Coming out of a rut -

[Slackdaddy]

Joined HF in 2009 after I started taking my then 9, 7, and 5 year olds on overnight river trips in VA and WV,,, I was tent camping then.
HF member "Animalcontrol" sold me an original blue/yellow HH explorer for $50 and my life changed.
My kids grew up river camping out of canoes, then kayaks, at one point we had 8 kayaks. They never went to Disney or any fancy vacation,, we went on 2-6 overnight river fishing trips a year.
2 HH Explorers, 2 HH UL Backpackers, a HH Safari, a HH Jungle, A wide Dream Hammock Darien, A WBBB XL, tons of DIY UQs, etc, etc.
The last 5 years was me and the youngest who is now 21, hitting the river hard, one summer 6-7 overnighters.

My gear had long since been dialed in for our moderate temps,, I had every bag and tote organized and labeled,, and even had custom check lists that allowed us to pack and load for an over-nighter in 15 minutes. I was enjoying time on the river,, but not realized I had grown stagnant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942mvwIt9qY

So,, never willingly entertained the idea of Winter camping,, But after daughter got married and moved to Cheyenne WY,, middle son graduated and moved 40 minutes from her in CO.
Fast forward last weekend,,, 3 days of remote elk hunting in The Medicine Bow range, elev 10,000 feet, 9 deg and 40 mph winds at night,,
Daughter and SIL stayed in a small wall tent with mini wood stove,, Son got a Chameleon with 0 deg zip on UQ, sleeping bag, winter sock and winter cover.
I had my DH Darien, 2 (doubled up) Climashield UQ's, cheap 50 deg sleeping bag, 2 Cosco TQs, and we each had a cheap Amazon "Onewind" winter tarp.
We cheated and had 3-4 "hot hands" shoved down our sleeping bags,, that modest heat source pushed me over the edge of keeping warm.

I am now obsessed with winter Hammock camping,, Dived back into Shugs videos,,,
My Lord we have all aged!!!

Anyhow,, ready to fire up the ole thread injector,, see who is still around here and head down this new path!

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[Twistytee]

Great backstory and update. Hammock gear is a lot heavier than my tent kit in the winter, but it sure makes it a fun and unique adventure! Also great that your kids remain connected to the outdoors. Enjoy it!

[Shug]

Joined HF in 2009 after I started taking my then 9, 7, and 5 year olds on overnight river trips in VA and WV,,, I was tent camping then.
HF member "Animalcontrol" sold me an original blue/yellow HH explorer for $50 and my life changed.
My kids grew up river camping out of canoes, then kayaks, at one point we had 8 kayaks. They never went to Disney or any fancy vacation,, we went on 2-6 overnight river fishing trips a year.
2 HH Explorers, 2 HH UL Backpackers, a HH Safari, a HH Jungle, A wide Dream Hammock Darien, A WBBB XL, tons of DIY UQs, etc, etc.
The last 5 years was me and the youngest who is now 21, hitting the river hard, one summer 6-7 overnighters.

My gear had long since been dialed in for our moderate temps,, I had every bag and tote organized and labeled,, and even had custom check lists that allowed us to pack and load for an over-nighter in 15 minutes. I was enjoying time on the river,, but not realized I had grown stagnant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942mvwIt9qY

So,, never willingly entertained the idea of Winter camping,, But after daughter got married and moved to Cheyenne WY,, middle son graduated and moved 40 minutes from her in CO.
Fast forward last weekend,,, 3 days of remote elk hunting in The Medicine Bow range, elev 10,000 feet, 9 deg and 40 mph winds at night,,
Daughter and SIL stayed in a small wall tent with mini wood stove,, Son got a Chameleon with 0 deg zip on UQ, sleeping bag, winter sock and winter cover.
I had my DH Darien, 2 (doubled up) Climashield UQ's, cheap 50 deg sleeping bag, 2 Cosco TQs, and we each had a cheap Amazon "Onewind" winter tarp.
We cheated and had 3-4 "hot hands" shoved down our sleeping bags,, that modest heat source pushed me over the edge of keeping warm.

I am now obsessed with winter Hammock camping,, Dived back into Shugs videos,,,
My Lord we have all aged!!!

We are always the same age inside.
Shug

[Slackdaddy]

We are always the same age inside.
Shug

Yup,,
I still think of myself and act as though I am 20 something and have no idea I am knocking on 60.
We went out to a restaurant in a large group and I went to use the restroom,, when I washed my hands I looked up at the mirror and 1st thought was "WHO The heck is that old man!"

[Slackdaddy]

Great backstory and update. Hammock gear is a lot heavier than my tent kit in the winter, but it sure makes it a fun and unique adventure! Also great that your kids remain connected to the outdoors. Enjoy it!

The change is now my kids plan the trips and "Take ME" ,, for 15 years I would stay up all night planning and packing for 3 kids and Me, months making gear, etc.
They all 3 are very connected to the outdoors, multi day river trips, fishing, hunting, etc.
1st pic is my 2 oldest about 15 years ago on a WV river trip,, next pic is them (on right) and my Son in law last weekend,,
So I am starting this new phase in life , with them planning trips and me tagging along , I just have to get my winter gear up and running.
Lining up some sewing lessons

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[xMagnolia]

So Fun!! Thanks for sharing the backstory. Did you have any success on the hunt?

Charlotte

[cougarmeat]

Slackdaddy, I remember seeing some stray white hairs on the chair I used for reading and wondering when we got a cat.

If you are committed to winter camping, you might consider getting/building a snow pulk (sled). Your winter (comfort) gear will be bulkier. A while back, I scaled Mt Shasta with just backpack gear - but I only needed to spend one night - really only part of a night - at Helen Lake before the summit push. So out and back, on the ground with a Bivi sack was possible. But you want a large Tent with doors, appropriately rated down quilts, something more than a Pop Tart to eat, etc.

There are "cargo" sleds you can buy and just add the "pull" rigging yourself with PVC tubing and line. You can buy a complete rig- sled body and poles. Or you can start from scratch with a kid's toboggan. You'd reinforce the area where the pulling hardware is attached and go from there. I made a complete PVC frame around my first attempt and added tie-down cleats along the side. Unfortunately, I didn't measure the size for some gear (a Grand Shelter igloo kit) so everything I wanted to bring fit, but not as nicely as I would have liked. Now I have a larger sled so maybe this winter will be the one to try winter glamping.

Note, usually the pull poles attach to a backpack hip belt. So you may still have a pack - just that it only needs to hold things like water and snacks for the hike-in. For me, there's always the enthusiasm to make the first trip some grand gesture to the outdoors. I have to remind myself that I can learn just as much by camping 1/8 mile from the xc skiing parking lot. Once I can do that - with easy bail out if things go ... not as planned - then I just increase the distance (and food).

[Slackdaddy]

So Fun!! Thanks for sharing the backstory. Did you have any success on the hunt?

Charlotte

No Elk were harmed this trip,, We were 2-3 minutes behind a group of 6 cows,, unfortunately they scattered 200 yards in front of us when a "SidexSide" came down a path.
We cut tracks and followed other singles and doubles,, but never found the main herd.

[Slackdaddy]

Slackdaddy, I remember seeing some stray white hairs on the chair I used for reading and wondering when we got a cat.

If you are committed to winter camping, you might consider getting/building a snow pulk (sled). Your winter (comfort) gear will be bulkier. A while back, I scaled Mt Shasta with just backpack gear - but I only needed to spend one night - really only part of a night - at Helen Lake before the summit push. So out and back, on the ground with a Bivi sack was possible. But you want a large Tent with doors, appropriately rated down quilts, something more than a Pop Tart to eat, etc.

There are "cargo" sleds you can buy and just add the "pull" rigging yourself with PVC tubing and line. You can buy a complete rig- sled body and poles. Or you can start from scratch with a kid's toboggan. You'd reinforce the area where the pulling hardware is attached and go from there. I made a complete PVC frame around my first attempt and added tie-down cleats along the side. Unfortunately, I didn't measure the size for some gear (a Grand Shelter igloo kit) so everything I wanted to bring fit, but not as nicely as I would have liked. Now I have a larger sled so maybe this winter will be the one to try winter glamping.

Note, usually the pull poles attach to a backpack hip belt. So you may still have a pack - just that it only needs to hold things like water and snacks for the hike-in. For me, there's always the enthusiasm to make the first trip some grand gesture to the outdoors. I have to remind myself that I can learn just as much by camping 1/8 mile from the xc skiing parking lot. Once I can do that - with easy bail out if things go ... not as planned - then I just increase the distance (and food).

For now,, the winter camping will be accompanying family on their elk hunts out west.
Camp is set up where we park the hunting vehicle (F250 for now),, You can camp wherever,, but have to keep the vehicle on the roads,, some of the roads are dirt, 8' wide with boulders and 3' deep. These "roads" typ go 1-3 miles into the wilderness,, we only made it 100 yards in to set up base camp.
Looking for an old Suzuki Samurai to get us deep to set up camp.

[Twistytee]

The change is now my kids plan the trips and "Take ME" ,, for 15 years I would stay up all night planning and packing for 3 kids and Me, months making gear, etc.
They all 3 are very connected to the outdoors, multi day river trips, fishing, hunting, etc.
1st pic is my 2 oldest about 15 years ago on a WV river trip,, next pic is them (on right) and my Son in law last weekend,,
So I am starting this new phase in life , with them planning trips and me tagging along , I just have to get my winter gear up and running.
Lining up some sewing lessons

IMGP1293.jpg

DSCN3751.jpg

pretty cool seeing the before and after. My wife and I are empty nesters now and our son recently moved out west to AZ. Hoping my kids plan some dad trips too