or comforters in the wee hours of the morning.
Be cool!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Mid-week Camping
Mid-week camping isn't an option for everyone. Most of us are stuck in the Monday-Friday grind. Its too bad that making a living gets in the way of living. But if you're retired, independently wealthy, or can take some time off during the week now and then, you may be able to enjoy relatively light traffic and short lines for activities. However, you may still need reservations for developed camp grounds and scheduled events. If you can get away during the week you may be pleasantly surprised at how serene your favorite camp site is without the hustle and hassle of the weekend crush. Beginning a week-end outing mid-week can avoid traffic and sometimes secure you a better camp site. We often went out on Tuesday before Thanksgiving to reserve our group camping area in a BLM staging area in the Mojave Desert for our annual "Turkey In The Dirt" Thanksgiving ride. By Thursday the once deserted desert had sprouted enough motorhomes and trailers to look like a small city. Of course, if you prefer the social atmosphere of being with lots of people, mid-week camping might not be your cup of tea.
Preparation for mid-week camping isn't much different from preparing for any other outing, except you probably don't have to allow extra time for holiday traffic and long check-in lines. Do call ahead to make sure any special attractions you want to see are going to be open. Not all venues are open during the week, especially in their off season. If you enjoy the excitement of crowds, stick to holiday weekends. But if you'd like a little peace and quiet, make a few mid-week trips. You may find camp stores that are only open on weekends or have limited hours during the week so it is a good idea to find out in advance so you don't rely on being able to buy anything you need any time.
You may find limited access to some resources, such as park rangers or law enforcement during weekday outings to remote areas and some concessions might be closed. If you are boondocking, you will really need to be able to count completely on what you bring with you, so make sure you are prepared. You may find yourself alone at campgrounds, which can be both a blessing and a curse. If you like solitude, you'll be in good shape but if you're more socially minded you might find it a little lonely. Some folks feel a little vulnerable when boondocking alone. If you happen to be in that group you might want to coordinate your outings with some friends or prepare some extra security measures to ensure your comfort level.
You will probably find road traffic lighter going to and from your camp ground, fewer campers when you arrive (giving you a better selection of camp sites), and fewer people on the trails, lakes, and streams. Local shopping will probably be less crowded. On rare occasions you may find some campgrounds that are only open weekends, so it is good to call ahead or check the camp ground's web site. Seasonal closures are quite common and some places may "ease into" the off season with restricted availability.
Enjoy the serenity!
Preparation for mid-week camping isn't much different from preparing for any other outing, except you probably don't have to allow extra time for holiday traffic and long check-in lines. Do call ahead to make sure any special attractions you want to see are going to be open. Not all venues are open during the week, especially in their off season. If you enjoy the excitement of crowds, stick to holiday weekends. But if you'd like a little peace and quiet, make a few mid-week trips. You may find camp stores that are only open on weekends or have limited hours during the week so it is a good idea to find out in advance so you don't rely on being able to buy anything you need any time.
You may find limited access to some resources, such as park rangers or law enforcement during weekday outings to remote areas and some concessions might be closed. If you are boondocking, you will really need to be able to count completely on what you bring with you, so make sure you are prepared. You may find yourself alone at campgrounds, which can be both a blessing and a curse. If you like solitude, you'll be in good shape but if you're more socially minded you might find it a little lonely. Some folks feel a little vulnerable when boondocking alone. If you happen to be in that group you might want to coordinate your outings with some friends or prepare some extra security measures to ensure your comfort level.
You will probably find road traffic lighter going to and from your camp ground, fewer campers when you arrive (giving you a better selection of camp sites), and fewer people on the trails, lakes, and streams. Local shopping will probably be less crowded. On rare occasions you may find some campgrounds that are only open weekends, so it is good to call ahead or check the camp ground's web site. Seasonal closures are quite common and some places may "ease into" the off season with restricted availability.
Enjoy the serenity!
Holiday Camping
OK, so what's so special about holiday camping? How is it different from weekend camping? Well, if you've every tried it, you'll know. If you haven't it might be useful to learn a little about it before you plunge into so something that might be frustrating and disappointing. Holiday weekends are great opportunities to get away for an extra day or two and MANY people take advantage of the extra time. Holidays are a good opportunity for themed outings. Advance reservations are usually a must for any developed campground and it would be a good idea to check with the land managers (i.e, rangers) regarding the likely availability of remote boondocking locations. For most of the years our kids were growing up we spent almost very holiday weekend camping and dirt biking. Most of the time was divided among several favorite open camping/riding areas in the Mojave Desert, but when summer heat got to be a bit too much we'd sometimes head to Forest Service campgrounds in the mountains. If you're planning on boondocking you can hedge your bet by arriving a day or so early, if possible, to secure your preferred camp site.
Holiday weekends are a good time to go camping. And, because they are, you're going to find lots of competition out there. If you want a spot in a popular campground on a holiday weekend you will have to make reservations early -- perhaps as much as a year early! If you're just boondocking, you'll want to try to arrive early to pick out the best spot. And keep in mind holiday traffic as you plan your trip. It is likely to take a lot longer than usual to get there and back. You may also have to do some advance planning for fuel and provisions. If you wait until the last minute you may find propane and other supplies sold out or at least have long lines. And you may risk inflated prices around holidays. Memorial Day typically marks the beginning of the summer camping season and Labor Day the end. You may find premium prices on supplies and camping on these busy weekends or on any holiday weekend or in the days leading up to them.
Advance planning and preparation is the key to a successful holiday weekend of camping. Know your routes and traffic patterns. Leave extra time for going and returning home and try to plan your trips outside of potential rush hours -- and remember, rush hour for a holiday weekend is probably going to be late evening of the day before and the last day of the holiday period. Purchase your provisions ahead of time. If your destination campground or any activities require reservations, get them way in advance. Check out the weather forecast and learn what you can about historical weather patterns for the location and time of year. Then plan your wardrobe, menu, and activities accordingly. Even with careful planning you can get surprised. We got snow on a couple of our Thanksgiving "Turkey In The Dirt" dirt bike outings even though normally the weather in southern California was pretty mild.
Getting caught in holiday traffic is almost a given, sooner or later. So plan for it. See if there are any attractions you can pull over and enjoy instead of sitting in traffic for hours. Maybe just spend some time in a rest stop -- fix a snack and stretch your legs. I once encountered holiday traffic on southern California freeways that was so bad we got off and had dinner and when we got back on the freeway we pulled right back in behind the same truck we'd been behind before we got off for dinner! He'd only moved from the start of the exit ramp to where the on ramp merged on the other side of the road. The traffic was that slow. Believe me, that was time well spent!
Camp ground congestion. On busy holiday weekends you are likely to encounter congestion in your camp ground, including both vehicles and foot traffic. Any activities, even check in/check out, using the restroom, and shopping at the camp store may be crowded. Amenities like swimming pools, hot tubs, tennis courts, etc may be crowded any may require advance reservations. Allow extra time as needed and plan some alternate activities in case your first choice is all booked up. With proper advance planning you can avoid at least some of those long lines.
Planning a holiday camping trip. If possible, arrange your schedule so you can leave before the outgoing holiday rush and get back before the rest of the thundering herd. For a typical 3-day weekend, I like to try to take an extra day and plan my departure for Thursday instead of Friday night or Saturday if I can. Then I try to leave early enough on Monday to get through the worst traffic before it gets too bad -- or, if I have some extra time, stay over until Tuesday morning. Most of our outings included dirt biking so our destinations were predominantly remote, primitive sites. Arriving a day ahead of the crowd allowed us to pick premier sites and stake out our territory without much competition.
If your preferred destination is booked or already occupied, consider exploring alternatives. You may just find a new favorite! If you usually stay in developed camp grounds, you might want to try a weekend or two boondocking in a remote, primitive area. Just be sure to bring enough supplies, especially water and firewood since there won't be any camp store to make up for your deficiencies.
Themed outings. It can add a lot of fun to do a themed outing that is relevant to the holiday. If you're doing a Thanksgiving outing, ask each family to find out and share something about how and when their ancestors immigrated to where you now live. If you can't find anything about your own ancestors, bring along some good stories about historical figures. There is tons of information available on the Internet. Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Veteran's Day are all good opportunities for patriotic tales and activities. Did you or someone in your family serve in the military? Share their stories. It might be fun to see if you can get your hands on some authentic "C" rations for one meal and experience what it was like the field "back in the day". Labor Day these day is mostly just an excuse to take off work and simply take off. I suspect the younger people in your group may be surprised to learn its origins. One of my favorite Labor Day anecdotes came from the Sunday funnies when I was a kid. The strip showed frame after frame of the dad in one of the family funnies raking leaves, cleaning gutters, repairing screens, putting up storm windows, storing lawn furniture, etc. At the end he sat down exhausted and quipped "Now I know why the call it 'Labor' Day!". Some places, especially in the western states celebrate "Pioneer Day", which instantly presents a whole set of themed activities, including square dancing, kids outdoor games, and pioneer cuisine. Valentine's Day isn't a national holiday but it may still be a good excuse for a romantic getaway. Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays have been combined into the national "President's Day" holiday. A good time to do focus on a little history. It is especially fun if you can track down some little-known, amusing anecdotes to share with the group. I like the story of a boy who confessed to tipping over the family outhouse as a Halloween prank, after which his father gave him a good spanking. When he complained that George Washington's father didn't spank him when he confessed to cutting down the cherry tree, the father replied "George Washington's father wasn't IN the cherry tree!" ith a little thought you can make any holiday outing into both an educational and entertaining experience that is fun for everyone.
Christmas camping. Christmas is an unusual time to go camping for must people, but you may find your self on an outing or visiting family in your RV at Christmas. No reason not to enjoy the season. Unless you have multiple slide outs you probably won't have room for a full size Christmas tree, but you can probably fit in a small, artificial tree somewhere. Other holiday decorations and lights can be used to "deck the halls" and you can fill your RV with Christmas music, not to mention Christmas cuisine. In the unlikely event you find yourself tent camping at Christmas, it may a be a good time to create a "Christmas of times past" and make use of natural decorations. Battery powered LED Christmas lights make festive options for either your RV or your tent. And don't miss the opportunity of singing Christmas carols around the campfire. In any case, the focus on the real meaning of Christmas and on the importance of family does not need to be diminished in any way by celebrating it in camp. And tell the kids not to worry. Santa can still find them at camp! And dropping in on a campfire is a lot easier than sliding down a chimney!
New Years' Day has a long tradition of football on TV. Given the availability of satellite services and portable TVs these days, there is no reason you can't enjoy two of your favorite past times at the same time: camping and football. Hey, it might even be an innovative experience to invite your regular football buddies to celebrate in camp instead of at home for a change. I'm sure it would be a unique activity for most of them. Tailgating at sports events is sort of like camping too.
Happy holidays!
Holiday weekends are a good time to go camping. And, because they are, you're going to find lots of competition out there. If you want a spot in a popular campground on a holiday weekend you will have to make reservations early -- perhaps as much as a year early! If you're just boondocking, you'll want to try to arrive early to pick out the best spot. And keep in mind holiday traffic as you plan your trip. It is likely to take a lot longer than usual to get there and back. You may also have to do some advance planning for fuel and provisions. If you wait until the last minute you may find propane and other supplies sold out or at least have long lines. And you may risk inflated prices around holidays. Memorial Day typically marks the beginning of the summer camping season and Labor Day the end. You may find premium prices on supplies and camping on these busy weekends or on any holiday weekend or in the days leading up to them.
Advance planning and preparation is the key to a successful holiday weekend of camping. Know your routes and traffic patterns. Leave extra time for going and returning home and try to plan your trips outside of potential rush hours -- and remember, rush hour for a holiday weekend is probably going to be late evening of the day before and the last day of the holiday period. Purchase your provisions ahead of time. If your destination campground or any activities require reservations, get them way in advance. Check out the weather forecast and learn what you can about historical weather patterns for the location and time of year. Then plan your wardrobe, menu, and activities accordingly. Even with careful planning you can get surprised. We got snow on a couple of our Thanksgiving "Turkey In The Dirt" dirt bike outings even though normally the weather in southern California was pretty mild.
Getting caught in holiday traffic is almost a given, sooner or later. So plan for it. See if there are any attractions you can pull over and enjoy instead of sitting in traffic for hours. Maybe just spend some time in a rest stop -- fix a snack and stretch your legs. I once encountered holiday traffic on southern California freeways that was so bad we got off and had dinner and when we got back on the freeway we pulled right back in behind the same truck we'd been behind before we got off for dinner! He'd only moved from the start of the exit ramp to where the on ramp merged on the other side of the road. The traffic was that slow. Believe me, that was time well spent!
Camp ground congestion. On busy holiday weekends you are likely to encounter congestion in your camp ground, including both vehicles and foot traffic. Any activities, even check in/check out, using the restroom, and shopping at the camp store may be crowded. Amenities like swimming pools, hot tubs, tennis courts, etc may be crowded any may require advance reservations. Allow extra time as needed and plan some alternate activities in case your first choice is all booked up. With proper advance planning you can avoid at least some of those long lines.
Planning a holiday camping trip. If possible, arrange your schedule so you can leave before the outgoing holiday rush and get back before the rest of the thundering herd. For a typical 3-day weekend, I like to try to take an extra day and plan my departure for Thursday instead of Friday night or Saturday if I can. Then I try to leave early enough on Monday to get through the worst traffic before it gets too bad -- or, if I have some extra time, stay over until Tuesday morning. Most of our outings included dirt biking so our destinations were predominantly remote, primitive sites. Arriving a day ahead of the crowd allowed us to pick premier sites and stake out our territory without much competition.
If your preferred destination is booked or already occupied, consider exploring alternatives. You may just find a new favorite! If you usually stay in developed camp grounds, you might want to try a weekend or two boondocking in a remote, primitive area. Just be sure to bring enough supplies, especially water and firewood since there won't be any camp store to make up for your deficiencies.
Themed outings. It can add a lot of fun to do a themed outing that is relevant to the holiday. If you're doing a Thanksgiving outing, ask each family to find out and share something about how and when their ancestors immigrated to where you now live. If you can't find anything about your own ancestors, bring along some good stories about historical figures. There is tons of information available on the Internet. Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Veteran's Day are all good opportunities for patriotic tales and activities. Did you or someone in your family serve in the military? Share their stories. It might be fun to see if you can get your hands on some authentic "C" rations for one meal and experience what it was like the field "back in the day". Labor Day these day is mostly just an excuse to take off work and simply take off. I suspect the younger people in your group may be surprised to learn its origins. One of my favorite Labor Day anecdotes came from the Sunday funnies when I was a kid. The strip showed frame after frame of the dad in one of the family funnies raking leaves, cleaning gutters, repairing screens, putting up storm windows, storing lawn furniture, etc. At the end he sat down exhausted and quipped "Now I know why the call it 'Labor' Day!". Some places, especially in the western states celebrate "Pioneer Day", which instantly presents a whole set of themed activities, including square dancing, kids outdoor games, and pioneer cuisine. Valentine's Day isn't a national holiday but it may still be a good excuse for a romantic getaway. Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays have been combined into the national "President's Day" holiday. A good time to do focus on a little history. It is especially fun if you can track down some little-known, amusing anecdotes to share with the group. I like the story of a boy who confessed to tipping over the family outhouse as a Halloween prank, after which his father gave him a good spanking. When he complained that George Washington's father didn't spank him when he confessed to cutting down the cherry tree, the father replied "George Washington's father wasn't IN the cherry tree!" ith a little thought you can make any holiday outing into both an educational and entertaining experience that is fun for everyone.
Christmas camping. Christmas is an unusual time to go camping for must people, but you may find your self on an outing or visiting family in your RV at Christmas. No reason not to enjoy the season. Unless you have multiple slide outs you probably won't have room for a full size Christmas tree, but you can probably fit in a small, artificial tree somewhere. Other holiday decorations and lights can be used to "deck the halls" and you can fill your RV with Christmas music, not to mention Christmas cuisine. In the unlikely event you find yourself tent camping at Christmas, it may a be a good time to create a "Christmas of times past" and make use of natural decorations. Battery powered LED Christmas lights make festive options for either your RV or your tent. And don't miss the opportunity of singing Christmas carols around the campfire. In any case, the focus on the real meaning of Christmas and on the importance of family does not need to be diminished in any way by celebrating it in camp. And tell the kids not to worry. Santa can still find them at camp! And dropping in on a campfire is a lot easier than sliding down a chimney!
New Years' Day has a long tradition of football on TV. Given the availability of satellite services and portable TVs these days, there is no reason you can't enjoy two of your favorite past times at the same time: camping and football. Hey, it might even be an innovative experience to invite your regular football buddies to celebrate in camp instead of at home for a change. I'm sure it would be a unique activity for most of them. Tailgating at sports events is sort of like camping too.
Happy holidays!
Weekend Camping
Most camping trips take place on weekends because most of us have to work for a living and don't often have time off during the week. I like to have everything ready so I can get away on Friday night as soon as I get home from work so I don't waste part of my valuable weekend time just packing up and getting there. That means advance planning and preparation. Make sure your RV or tent and all equipment is in good repair. Fresh water tanks or jugs and fuel need to be topped off, holding tanks empty. If you're using an RV, turn on the fridge a day or two before departure so it starts off nice and cold. re-cool all items that will go into an ice chest or an RV fridge. When possible, you might try to take an extra day off to get a head start on the weekend. You may find traffic lighter and may encounter less congestion or competition for camp sites.
Obviously you won't be the only ones visiting your favorite spots on any given weekend so make your reservations early and plan for traffic and congestion. Without reservations you may be turned away and have to drive a lot farther than you planned to find a place to stay. The earlier you can get away, the less traffic you'll usually encounter and the better chance you'll have of finding a nice selection of camp sites when you arrive. Late arrival may mean you may be stuck next to a high traffic area or a smelly restroom or a long way from useful facilities, none of which contributes to a restful and enjoyable weekend. Or, if you didn't have reservations, you may have to keep driving for many more miles and many more hours before you find a place to stay. If you're going boondocking, getting there early helps ensure you will have the best choice of spots. We often went on on Tuesday before Thanksgiving to stake out our Desert Rat site for our annual Turkey In The Dirt.
When it comes to departure time, you will have to decide whether it is better to get away a little early to avoid traffic on the way home or squeeze in a little more time with your activities. Giving up that last hour in camp or hanging around until traffic thins out may cut two or three hours off your return driving time. Often you can enjoy more time in camp and still get home about the same time by avoiding traveling during rush hour. Or even hang around an extra day and really beat the traffic if you can!
Weekend destinations should be fairly close to home. You can't afford to spend more than a few hours driving in each direction. The less time you spend on the road, the more time you can spend camping and relaxing. It is a good idea to develop a list and explore nearby camping opportunities so you have alternatives if weather, road construction, or traffic accidents impede access to your preferred sites. You don't have to go that far to "get away from it all" if you plan it right.
TGIF!
Obviously you won't be the only ones visiting your favorite spots on any given weekend so make your reservations early and plan for traffic and congestion. Without reservations you may be turned away and have to drive a lot farther than you planned to find a place to stay. The earlier you can get away, the less traffic you'll usually encounter and the better chance you'll have of finding a nice selection of camp sites when you arrive. Late arrival may mean you may be stuck next to a high traffic area or a smelly restroom or a long way from useful facilities, none of which contributes to a restful and enjoyable weekend. Or, if you didn't have reservations, you may have to keep driving for many more miles and many more hours before you find a place to stay. If you're going boondocking, getting there early helps ensure you will have the best choice of spots. We often went on on Tuesday before Thanksgiving to stake out our Desert Rat site for our annual Turkey In The Dirt.
When it comes to departure time, you will have to decide whether it is better to get away a little early to avoid traffic on the way home or squeeze in a little more time with your activities. Giving up that last hour in camp or hanging around until traffic thins out may cut two or three hours off your return driving time. Often you can enjoy more time in camp and still get home about the same time by avoiding traveling during rush hour. Or even hang around an extra day and really beat the traffic if you can!
Weekend destinations should be fairly close to home. You can't afford to spend more than a few hours driving in each direction. The less time you spend on the road, the more time you can spend camping and relaxing. It is a good idea to develop a list and explore nearby camping opportunities so you have alternatives if weather, road construction, or traffic accidents impede access to your preferred sites. You don't have to go that far to "get away from it all" if you plan it right.
TGIF!
Urban and Suburban Camping
Urban Camping or even Suburban Camping sounds like some sort of oxymoron, yet some people find it appealing. A familiar version of urban camping is the "tailgate party", where you gather with your family and/or friends in the parking lot of a sporting event for refreshments, usually before and sometimes after the game. Sometimes folks will stay in their RVs and watch the game on TV since camera coverage is often better than what you can see from the stands. Sometimes you can arrive early and camp overnight to get a good spot. Such activities are strictly regulated by the owners of the facilities and local ordinances, so don't assume you can just set up camp in any parking lot. Check with the facility staff beforehand. Most places allow pre-game tailgate parties but over-night camping is often prohibited. You might "tailgate" out of the back of your SUV, pickup or station wagon, or, for more comfort and convenience, use an RV. There may be fire and alcohol restrictions, so be sure to check the rules. Breaking the rules can produce a quick exit with a police escort and impounding of your vehicle!
Developed Campgrounds are sometimes located in urban or at least suburban areas. Staying in a commercial campground usually offers amenities you may not find in primitive forest, beach, or desert locations. Some can be pretty fancy resorts, with lots of luxury services. Commercial campgrounds usually have a camp store where you can purchase basic provisions and camping supplies. Many have hot showers and full restrooms. Most will have a picnic table and fire pit at each site. Some have club houses with various indoor and outdoor games. In some locations there are urban campgrounds located near popular attractions such as theme parks, museums, stadiums, and theaters, so they make appealing base camps for a variety of activities. These locations are typically booked far in advance, so don't plan on dropping in and getting a spot. There is usually pretty good access to shopping fairly close to many urban or suburban campgrounds, making it easy to stock up on forgotten or depleted supplies.
Walmart camping. Have you ever noticed the plethora of RVs in the Walmart parking lot? That is because Walmart has a reputation as being RV friendly. I've even seen Walmart billboards that show a travel trailer connected to a shopping cart. However, not all Walmarts permit over night parking. Call the store or stop in and chat with a manager to be sure. Camping may be restricted by local ordinances or at the discretion of the manager. Don't just assume because there are some rigs in the parking lot that over night parking is allowed. They may only have stopped to do some shopping. A Walmart parking lot can be a safe refuge for a fatigued driver to pull over and get some much-needed rest. If you find yourself in that situation, be a good camper. Park away from the store entrance so you don't inconvenience others shoppers and take up as few parking spaces as possible. If there are already other RVs in the lot, park fairly close to them so you don't monopolize customer parking spaces. Make sure you keep the area around your vehicle clean and free from spilled sewage. And patronize the store -- you can buy almost anything you need at Walmart. If you don't have any immediate needs, take inventory of your provisions and stock up on things you may be running low on. Most Walmart stores have a fairly good stock of common RV supplies. It will make the rest of your trip more convenient and it will help encourage Walmart to continue their RV friendly attitude. You can almost always be sure Walmart prices will be lower than you'll find in campgrounds and remote communities. Minimize the use of your generator and don't run your outside entertainment systems at loud volumes. And don't overstay your welcome. Overnight is usually OK. A day or two might be OK if you're having mechanical or medical problems. For anything else, find a campground. The Walmart manager may not complain, but local businesses and residents may and you may invite a visit from local law enforcement. Restrictions may be imposed by local ordinances so don't blame Walmart or the manager if you can't stay as long as you want in a particular location.
Some other businesses, such as Cracker Barrel Restaurants, also cater to RVers. However, it isn't acceptable in all places so it is a good idea to call ahead or stop by and ask the manager's permission before settling in for the night. In some places local ordinances prohibit any overnight parking. In others the specific establishment might have a no overnight parking policy for reasons that are very valid. Many, but not all, Cracker Barrel restaurants have designated 40' parking spaces for RVs and trucks. However overnight parking may not always be permitted even where there are long spaces for large vehicles.
Visiting friends and relatives. One nice thing about having an RV is it gives you a familiar and comfortable place to stay when visiting friends and relatives. Just be aware of the impact your over-size vehicle may have on local traffic and make sure you comply with local ordinances. Many cities have laws prohibiting or restricting parking RVs on the street or even on private property. Some places have a limit on how many days an RV can be parked on the street so find out BEFORE you get ticketed or towed! Most places I'm aware of allow at least 2-3 days of RV parking in residential areas, so long as they don't create a traffic hazard. If it is legal, be considerate of the neighbors. Avoid running your generator or vehicle engine when it would disturb them or turning on lights that might be offensive. If you run power make sure the cord doesn't pose a tripping hazard for pedestrians, And, of course, keep any audio systems at a reasonable level. That's reasonable to your neighbors, not to you!
Rest areas. Many freeway rest areas prohibit overnight camping, but most will still accommodate you stopping to get a few hours rest. Some have areas designated specifically for RVs. If not, you should park with the truckers. Avoid taking up a bunch of regular car parking places just to get closer to the restrooms or picnic tables and NEVER block any roadways, driveways, or gates. Don't drag out a bunch of camping gear and set up camp. Keep it contained and you shouldn't get any negative feedback from local law enforcement. In fact, most of them will be glad you're taking time to get some needed rest instead of pushing on and creating a traffic hazard.
Backyard or driveway camping. Sometimes you may find it useful to camp in your own yard. It is a good way to try out new equipment and to get used to a camping environment if you're new to the sport. Setting up or even parking your RV in your own driveway may be restricted by local laws or CCRs for your property, so be sure to check that out before doing it. Setting up your tent in your back yard is a good way to become familiar with how to do it and to get used to sleeping in a tent so you'll be comfortable when you do "really" go camping.
If you live in a high density urban area your options may be more limited. High rise apartments seldom have places you can set up a tent or park an RV. In some communities there may be city parks you can use, but camping is usually not allowed in city parks. You may be able practice setting up your tent in your living room or in the parking lot and, if you have a balcony or patio you may be able to try out your camp stove or BBQ. Just be sure to check with your manager first. You don't want someone calling the fire department because of your campstove or BBQ!
Be sensible!
Developed Campgrounds are sometimes located in urban or at least suburban areas. Staying in a commercial campground usually offers amenities you may not find in primitive forest, beach, or desert locations. Some can be pretty fancy resorts, with lots of luxury services. Commercial campgrounds usually have a camp store where you can purchase basic provisions and camping supplies. Many have hot showers and full restrooms. Most will have a picnic table and fire pit at each site. Some have club houses with various indoor and outdoor games. In some locations there are urban campgrounds located near popular attractions such as theme parks, museums, stadiums, and theaters, so they make appealing base camps for a variety of activities. These locations are typically booked far in advance, so don't plan on dropping in and getting a spot. There is usually pretty good access to shopping fairly close to many urban or suburban campgrounds, making it easy to stock up on forgotten or depleted supplies.
Walmart camping. Have you ever noticed the plethora of RVs in the Walmart parking lot? That is because Walmart has a reputation as being RV friendly. I've even seen Walmart billboards that show a travel trailer connected to a shopping cart. However, not all Walmarts permit over night parking. Call the store or stop in and chat with a manager to be sure. Camping may be restricted by local ordinances or at the discretion of the manager. Don't just assume because there are some rigs in the parking lot that over night parking is allowed. They may only have stopped to do some shopping. A Walmart parking lot can be a safe refuge for a fatigued driver to pull over and get some much-needed rest. If you find yourself in that situation, be a good camper. Park away from the store entrance so you don't inconvenience others shoppers and take up as few parking spaces as possible. If there are already other RVs in the lot, park fairly close to them so you don't monopolize customer parking spaces. Make sure you keep the area around your vehicle clean and free from spilled sewage. And patronize the store -- you can buy almost anything you need at Walmart. If you don't have any immediate needs, take inventory of your provisions and stock up on things you may be running low on. Most Walmart stores have a fairly good stock of common RV supplies. It will make the rest of your trip more convenient and it will help encourage Walmart to continue their RV friendly attitude. You can almost always be sure Walmart prices will be lower than you'll find in campgrounds and remote communities. Minimize the use of your generator and don't run your outside entertainment systems at loud volumes. And don't overstay your welcome. Overnight is usually OK. A day or two might be OK if you're having mechanical or medical problems. For anything else, find a campground. The Walmart manager may not complain, but local businesses and residents may and you may invite a visit from local law enforcement. Restrictions may be imposed by local ordinances so don't blame Walmart or the manager if you can't stay as long as you want in a particular location.
Some other businesses, such as Cracker Barrel Restaurants, also cater to RVers. However, it isn't acceptable in all places so it is a good idea to call ahead or stop by and ask the manager's permission before settling in for the night. In some places local ordinances prohibit any overnight parking. In others the specific establishment might have a no overnight parking policy for reasons that are very valid. Many, but not all, Cracker Barrel restaurants have designated 40' parking spaces for RVs and trucks. However overnight parking may not always be permitted even where there are long spaces for large vehicles.
Visiting friends and relatives. One nice thing about having an RV is it gives you a familiar and comfortable place to stay when visiting friends and relatives. Just be aware of the impact your over-size vehicle may have on local traffic and make sure you comply with local ordinances. Many cities have laws prohibiting or restricting parking RVs on the street or even on private property. Some places have a limit on how many days an RV can be parked on the street so find out BEFORE you get ticketed or towed! Most places I'm aware of allow at least 2-3 days of RV parking in residential areas, so long as they don't create a traffic hazard. If it is legal, be considerate of the neighbors. Avoid running your generator or vehicle engine when it would disturb them or turning on lights that might be offensive. If you run power make sure the cord doesn't pose a tripping hazard for pedestrians, And, of course, keep any audio systems at a reasonable level. That's reasonable to your neighbors, not to you!
Rest areas. Many freeway rest areas prohibit overnight camping, but most will still accommodate you stopping to get a few hours rest. Some have areas designated specifically for RVs. If not, you should park with the truckers. Avoid taking up a bunch of regular car parking places just to get closer to the restrooms or picnic tables and NEVER block any roadways, driveways, or gates. Don't drag out a bunch of camping gear and set up camp. Keep it contained and you shouldn't get any negative feedback from local law enforcement. In fact, most of them will be glad you're taking time to get some needed rest instead of pushing on and creating a traffic hazard.
Backyard or driveway camping. Sometimes you may find it useful to camp in your own yard. It is a good way to try out new equipment and to get used to a camping environment if you're new to the sport. Setting up or even parking your RV in your own driveway may be restricted by local laws or CCRs for your property, so be sure to check that out before doing it. Setting up your tent in your back yard is a good way to become familiar with how to do it and to get used to sleeping in a tent so you'll be comfortable when you do "really" go camping.
If you live in a high density urban area your options may be more limited. High rise apartments seldom have places you can set up a tent or park an RV. In some communities there may be city parks you can use, but camping is usually not allowed in city parks. You may be able practice setting up your tent in your living room or in the parking lot and, if you have a balcony or patio you may be able to try out your camp stove or BBQ. Just be sure to check with your manager first. You don't want someone calling the fire department because of your campstove or BBQ!
Be sensible!
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