The Kifaru "Circus Tent" has lots of space and woodstove for warm and comfortable camping in cold weather. We'll be setting it up as part of our Lightweight Winter camping seminar 2012. (Susan Marean photo)

Every January (for 2012, it’s January 7), the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, Vermont offers “Winter Skills Day” which is a chance to comfortably and safely learn outdoor skills that will help you get the most enjoyment from winter. They offer two sessions, morning and afternoon, so you can take two different classes in one day. Price for each seminar  (including lunch) is $35-40 per person depending on the seminar.

The seminars offered this year include: “Principles of Winter Survival and Winter Clothing,” which is something everyone who explores outdoors in winter should understand(and not bad information for anyone who drives in rural areas to know!); “Building Snow Shelters” –haven’t you always wanted to build an igloo or a quinzee in your backyard and sleep in it? This is also essential survival knowledge if you are ever somehow stranded in the winter wilds; “Introduction to Backcountry Skiing,” which will focus on off-trail travel on moderate terrain, “Icefishing 101 (icefishing, particularly combined with snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, Nordic skating and winter camping, is a whole lot of fun); “Basics of Dogsledding,” (you can leave Fido at home; they provide the dogs and sleds), and “Winter Fire Skills” (please re-read Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” if you don’t think this skill is important to safe winter travel).

Setting up a "cold camp" at the Hulbert Outdoor Center's Winter Skills Day in 2011, (Susan Marean Shedd photo)

And, just as they did last year, they are also offering two seminars on Winter Camping. The morning session is on “Traditional Winter Camping.” It’s  taught by Andy Williams who is a very experienced winter traveler in the wild country of northern Canada. Andy  is an affable teacher and a pleasure to spend time with. He will show you a full set up of traditional gear, including wooden toboggans, woodstoves and sturdy canvas tents, and how to use it to travel comfortably and safely through the winter wilds. If you are going to camp in one spot for several days or more, this is an extremely comfortable way to go. Andy has the depth of knowledge that only comes from vast experience, and, no matter how much you’ve camped in the winter, you will learn something from him. And if you are just beginning to wrap your head around the notion of winter camping, this is a wonderful way to see how it was done before the onslaught of synthetic materials changed the world.

In sharp contrast to this traditional method of winter camping, EasternSlopes.com editors David Shedd and Tim Jones are once again teaching a session on “Lightweight Winter Camping,” showing the most modern gear and techniques available. Most of what we are showing is the stuff we use to stay warm and happy while traveling (relatively) light and fast on snowshoes or skis with a big backpack and/or small pulk (a lightweight plastic sled with a rigid pulling harness). It’s just like summer backpacking except there aren’t any bugs (and the snow is usually deeper though that may not be the case this year if this “winter that isn’t” continues).

We'll also be setting up a Titanium Goat tipi that sleeps three and weighs less than 7 pounds—WITH the woodstove! (Susan Marean Shedd photo)

Ours is a very hands-on seminar. As a group, we’ll be setting up two “cold” (unheated) winter tents camps with tents from REI and Easton Mountain Products. We’ll also be setting up at least two lightweight nylon tipis, possibly three...with woodstoves. Yes, you heard that correctly. Lightweight, spacious nylon tipi-style tents with woodstoves. One of the tipis we use is made by Titanium Goat. It will sleep two comfortably with extra space for gear. The whole rig weighs less than 7 pounds WITH the wood stove and stovepipe. We’ll also set up the “Circus Tent,” an 8-man tipi from Kifaru that Tim has owned for more than 20 years and used in the winter wilds from the Adirondacks to northern Labrador. We’ll also be showing some of the latest in backcountry skis and snowshoes, pads, sleeping bags, lights, stoves, cooking gear, and more (our thanks to the manufacturers named above, as well as LL Bean, Mountainsmith, Lowa, GSI Outdoors, Polarmax, Coleman, MSR, Primus, Leki, Life-Link, Therm-A-Rest, Jetboil, Black Diamond, Underwater Kinetics, Sierra Designs, Patagonia, Red Ledge, Revision Military, Osprey, Kelty, TSL Outdoor, Hillsound, Outdoor Research, Katoohla, and others for providing samples for you to check out). None of the gear we are showing is custom made; it’s all available in stores, through catalogs, or on the web. So, anyone who has the desire can fully gear themselves up for winter camping, and we’ll show you how.

We’ll also help participants assess any gear they already have for winter suitability…bring your favorite toys with you!  After this course, you’ll know everything you need to do your first backyard or roadside winter campout comfortably and safely. From there, you can progress in increments to full-on winter travel and camping.

All the seminars offered at the Winter Skills Day are by pre-registration only: visit their website for a full PDF course description, call 802-333-3405 or email Lynn_daly@alohafoundation.org. If you have any questions about the lightweight winter camping seminar, don’t hesitate to email : timjones@easternslopes.com or dshedd@easternslopes.com.

Lake Morey Skate-a-thon, Too

While all this is going on at Hulbert Center, the beautiful Lake Morey Resort  just down the road teams up with Nordic Skater to run the all-day Skate-a-thon where, for a $25 donation for adults ($15 for kids) they’ll fit you with Nordic skates, teach you how to use them, send you out on the longest cleared skating track in North America around Lake Morey. That’s assuming we have safe ice by then, of course…but, at least Mother Nature is cooperating as of this moment!

If you haven’t tried Nordic Skating, you owe it to yourself. It’s like cross-country skate-skiing on ice, easy-to-learn, a great aerobic workout and just plain fun.

We hope to see you at the Winter Skills Day!

The good news? It isn’t that your skis have gone downhill; it’s that the ski manufacturers have dramatically improved their understanding of how shaped skis work, and are producing skis that simply work better in ALL the vast and varied conditions you encounter on Eastern ski hills.

Can these wider "sidecountry" skis from Blizzard outperform our beloved Magnum 7.6s on Eastern mountains? Our testing indicated that for many skiers, the answer is a resounding YES! (David Shedd photo)

At EasternSlopes.com, we have, for many years, searched for the perfect “one ski quiver” for Eastern skiing. The operating thesis is that most skiers own one pair of skis, period…and that many who own several pairs take only one pair to the mountain on a given day, and then have to use those skis in dramatically changing conditions. Skiing in the East is all about adapting to change.

Powder day? With today’s emphasis on high capacity, high speed lifts you are lucky if you can get a Powder morning. Unless you are skiing the single chair at Mad River Glen, or it’s snowing all day long, by mid morning you are skiing ”Chowder” (chopped-up powder) or powder bumps.

Groomed corduroy? After a few hundred skiers go over that trail, it’s a small mogul field with “hardpack” between the bumps. The steeper the trail, the faster the corduroy disappears.

Having a ski that can handle all conditions with aplomb means longer days of skiing, more enjoyment and less effort. And, given what ski tickets cost these days, aren’t more runs (with more fun) simply good economics?

Beyond that, there’s one major change in Eastern skiing in recent years: trees.  Yes, the trees have always been there, and yes, there have often been some “official” glades, and yes, there have always been renegade  skiers who poach powder out of bounds; but in the past half dozen years, areas have embraced letting skiers out into huge tracts of land to play. It wasn’t very long ago that areas like Jay Peak, Stowe and Mad River Glen proudly advertised the fact that they wouldn’t pull your ticket if they caught you skiing off the trails.

Now, all of a sudden, it’s the Wild West come East, a peculiar recipe that combines the best of both worlds–groomed slopes with lots of manmade snow, and natural snow skiing among the trees (with a LOT of manmade powder that blows off the trails into the trees to add depth!). But this combination of opportunities demands a lot from both skier and equipment if you want to take full advantage.

With that in mind, we went to the industry demo days at Loon Mountain on March 1 and 2 to test the latest and greatest in skis. Our goal was not necessarily to find “the ski; ” different skis suit different personal tastes and body types, and skiing styles differ. We usually can’t agree among ourselves which is “the best” ski in any test, let alone recommend one for you when we don’t know you or how and where you ski. Rather, we wanted to see if there were any trends that were making sense for the majority of skiers…and were we surprised!

Some background; the last time we did a full-on test of skis across multiple lines to see what the “one ski quiver” should be was 3 years ago at Stratton Mountain. The conditions were perfect for testing “all round” skis. Day one, we had groomed corduroy to start and scratchy boilerplate to end the day, so we were able to see how skis performed in less-than-ideal conditions. At about 6 that evening, it started to snow…and we woke up to 2 feet of powder and more coming down all day long. That narrow-waisted racer ski that was so much fun on Day 1? On Day 2, it sank out of sight. The big, fat “western style” ski that couldn’t put an edge in the hard stuff on Day 1 played around in the fluff on Day 2 like a dolphin at SeaWorld.

Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that the state-of-the-art for overall Eastern use was in skis that had a waist measuring between 73 and 78mm. Skis like the Volkl AC3 (and later AC30), the Blizzard Magnum 7.6, and the Fischer AMC 73 and its later iterations worked for us no matter what we tried (lighter testers loved the Fischers, heavier leaned toward the Volkls, and everyone loved the Blizzards). And, most of us put our money where our mouths were and updated our gear…it was hard to go back to our old boards after feeling the new ones.

Since then, though, the shift has been to wider skis, both underfoot and in the shovel and tail areas.  And, “rocker” has appeared. Essentially, that refers to a ski that sits flat on the snow when unweighted, with the tips and tails up…think about the shape of a rocking chair’s base, and you’ve got the general, if exaggerated, idea. Rocker is intended to allow a ski to float up and over powder; it’s great in soft conditions, but how about in the varied conditions typical in the East?

That question brings up another point…why not just read ski tests, and buy what they recommend? The testers ARE experts, right? Well, yes, they are, and that’s part of the problem. An expert skier can make any ski do things that most skiers can’t; buy what they like, even if they say it’s for an intermediate or beginner skier, and you may hate it. Also, most  ski tests are in unrealistic conditions. Take Ski Magazine’s  testing for their 2011/12 buyer’s guide; in their own words, the conditions in Utah were “thigh-deep Wasatch powder, tracked thigh-deep Wasatch powder, corduroy.” Nary a mention of ice, slush, hard bumps. Soft western corduroy is what we in the East tend to call “hero snow”.  ANY skier can look good and have fun; ANY ski can perform well.  Wonderful…and if you ONLY ski when the conditions are like that, grab the ski they recommend.  Oh, and be prepared to have no fun at all, as you may get only a couple of days of skiing in the whole winter. Better idea? Use the expert recommendations as a guideline, go to on-ski demo days or work with a shop that has a demo fleet, and, as you find skis that feel good to you in normal conditions, narrow your focus down to those and the ones similar to them.

You might, at this point, be asking “so, why should we be reading YOUR recommendations?” Good question, and easy answer. One, we actually test in Eastern conditions, and drag the skis into different situations. If we love a ski on corduroy, we immediately take it into the crud, the bumps and out into the glades if we can. Two, we’re not going to tell you what to buy; we want you to go out and actually test for yourself. Heck, it’s fun, and it’ll likely get you a ski that works right for YOU and make you a better skier as a bonus. Pay attention to that last part…the more skis you test and really try to find what feels right for you, the better you’ll be at recognizing the differences, and at being able to get the most out of whatever  skis you are on.

Sensing a trend here? From boutique manufacturers like Goode to old-world traditionalists Fischer and Rossignol, more manufacturers are producing wider waist, big-sidecut skis that can handle powder, crud, AND hard surfaces well. (David Shedd photo)

Okay, on to the fun part…the skis. Two days at Loon Mountain, male and female skiers, various shapes and sizes and skill levels, and some fascinating results. Let’s deal with rocker first, as that’s the easy part. Based on our admittedly limited experience, for the typical Eastern skier that doesn’t live entirely in the trees or terrain parks, full rocker doesn’t appear to be a good idea. The characteristics that make it float up and over deep powder and give nice, gentle landings make it unstable in harder conditions. Effectively, on hard corduroy or boilerplate, you’re skiing on only a small part of the skis total edge under your foot; the rest of the ski tends to flop around and not make solid contact. We tested 190cm full-rocker skis that felt like ice skates underfoot; one tester commented: “I haven’t been that scared on skis in 20 years.” However, some rocker can be a good thing. A rockered tip allows the ski to easily move up and over deep piles of crud or flow through moguls; a rockered tail is great if you play in the woods and often need to move backwards out of dead-end spots that you’ve skied yourself into. Be aware, though, that if you choose a ski with rocker, you need a longer ski than otherwise in order to get the same performance in the hard conditions. Yes, that’s right; after years of skis getting shorter and shorter, new technologies are making skis get longer again!

Next comes the issue of ski width. Here’s the takeaway: wider HAS gotten better. Three years ago, skis in the 88-98 waist range were fun in the powder, but very difficult to get to “bite” in hard conditions. We all found them slow edge to edge, and tiring to ski. Even if we could make them perform well on hard snow, we had to work much too hard, which means short days of skiing.  That’s no longer true. The majority of the skis that we tested in that range this time around were fun to ski!  And, there wasn’t any specific “this width works best”; some 98s bit better than some 88s. Clearly, some manufacturers have gotten it better than others; and bizarrely enough, some of the most radical designs and most expensive skis from some of the biggest names were among the worst skis we tried.  In fact, to a certain extent, expensive is the enemy of good in this category. Why?  Because many manufacturers use “metal” in their top-of-the-line skis; in other words, a sheet of metal in the ski’s layup that adds stiffness. Great idea in narrow racing skis to reduce torsional twist; great for very heavy skiers, as well. For the average person who is trying to get a fat ski to bend, extra metal makes the ski feel like a board. Lesson to be taken from this: Don’t be afraid to try lower-end skis. The wider the ski you’re considering, the lower you should try in a manufacturer’s line before you buy. And, if you demo a ski and it’s way too stiff, ask if the same ski is available in a softer version; some manufacturers have virtually identical skis in different stiffnesses.

Kastle's Marc Sheehan shows off the MX88 and the BMX88. The main difference? Metal vs. no metal...and we all preferred the softer (and less expensive) option! (David Shedd photo)

After pushing our physical and mental limits (when you’re used to a 73mm waist, it’s hard to believe that a 110mm can actually work on firm corduroy), here’s the consensus: Even the most hard-headed traditionalists among us admitted that if they had to buy a ski TODAY, with their hard-earned money, and were going to ski ALL Eastern conditions with it for the next three years, they wouldn’t consider anything narrower than 78mm at the waist. Most testers felt that while the narrower skis still were amazingly fun when pushed hard on hard surfaces, they’d likely end up with one of the skis in the 83-98mm range, with regular tree skiers more on the high end of the range.

What about even wider skis?  We tried them. And, everyone agreed that while the skis above 100mm were often remarkable, when we removed the “wow, this works better than we expected!” factor, we found that…they didn’t work that well. They can certainly get down the mountain when necessary, and some could even be fun in fairly hard conditions, but as a day-in, day-out compromise they’re simply not a good choice for anyone other than utterly hardcore tree skiers. And, even some of those felt that going a bit narrower was a good compromise, allowing plenty of flotation while giving a greater safety margin when running into unexpected hardpack or, dare we say it, blue ice, deep in the glades.

In a bizarre twist, German manufacturer Volkl's wide skis have Japanese themed graphics and names. (David Shedd photo)

Our final recommendations:

1. Get to the first demo day you can. Be well rested and get there for first tracks, ready for a long day.

2. If you like a ski on the groomers, get it into the crud or the trees and see how it responds; you may be surprised in either a good or bad way.

3. Push a little beyond the familiar. If you think you’re a mainly “groomers only” skier and want a narrower waist ski for that, force yourself to try a wider ski anyway. You’ll learn more about yourself as a skier, appreciate the narrower ones even more, and you just might get a huge surprise and find that conditions that have made you nervous are now fun!

4. Once you have your new skis, take a lesson or two.  Skiing technique has changed with the new ski designs, and the need for correct technique becomes even more important the wider the ski gets.  You no longer need to shove your knee at the tip of the ski to try to bend it; now, you want to be more balanced, using both the tip and the tail to carve your turns, tilting the ski to the side to bend it rather than doing it with forward pressure.

Which, of course brings up another issue…boots.  Tall, stiff boots with a lot of forward lean are out for non-racers; for the rest of us, a boot that has more fore/aft flex to allow you to work with the flex of the ski but is laterally stiff to transmit the tipping motion directly to the edge of the ski gets you more performance for less effort.  That translates to more skiing, more control, less exhaustion, and much better use of your skiing dollar.  Put it in perspective; a new pair of boots that will give you more skiing time for years can cost as little as the equivalent of a half dozen lift tickets; a cheap price to pay!  Choosing a new boot doesn’t have to be a horrible process; follow the guidelines and work with a qualified bootfitter, and you may be surprised at how easy it is.

The bottom line is that, as we’ve often said, given how much each day of skiing costs you it’s worth making sure that your equipment allows you to get the most fun AND skiing time. And while we’re not fans of updating equipment too often (some of the pleasure comes from that connection with a familiar piece of equipment that allows you to not even THINK about what you have to do, but simply play), the fact is that ski technology has improved so rapidly that today’s skis allow you to handle more conditions more easily and with a lot more fun…and isn’t that why we’re all out there???

Backpacking means carry a lot of gear and, if you aren’t careful it’s easy to forget something. (Tim Jones photo)

What they really are is sins of omission.

It happens, at one time or another to anyone who leaves the road behind: You and your boon companions have loaded all your camping gear into a backpack, canoe or kayaks or onto mountain bikes and you’ve hiked, paddled or pedaled far. The sun is heading toward the horizon when you reach your campsite, night is coming fast and, as you unload your gear, you or someone else (hopefully someone else) suddenly says “Did you pack the . . . ?” or “Where is the . . . ?” or even “!#&$*!, I forgot my . . . !”

Here, you can fill in the blank with some item (or items) that you just know you are going to miss, especially because there’s no possible way of rectifying your sin of omission. You are just going to have to live with the consequences for at least one night, maybe longer.

In some cases, what you’ve forgotten really won’t be missed at all: did you really need that travel backgammon set? In other cases, you can make do: a lot of campsite wine has been drunk from coffee cups; a (clean) finger makes a serviceable emergency toothbrush . . .

But then there are essentials: Forgetting insect repellent and protective clothing in bug season can make camp life pure misery. Forgetting your rain gear when a cold rain sets in on Mount Washington can make your trip dangerous. And heading out unprepared in the winter is downright foolhardy.

On a recent overnight, I set a new personal-worst record for forgetting things. After yet another long, stressful day of hard work in a long series of such days, my buddy David (who had come to help me with one piece of the larger project) and I backpacked into one of our off-the-beaten-track campsites for a much needed getaway night. When we got to camp, I had one of those classic “uh-oh” moments. Actually, I had several . . .

When you have everything you need, camp life can be positively luxurious. Just make sure you don’t forget something important. (Tim Jones photo)

I’d remembered the important stuff like solo tent, sleeping bag, stove, fuel, cook kit, insect repellent, toilet kit, most of my share of food, etc. But I’d forgotten my tea mug, wine glass, and the Romaine lettuce for the Caesar salad. I’d also brought two right Crocs for camp shoes (do you get the picture that these overnights are not exactly “roughing it”?). And, most critically, I’d forgotten the pad to go under my sleeping bag. Ooops . . .

For me, packing for a camping trip is a multi stage process that starts with taking what I’ll need from the storage bins in the attic and piling it in the middle of my office. From there, it all goes into whatever backpack, pannier or dry bags I’m using for the particular  trip.

In this case, the sleeping pad, coffee cup and wine glass had made it out of the attic and into the office, but, somehow, they hadn’t made that giant leap into the backpack. When I got home, I found them all under a shirt I’d decided not to take. I just got careless, I guess. The lettuce was in the fridge for last minute packing and somehow that got forgotten, too.

In the grand tradition of all who of us who are good at this CRAFT (“Can’t Remember A Freakin’ Thing”) , I made do with what was available. With plenty of other food (including spareribs and sirloin tips, veggies, and dessert. . .), we didn’t really miss the salad. I carry teabags in a screw-top plastic container that made a dandy wine glass and morning tea cup. And David’s Crazy Creek Hexalite Long chair, folded flat, provided enough padding on the soft forest duff that I slept comfortably through the night, waking only when a thunderstorm boomed overhead and dropped a quick downpour. Actually, it was warm enough and the ground was soft enough that I probably would have slept well without any pad, just by hollowing out a spot for my hip bones. Pads are often more necessary for insulation than they are for padding.

While it’s possible to camp with very little you’re more comfortable if you have everything you need. (Tim Jones photo)

Even with several forgotten items, it was a very pleasant getaway in the midst of a very stressful stretch of days. Well worth doing. Overnight getaways almost always are.

Would it have been better not to forget anything? Absolutely! And I intend to never forget anything again. But I will. And you will, too, if you go camping enough. With any luck, you’ll be able to “make do” and have a grand time anyway.

How To Never Forget Anything Important

1. Always prepare for the next trip as you finish the last one. Clean and dry everything, replace batteries (or put rechargeables in the charger), fuel, toilet paper, toothpaste or anything else that got used up so you don’t end up tearing around at the last minute trying to gather what you need. The more prepared you are, the easier it is to have everything eventually arrive at your campsite in good working order.

2. Store everything where you can find it. I keep the basics for a quick overnight (toilet kit, emergency kit, first aid kit, headlamp, eating utensils, headlamp, etc) in a small plastic storage tub in the attic. Backpacks hang from hooks, tents are on shelves, sleeping bags and pads in big storage bins, etc. So it’s just a matter of picking a backpack, tent, sleeping bag, stove appropriate for the trip. It would be easier if I only owned one backpack, one tent, etc., but what fun would that be?

3. Keep a checklist and use it every time. A checklist can save you a lot of headaches, but only if you actually use it . . . If you only follow one rule to avoid forgetting anything, this is the one to follow. I recommend double checking yourself. Have the checklist in hand and check items off as you put them into the packing pile. The double-check is harder: have the checklist in hand and check items off (with a different color pen, or make an “X” across your first checkmark) as you actually pack them into your backpack, panniers or dry bags. It’s that second check that will prevent you from leaving gear hidden under the shirt you decided not to pack. Pre-print copies of whatever checklist you prefer and leave them WITH your gear; that way, you won’t have to worry if your computer hard drive suddenly dies just before your trip.

4. Cross check and double-check with your companions on communal gear. If you are supposed to bring the stove, or the tent, make sure you know that and do it. Otherwise, people are going to be very annoyed with you at some point. David and I usually put communal gear into laundry baskets or canvas totes in the car to divvy up as we pack at the trailhead or launch ramp. Make sure you write all of your “extras” for the trip onto your checklist, and doublecheck them at the same time you do the others! It is WAY too easy to leave that bag of food in the refrigerator on your way out the door, and if you want to end up on the post office wall as “least wanted on a camping trip”, that’s the fastest way to get there.

5. Get in the habit of taking a final, unstressed look around at each stage of the process. Check where you store your gear, to make sure it all got moved to the staging area. Check the staging area to make sure your sleeping pad hasn’t hidden under a shirt you decided not to take. Check the refrigerator for anything you meant to pack last minute (yes, I said this above, but it’s worth repeating). Check everyone’s car at the trailhead to make sure everything got into backpacks; we’ve left plenty of headlamps on car seats. Check your campsite before you leave in the morning so everything you need comes home for the next trip.

6. If you do forget something (and you will, no matter how careful you are), make do with what you have, learn from your mistake. Hopefully, you haven’t forgotten something that puts you in real jeopardy. As long as it’s not something you need to survive the night, you can  laugh about it and have fun anyway.

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Snuggled down tight is good, but it can't guarantee you a warm night's sleep when the temperature drops below your bag's rating. (David Shedd photo)

It happens, particularly in the “shoulder seasons” (early spring, late fall). You’re on day 3 of a trip, and suddenly the weather changes. The forecast had been for the 20s at night, and it plunges to 5…and you’ve got a 20 degree bag. Sure, you can survive it…but can you enjoy it?

Actually, based on our experience, you can, and with only minimal planning and gear changes. The first thing is to have a sleeping bag that adapts well to the changes, and in our opinion, that means a bag with a good draft collar; there’s probably no other single factor as important to maximizing efficiency of a sleeping bag. There’s no point in making changes to your clothing and creating extra warmth in the bag, and then having it all come out of the bag every time you move. The EN13537 article discusses our findings, and also how to pick a bag that’s appropriate for you. Once you have the right bag, here’s what we’ve found works.

1.  Carry a lightweight liner/overbag.  Coccoon makes a variety of these; without question, the best warmth/weight/feel combination for backpackers is their silk liner. That one, and other liners, are available at Campmor, as well as other retailers. They pack small and light, and can dramatically improve your bag’s rating. As a bonus, you can use them in summer camping on top of your sleeping bag for really hot nights.

That little blue bag is a silk liner; slide it inside the big fluffy one, and extend its range from 20 degrees to 10! (David Shedd photo)

2.  Wash.  Not your sleeping bag, yourself.  After a day of hiking or snowshoeing, your body is covered with salt from your sweat. Even if you dry off, it’s still there. Salt is hydrophilic; it attracts moisture. As your skin breathes at night, it holds the moisture rather than letting it wick away from you. Moisture, in turn, wicks heat away from your body. A quick rinse off with a wet pack towel in some warm water is all that’s needed; no soap required. Or, if you carry baby wipes for personal hygiene, you can use those. We’re talking a HUGE difference in warmth, as well as getting rid of that clammy icky feeling.

3.  Carry ultralight “sleeping jammies.” We’re talking silks, or imitation silks. A set weighs a few ounces, and gives you something clean to slide into. NO salt inside them from the day (see #2).  If you layer other clothing on top of them, you’ll always have moisture wicking from your body into your outer insulation layers.

A lightweight balaclava, disposable hand/body warmers, and a fleece neck gaiter can dramatically increase your comfort as the mercury drops (David Shedd photo)

4. Disposable handwarmers. When the temperature outside is low, you’re “exothermic”; meaning, your body is releasing heat to the outside. Not exactly what you want! So, put something into your bag that allows you to be endothermic, or absorbing heat. Handwarmers are cheap, light, and have minimal environmental impact. If you’re sort of cold, one by your feet might be enough. If you’re sleeping in a valley and the temperature’s 30 degrees below your bag’s rating, you might have a couple down there and a couple in your core body area. If you don’t have handwarmers, you can warm up a water bottle and stick it down by your feet, but it’s tough to get the heat where you want it with a bottle, as it’s hard and gets in the way.

5.  Fleece neck gaiter. A lot of our thermoregulation comes from the back of our necks. A slight draft there can impact your comfort level, making you feel colder than you actually are. Most of us automatically assume we’ll wear a hat on a cold night; but, with a good hood on your sleeping bag, the hat may not be all that necessary. Even with a good hood, though, there’s likely to be a little cold air leaking in around your neck…cover up! Another all-in-one solution is a balaclava. Ultralight versions are easily available.

6. Your “puffy”. When we’re in cold season, the puffy is automatically part of our gear, and it’s a great choice to wear inside your bag. Unlike a lot of insulation layers, the puffy contracts and expands to fill space, making it more comfortable AND more efficient.

7. Eat and drink. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to not drink enough. Who wants to get up in the middle of the night to pee? But, your body’s thermal processes work best when you’re fully hydrated. So, better to have to get up and shiver for a few minutes than to shiver all night long (Bonus: unexpected cold usually comes from “radiational cooling”; in other words, clear nights with no wind where all the heat heads to the stars.  The view of the heavens during that midnight rest stop can be priceless!) Before you go to bed, and when you get up, drink a little more and eat something…a handful of gorp, or peanut M&Ms, fuels your furnace and tells your body to go ahead and let your metabolism have a party.

8. Breathe OUTSIDE your bag.  No matter how tempting it is, particularly when you first get into a chilly bag, DON’T tuck your head inside and try to recycle your warm breath. There’s a ton of moisture in your breath (that’s what you see when it’s cold), and as the night goes on, you’ll pay for a few minutes of early warmth. If you’re so cold that your face is freezing, try tucking a bandana into the remaining opening and breathing through that. It’ll hold some warmth, but let a lot of the moisture out.

If you take everything recommended here, you MIGHT raise your pack weight by a whole pound, and a good night’s sleep is worth a whole lot more than that. Half of the battle is being prepared. The other half is to admit that you’re getting cold and do something about it. I woke up cold around midnight the other night, as I hadn’t washed up and was feeling clammy.  I wanted to stay in bed, but I knew that if I did, I’d be miserable all night. Instead, I toughed it out for  5 minutes of chill as I washed up. Then, I dropped off to sleep again quickly and spent the night warm, comfortable and happy. Take pride in enjoying your trip, not in suffering, and you’ll find you’re happy to spend a lot more time in the woods!

Who needs snow? Jamie Hess of Nordic Skater in Norwich Vermont uses rollerskis to practice the same form he uses for skate skiing and Nordic skating. On quiet back roads it’s almost as much fun as skating on snow or ice. (Tim Jones photo)

Unreliable winters sometimes frustrate avid fans of Nordic skiing here in the northeast. Some years, we never get any real snow until well into the new year. If you’re like me, you want your X-C season to start, oh, right about the end of October, and last at least into April, if not May.

Some recent Novembers and Decembers have left cross-country skiers feeling like second-class citizens. Alpine ski resorts have snowmaking to cover the slopes; most Nordic areas don’t.

Take heart, Oh Fellow X-C Ski Buffs! You can now ease your way into winter on the newest generation of roller skis, strengthening all the muscles you use to ski and polishing your technique at the same time.

Roller skis are nothing new. You’ve probably seen skiers out on the smooth shoulders of busy highways kicking and gliding or skating and poling along.

I’d tried it. Didn’t like it. The tiny wheels on most roller skis didn’t do very well on the rough roads of New England and northern New York. As with rollerblades, at any moment you could (or at least felt your could) be stopped by a random road crack and pitched headlong onto the pavement. Not a good feeling, especially if you want to relax and concentrate on your technique.

Tools of the trade. Laterally stiff boots, and V2 Aero roller skis with big wheels, cushy pneumatic tires and a simple system for controlling your speed downhill makes roller skiing easier and safer than ever before. (Tim Jones photo)

Still, I thought, good roller skis would be the final piece of the puzzle that would let you have fun and stay fit all year round. In the winter, you could cross-country ski if there was snow, or Nordic skate if there was ice. The rest of the time, you could just roll along . . .

Jamie Hess, who has built a thriving business called Nordic Skater in Norwich, Vermont first clued me in that roller skis have finally evolved into a form that works easily, comfortably and safely on the rough back roads and even dirt roads of our region.

He took me out on the latest generation of highly engineered roller skis, made in Milford, New Hampshire. The V2 Aero Skate skis made by Jenex were almost everything I’d ever dreamed of. They also have versions to mimic “classic” kick-and-glide skiing if that’s your preference.

These new roller skis almost perfectly mimic the moves of cross-country skiing and Nordic skating, letting you ennoy the fun and exercise all year. (Tim Jones photo)

The V2 Aeros have big (five- or six-inch diameter) wheels that roll easily over any road roughness, with inflated tires that provide cushioning for a smooth ride. They also have easy-to-use, multi-position, lever speed governors which allow you to stay in perfect control down hills. They can even be fitted with training wheels and an emergency brake.

When I say they were almost perfect, the only flaw I can think of is the price—they retail for about $400 a pair with speed controls and bindings installed. Actually that’s not a bad price for something this highly engineer that you can use almost year ‘round.

Like any other form of skating, roller skiing takes some getting used to. I’d highly recommend wearing a helmet, gloves and the elbow and knee pads used by skateboarders. Hitting the pavement or the gravel is not something you want to do unprotected.

But once you got moving, the sensation was almost exactly the same as using skate skis on slightly crusty snow or Nordic skates on slightly bumpy ice. You just glide along with your legs and poles providing the impetus. Actually, the speed governors made this even easier than skate skiing since it was easier to control your speed down hills. If you start to go too fast, you just bend down and click the brakes up an notch and you instantly slow down. Way cool design!

If you’d like to try this for yourself, Nordic Skater will let you try them for FREE out of their shop in Norwich, Vermont, or you rent them for a nominal fee (he’ll even ship them to you) to get yourself ready for snow and ice season!

One warning: roller skiing along a quiet back road in late fall is almost as much fun as cross-country skiing.  Once you try it, you’re gonna want to own a pair. I’ve already got ‘em on my list for Santa.

Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!

Ice Awaits, Too

Roller skiing light my fire not only for getting out on snow but also for getting back on Nordic skates. Very often, there’s ice available on shallow, sheltered ponds long before any snow falls. And, because ponds and lakes all freeze at different rates, you can almost always find someplace where the ice formed in the deep cold and quiet after a major snowfall.

If you haven’t tried Nordic skating, you should. The skate-ski boots are warmer and provide lots more ankle support than figure skates or hockey skates, and the long blades float easily over rough natural ice.

As I was scheming, one problem kept niggling me… I’d already conned Pat into rowing longboats and now, maybe, horseback riding… What would  she dream up to get even with me…? Something, for sure. But what the heck! I wanted to ride and I wanted to share the experience with Pat.  And so. . .

The name Mountain Top is certainly apropos for this inn! You drive up and up the final miles until the road seems to end at the resort.  Down a sweeping grassy slope in front of the lodge and through a cover of trees lay the Chittenden Reservoir, and all around the reservoir were still more mountains enveloping us in quiet and  majesty. What an extraordinarily beautiful place to ride horses!

A glimpse of the reservoir from the terrace. (Barbara Thomke photo)

The lodge is attractively decorated in the Adirondack style – large and comfortable deep sofas, pictures of Indian canoes and elk in birchwood frames on wood paneled walls, a tanned animal hide covering part of the wall, a huge field- stone fireplace. Through a bank of windows  (in what was once and old silo!) opposite the entry we again glimpsed the peaceful reservoir.  We checked in and discovered we had enough time to eat a lakeside picnic lunch before our riding lessons. We returned to our room-with-a-reservoir-view (called “Pheasant Ridge”) in time to unpack our bags and pull on our riding britches and boots, then high-tailed it to the lesson barn.

Pat Rides Bolton

My introduction to my riding lesson began with  fitting  a helmet and then meeting my horse, Bolton.  Even before I met him, I was encouraged by seeing a seven-year-old horse camper in the barn learning to groom a horse– and looking very comfortable brushing his tail.

Horse Camp--learning to groom. (Patricia Lyon-Surrey photo)

Mountain Top Inn runs a Children’s Equestrian Summer program that provides kids with an understanding of horses and their care—including mucking stalls and grooming.  They house 30 or more horses and give instructions to riders of all ages in basic Western or English riding, jumping and dressage.  It would be possible to enjoy one of their equestrian camps at the same time that your grandchild was enjoying the kids’ version.

Bolton, I discovered, had beautiful red lashes to match his coat.  My instructor, Becca, assured me that he was  gentle, well trained.  He was named Bolton both after a nearby mountain and because he never bolted.  She cinched his saddle as I stared into his eyes and talked sweetly to him.  Becca has been working here for 5 years—starting when she was a young teen and now, as she completes her degree at the University of Vermont.

Pat meeting eye to eye with Bolton before her lesson. (Barbara Thomke photo)

After mounting via a mounting block and adjusting my stirrups we entered the ring.  I was riding a Western saddle with an English bridle; I had requested Western because I knew I would feel more comfortable with a horn I could grab onto if I got scared.  What Barbara didn’t know was that the last time I was on a horse I was in my twenties and on an English saddle; the image of falling off when my horse stumbled is still branded in my brain.  They did make me get on again but riding a horse was never the same.

Becca walked beside me as we circled the ring.  She told me how to carry the reins, how to get Bolton moving with my legs when he got lazy, and how to sit upright.  After circling the ring a few times, keeping Bolton close to the rails of the fence, we proceeded through taking Bolton in half circles in both directions, figure eights, and then serpentines—using the dressage ring letters to make the turns.  And I do mean we—Becca stayed with me the whole way, reassuring, complimenting  and giving clear instructions such as “look where you want to go before using the reins,” and “reins above the horn.”

Pole walking. (Barbara Thomke photo)

After about a half an hour, Becca asked me if I wanted to try taking Bolton over obstacles on the ground.   This is not jumping but having the horse walk over  poles  placed on the ground, spaced for the stride of the horse. I was a little nervous about that stumbling thing, but game to try it.  The trick to doing this well is to drop the reins so  the horse’s head can drop and he can see the poles.

The entire lesson was such fun and I loved knowing that I could actually make a horse do what I wanted!  I was now ready for tomorrow’s hour-long trail ride.

Barbara Jumps Jackson

Now it was my turn to feel a little twitchy about something new.  Yes, I had popped over a few fences years ago, but I  was younger then!  We got started and I quickly realized I needn’t have worried.  Jackson was steady, accustomed to helping beginners gain confidence in the jumping arena, and Krista was a sympathetic instructor.  She told me about Jackson’s ‘buttons’ (he prefers a light contact with the reins and is easily slowed down with a pull and release motion) and let me have a few laps of walk, trot and canter around the ring in both directions before we even talked about taking a jump.  She adjusted the stirrup length, and then it was time to face the challenge.

The jump was only a foot high, but still thrilling! (Patricia Lyon-Surrey photo)

Krista coached me on how to approach the jump (in the middle. . . I should have remembered that much. . .), where to place my hands on Jackson’s neck so as not to jerk him in his mouth when he leaned forward to hop the rail, how to keep my feet under my body weight, and to always look straight ahead to where I was going, not down at the jump.  I gave it a go and the feeling slowly came back to me. The rhythm got easier and easier.  At first we just trotted over the jump and after a round of six or eight tries and a break, I got the jumping fever and wanted to try at a canter.  I actually found that easier and my position improved.

I ended on a high note , when Krista challenged me to a double: one jump, a canter stride or two and then a second jump.  I did it and whooped! Of course the jumps were only a foot off the ground, but I got the sensation of leaping through the air and had a chance to build my confidence.  Krista was very patient with my mistakes and I silently gave Jackson a gold-medal for doing his job without talking back.

Pat’s Turn:

After our time in the ring Barbara and I watched a group riding lesson for what appeared to be a mother, father, teenager and young girl.  What fun to do this as a family!

Since we still had almost 2 hours until our dinner,  Barbara decided to go for a swim.  I opted for a shower and reading my book outdoors near the shuffle board layout.   I really wanted that view —the expansive lawn with the mountains, trees and reservoir bowl in the distance. I didn’t get much reading done—I was having too much fun watching a three-year old child explaining “her rules” for shuffle board to her father. He didn’t get to use a shuffleboard cue!

Early dinner outside on the terrace. (Mountain Top Inn photo)

We had opted for an early dinner (Wednesday night is “Burgers and Brew,”)  and an evening paddle on the reservoir before dark. It was a beautiful, warm night, the outdoor terrace was surrounded by large pots of  honeysuckle and salvia and the hummingbirds were busy.  I felt so blessed to be here.  We each ordered a glass of Cabernet from their award-winning wine list and reminisced about our day. Life IS good!

I ordered “The Mountain Top BLT” made with apple wood smoked bacon on grilled multi-grain bread.  Barbara had the Pan Seared Yellow Tuna on a sesame Kaiser roll with cilantro cusabi and avocado spread. The presentation was colorful and the service was attentive but not overbearing. We sat, relaxed and content, until we could no longer put off  kayaking or we would miss it entirely.

We drove the mile to the beach where we had a good choice of kayaks (we were the only people there).  The air was still warm and the birds were trilling their evening songs.  We could hear a group of other boaters on a far shore but other than that it was us chicks and the chickadees.

Our quest was to find a secluded rock with deep waters that we could swim off of in the morning. We paddled around the reservoir staying close to shore until we spotted two people swimming in the distance.  “Let’s check that out,” Barbara suggested.  They couldn’t possibly stay all night, could they?

A mother and daughter team were swimming at “our rock” –their voices and laughter carrying across the water. They lived in the area and supplied more information about the reservoir (it stores water for power, not drinking, motorboats are allowed but can’t exceed 5 mph, you can fish and there are hiking trails surrounding the reservoir on land owned by the Green Mountain National Forest). They assured us that we had found a great swimming spot; they were kayaking back to the public access and wouldn’t be here!

Barbara kayaking with the Green Mountains in the view. (Patricia Lyon-Surrey photo)

We were not ready to go in yet so kayaked out of the lake.  The light was fading, the mist was rising on the water and an occasional fish jumped in the distance.  We didn’t want to end the fun and paddled slowly back to the Inn’s beach.

Barbara’s Turn:

After that wonderful evening paddle on the Chittenden Reservoir, Pat and I made a pact to rise early and take a swim at “our “rock before breakfast; we figured we’d have that whole beautiful body of water to ourselves. We were almost right! The morning was  damp and Pat was making a face at me like she didn’t want to go, but I knew the water would feel warmer than the air temperature did so I just ignored her.  We intended to drive to the beach again, but discovered the gate across the road was locked.  Aargh!  Now I was making a face and Pat ignored me with a proposition: “Let’s just drive to the public access at the dam .” Pat is brilliant! Within 10 minutes we were inspecting the rocks  at the boat put-in.  Swimming there looked very doable… so we did.  Ahhhh!  The water was so soft, so beautiful, so refreshing.  As my Mom liked to say while swimming, it makes you feel like a million bucks!  Just as we were contemplating our wet exit a car with a kayak on the roof pulled into the lot.  The engine noise and doors slamming broke the magical spell of the quiet, but we later recaptured it t at breakfast, still feeling  like a million bucks!

We sat on the terrace with an unobstructed view of the reservoir eating heartily from the ample and yummy breakfast buffet. I stared at the view that had become familiar but not mundane and began to feel that the Mountain Top Inn & Resort was like a mini-Mt. Washington Resort in New Hampshire. But instead of the hulking Mt. Washington dominating the view, here it was the untouched Chittenden Reservoir.  From the living and sitting rooms upstairs in the lobby to the terrace seating on the ground floor,  the dining room, from the stair case,  our bedroom, everywhere we went that view of the reservoir surrounded by untouched peaks of the Green Mountain National Forest was working its peaceful influence on me. I was like a buckle bunny following her rodeo hero as my eyes kept seeking out this view that  released unknown stresses from deep within me.

Louise, the manager of the equestrian center, and Diane joined us for coffee and chat. They answered all our questions which is how we learned the history of the Inn (it began as a storage barn on a turnip farm!), about other summer activities such as hiking, tennis, kid and family activities and scenic pontoon boat cruises (how did we miss out on that?). They forgot to mention the ‘self-play grassy hill’ at the edge of the veranda – maybe THE best attraction overall – where kids awaiting their food, and after their meals (how did they do that on full stomachs?) rolled like logs down the slope, giggling and shouting, charging back up the hill for another go and calling out challenges to race. The live entertainment they provided was priceless! I want  to show this gem to my husband, so secretly I vowed to bring him back for a weekend of cross-country skiing on the Resort’s 60 km of trails lacing over hundreds of acres, and to have a look at the Reservoir in winter to see if its spell still held me.

During our discussion, Louise mentioned that clay bird shooting is one activity popular among both sexes and all ages.  Pat’s and my ears perked up through our hair.  Instinctively we looked at each other with wide grins. Louise, evidently quick at reading human behavior queried, “Would you like to give it a try?” We had been swimming already, trail riding was next, and then shooting before lunch? It looked like we were heading for another triathlon kind of day!

Trail riding cowgirls. (Mountain Top Inn photo)

At the trail barn Pat and I were introduced to our mounts, Montana and Cassanova.  Montana was a sturdy beast and Pat climbed aboard the Western saddle.  She looked the cowgirl part, bright-eyed and smiling, leaning on the pommel, relaxed and ready to ride the range. All that was missing for an authentic photo was a lariat, and, maybe, a rifle. I petted Cassanova and settled into the English saddle I had requested.  I wished I had brought along my cowgirl hat so I would look more the part. But it didn’t matter, our brains were firmly clad in requisite riding helmets. Immediately Erin caught our attention with introductions to our fellow trail riders and the order  our horses should follow. We fell in line behind our trail guide and headed out.

I fell into a relaxed lull from the steady rocking motion of Cassanova’s walk. The horses knew their jobs and stepped sure-footed over branches, around rocks, up and down the old logging roads and trails.  Erin asked friendly questions  that broke the ice and soon we were chatting among ourselves.  I was last in line and enjoyed being able to ride quietly at times and look around. We passed through a cover of ferns, sunlight shafts reaching the under story here and there, lighting up the forest floor. A breeze ruffled the corners of our opened jackets. No bugs. I was in horsey heaven.

Shortly, we came into an open meadow on the crest of a hill, and there before us lay “my ” view—the water, the lodge, the mountains. I took in a deep breath and shut my eyes to lock this scene into my memory bank.

Mountaintop’s trail rides are grouped by ability and the guides always  keep the ride fun and safe for all participants.  Because Pat was a novice we only walked – no trotting or cantering. No one in our group minded. At one point Pat’s horse took a quick, short trot downhill and she handled it just fine even with that look of surprise on her face!  Just being with the horses was fun; riding on this pristine property was a privilege.

Pat’s Turn:

We had just enough time after our trail ride to get back to our room and pack up before the shooting began.  I was so excited that I didn’t have time to be sorry that we weren’t staying another night.  Barbara and I again high-tailed it–this time to the clay pigeon shooting range. Now I was really beginning to imagine that I was a cowgirl, giggling to myself at the idea.

We were met at the range by Roger Hill, Director of Programs & Facilities at the Inn. Roger started working at the resort from the age of 13 until college which took him away for a few years.  His homecoming to the inn was in 2005.  It says something about the Inn that so many of the people working here have been around for years.

Clay Pigeon Lesson with Roger Hill. (Patricia Lyon-Surrey photo)

The shooting range at Mountain Top encourage success for novices. We were fitted with ear protectors and Roger’s first emphasis was safety. We entered the shooting hut individually (for safety) and Roger gave each of us a private lesson explaining the twenty-gauge shotgun, how to hold it to limit the kick, how to load the chamber and how to aim.  He never talked down to us and acted as if it would be no time at all before we would get the hang of it.  Now it was time to shoot!

Our job was to load 5 shells into the gun with the safety on, lock one shell into the chamber, shoulder the gun and take the safety off, then say “Pull” when we wanted the clay pigeon to be released. Of course then we were supposed to  hit the pigeon!  We each had five chances before the next person shot.  Barbara went first and  hit a pigeon!  My first five rounds also resulted in that small orange disc splintering in the air.  Instant gratification! This sport is addictive!

Barbara and Pat clay pigeon shooting. (Roger Hill photo)

Each time we missed a shot Roger would explain:  “Pull the trigger earlier (or later).” Or “You are sighting with your head instead of the shotgun, follow it slowly and then shoot”. He also was quick to say “that’s much better!” and “good shot!” when we did it right. I loved it and didn’t want this part of cowgirling to ever end. Roger offered us a clay pigeon (whole) to take home with us as a souvenir, and  Barbara scrambled to pick up an empty shell.  I was very sorry to leave but our stomachs were saying it had been a long time since breakfast!

We returned to our favorite eating spot at the Inn, the outdoor terrace overlooking the Green Mountains and the reservoir.  The hummingbirds were still working those plants. Being a cowgirl I felt like eating beef so I ordered the “Tavern Burger” (certified Angus Beef with bleu cheese, tomatoes and lettuce on a French roll). Barbara chose “The French Dip Au Jus”, tender beef on a crusty roll and fries. Although I was pleasantly full when I finished, I couldn’t resist ordering the homemade Blackberry Ice Cream. Of course Barbara asked for a second spoon!

We dallied in the sun and immersed ourselves in the view for longer than lunch should take.  Reluctantly we said good-bye.  Just for now that is.

Dead Bear Walking: This yearling black bear shows no fear of cars or people and was photographed near a roadside campground. It's only a matter of time before he becomes a "nuisance" and has to be destroyed.

For some reason, one of the questions I get most frequently, both from readers and from folks who discover that I do a lot of hiking, camping and wilderness backpacking have to do with bears.

The questions often come down to one essential point: “Aren’t you afraid of bears?”

The answer is a qualified “No.”

I definitely respect bears. They are, after all, large, powerful predators. And anyone with any common sense takes reasonable precautions to avoid bad encounters with bears. But, no,  I don’t fear bears. Nor should you.

Bad encounters between humans and the black bears that inhabit the northeast are rare. There haven’t been any bear attacks here that I know of in centuries. Most human-bear encounters these days are a bear taking advantage of a ready food source from a backyard bird feeder, pet food left out overnight, unsecured garbage cans, etc. These encounters are always the human’s fault and therefore preventable. Unfortunately any human/bear encounter these days almost always ends badly for the bear and it isn’t the bear’s fault.

Have you ever heard the saying “A fed bear is a dead bear?” It’s true. Whether it’s unintentional, or from some foolish person who intentionally puts out food for the bears, it always turns out badly for the bear.

Bears that learn to associate humans with food sources almost inevitably start acting aggressively to defend what they consider “their” food source. It’s bears being bears. Unfortunately, aggressive bears tend to get shot.

A couple of weeks ago, EasternSlopes.com Publisher and Senior Editor David Shedd and I were camping in a remote spot we visit several times each year. We’ve never seen another backpacker in the area.  There are bears here, though—we’ve seen them often and almost always see fresh bear sign.

We  take normal precautions, keeping our cooking area and all our food well away from the pitched tents and cleaning  up our camp area, but I admit we aren’t as careful as we could be. We’ve never had a problem here, and, frankly, I don’t expect to. For one thing, this is hunting country and the bears are naturally shy. For another, we don’t camp here often enough to get the bears to think of this as a regular food source.

In fact, I’ve never had a problem in any remote campsite. As a result we may have gotten a little too careless and may be setting ourselves up for trouble in the future. Time to re-assess. We usually have pepper spray with us, but that’s a absolute last-resort. Better to take precautions to avoid trouble before it begins. Again it’s a matter of respecting bears who are being  bears.

Driving home from that trip, I encountered a young bear I photographed from my car. (Big ears + long legs = small bear) He was hanging out not far from a commercial campsite and showed no fear of my car or me. Sadly, this was a dead bear walking. It’s only a matter of time .

Problems begin where people camp regularly. Lots of people leave lots of food around—intentionally or unintentionally. Bears find and eat it. The bear learns that campgrounds mean food and they start protecting it.

Eventually, they get trapped, tagged and transported away; if they come back, or find another human-associated food source, they get shot. Sad end of story.

I’m really, really careful in roadside campsites. You should be, too, unless you want to be the first recorded bear attack in the northeast in recent history. You can avoid any potential for trouble by keeping your campsite clean and all food safely stored away in sealed containers inside your car.

I’m also more wary in established backcountry campsites such as the shelters and designated camping spots along major trails. Again, any place where people stay and eat. If a bear’s discovered a reliable food source, it’s only a matter of time before trouble develops. Camping shops now have “bear proof” containers to store your food in. They add weight and bulk to your pack, but they also help keep your food, you, the people who follow you, and the bears themselves safe.

So if you’re out in bear country, just be prepared to give them the thought and respect they deserve. Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!

A testosterone-fueled bull moose in the fall is about the most dangerous animal in the eastern woodlands (next to people, of course). Keep your distance. (Tim Jones photo)

Moose To Mice To Mosquitoes

As far as I’m concerned, the most dangerous large animal in the northeastern woods (other than people, of course) are moose. A mama moose with a baby nearby is nearly a thousand pounds of overprotective motherlove waiting to stomp any perceived threat.

Likewise a bull moose drunk with testosterone in the height of the fall rut is nothing to fool with. Generally speaking, I try to keep my distance from moose. I’d recommend you do the same.

Summer is the time when Rabies rears it’s ugly head. It’s rare, but not rare enough. The best protection from rabies is to be aware of your surroundings. If you see an animal that isn’t afraid of you, move away; if you get bitten by any mammal, see your doctor.

Rodents are always a potential source of annoyance (and disease) when you’re camping. Mice proliferate near campsites. Camp in any shelter along the Appalachian Trail and you’ll spend half the night fending off attacks on your food supply by aggressive mice.

The best prescription for mice, and other occasionally troublesome critters like raccoons is the same one for bears: keep a clean camp, secure your food supply.

In my mind, the title for most dangerous and annoying critters in the woods belongs hands down to black flies, mosquitoes and ticks, which can drive you nuts with their relentless attacks and knock you down with disease if they get through. Sure, the diseases are rare, but the bugs themselves aren’t, so why take a chance.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been using an insect repellent called Ultrathon. It contains a timed-release form of DEET in a cream or spray-on base and lasts much longer than any other product I’ve tried. It works.

You can also use protective clothing  other bug strategies. Kids need special bug protection.

Bear Resources

There’s more good bear info to be had at these web sites:

www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Somethings_Bruin.htm

www.bears.mnr.gov.on.ca/

www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/living/living_with_bears.htm

For bearproof storage containers, Check out: Bearikade, Bear Vault, Ursack and Backpackers Cache for examples. They aren’t cheap, but they do protect your food from bears and other critters. Most good camping shops will have one or more available.

This marvelous "Close To Home" comic says it all. (www.gocomics.com)

Ask any dog owner—it’s been a horrible year for ticks already. But that’s the new normal: ticks by the millions in places where ticks were once rare.

Here in the northeast (and pretty much across the country) you encounter ticks in two basic styles–both of them bad. Big brown dog ticks are nasty critters. If they latch onto you, the bite site can get infected easily. Not fun. And they can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasmosis,  Babesiosis and several other nasty ailments. Also no fun. But at least dog ticks are big enough for you to see them easily.

But Ixodes deer ticks  (also called black-legged ticks) are even worse. So tiny in their nymphal stages that you can barely see them, they can carry Lyme disease, which you don’t want to get. There used to be a vaccine available for Lyme disease but it was pulled from the market a number of years ago and the CDC now warns that those who were vaccinated can no longer count on being immune since boosters are no longer available.

The CDC also maintains a complete list of tick-borne diseases in the US.

Avoiding Tick Bites

These simple steps can help you avoid tick bites and tick-borne diseases.

1) Wear protective clothing. Especially important are long pants, which should be tucked into high socks. Ticks generally latch on to a passing critter (you!) and crawl up, looking for a spot to burrow in and feed. Light colors will help you spot the ticks. A couple of years ago, in what wasn’t even a “bad” year for ticks, I took a short hike that passed through a brushy field and found nine brown dog ticks on my light gray socks when I got back to the car.

2) Use a DEET-based insect repellent around your ankles, wrists (preferably with a light-colored, long-sleeve shirt) and on your neck.  Put repellent on your clothing at the entry points (aerosol or pump sprays are best for this), not just on your skin. Caution:  This may discolor some clothing, so if you care about looking chic, you may not want to do it. Our favorite repellent after years of testing is 3M Ultrathon; it stays on longer when you’re hot and sweaty than anything else we’ve ever tried. Sad to say, none of the “natural” (non-Deet) products we’ve tried seem to actually work. If you choose not to use a DEET-based repellent, be extra careful with protective clothing.

3) If you can, when returning from an outdoor adventure, disrobe outside your house or your tent to avoid bringing ticks in with you.

4) Check yourself carefully at the end of any outdoor adventure (even a stroll across your lawn). A tick check should be as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth before bed. If you don’t have a companion to help, carry a mirror to examine spots you can’t see easily.  Remember the “National Geographic” videos with chimpanzees grooming each other?  Yes, they’re removing ticks, lice, etc…feel free to make appropriate chimp noises while helping someone do their tick check.

5) Carefully remove any ticks you find by pulling gently with tweezers or using any one of the myriad tick pullers on the market.  We’ve had excellent results with the Ticked Off; it puts pressure on the skin and allows you to push the tick up and out.  Killing ticks can be difficult; they’re remarkably well armored.  Best bets are to flush them, or, if you are regularly in tick territory, to carry a little bottle with rubbing alcohol in it…just drop the ticks in, put the cover back on, you’re done.

If all else fails, and a tick attaches, don’t panic; it takes 24 hours for any disease to be released into you.  After you remove the tick, take a pen, draw a circle around the bite, and monitor it for changes.  See your doctor immediately if you develop any disease symptoms like swelling, a rash, etc.

An embedded tick is bad news. Prevention is better (Lyme Disease Foundation/Patmas)

Tick-Proof Clothing

Any clothing makes an effective tick barrier, especially if used in conjunction with a DEET-based repellent. Ticks can’t bite through clothes, they must get directly onto your skin.

Insect Shield clothing from a number of manufacturers has Permethrin bonded into the fabric, and is EPA-approved. It appears to work extremely well against ticks, mosquitoes and blackflies. We’ve been testing it for a couple of years now in pants and shirts from Ex Officio, Insect Shield socks from L.L. Bean, and low gaiters from Outdoor Research, and we recommend it highly.  It’s rated to be effective for 70 washings; unless you’re detail oriented enough to count, plan on a couple of seasons of effectiveness for moderate use.

We’ve also been testing some ultra lightweight, ultra breathable, snug-fitting long underwear called “Rynoskins”  which were developed for the military in hot, humid, bug-infested environments. These also keep blackflies, chiggers, and no-see-ums at  bay, but don’t protect against mosquitoes. So far, Rynoskins appear to work very, very well. It’s comfortable to wear (except in real heat and humidity when nothing is comfortable) and we haven’t had a tick (or blackfly) penetrate the defense yet. This stuff fits quite snugly, ticks can’t bite through it and can’t crawl under it to reach the succulent flesh (that would be you and me) beneath.

Ticks and Clothing Color

Interesting note: on a recent kayak camping trip to what turned out to be a tick-infested island, one of us had a yellow tent and found several ticks crawling on it; another had a green tent and  found no ticks on it. Both tents were set up only a couple of feet apart, both in the middle of a weedy opening with the river on one side, dense honeysuckle on the other three sides. Tick heaven, apparently.

One of us has a yellow rain jacket and found several ticks on it while  the other had a green rain jacket and found none.

Now it may be that the ticks were simply easier to spot on the brighter yellow, but we don’t think so–we both checked the green very carefully. Obviously, more observation is needed.

The interesting fact here is that ticks are blind and can’t see color. But it may be that they are still able to sense and are attracted to one color over another (maybe the way a certain color radiates heat?).  If you have found ticks attracted to one color over another, please send an email  and tell us of your  experience. Perhaps the most useful takeaway on this one is that paying attention to details like this make it that much more likely you’ll notice the ticks before they latch onto YOU!

Sad to say, ticks are out there lurking by the billions, just waiting for a chance to hitch a free ride and a meal. Don’t let that stop you from going outdoors, but do take simple, basic precautions to avoid problems.

For more information on ticks and Lyme Disease go to www.tickinfo.com and the Lyme Disease Foundation.

When it's raining, set up a tarp first, then pitch your tent underneath it to keep the tent interior dry. (Tim Jones photo)

The monsoon has set in again this year. New England and the whole Northeast seem in danger of becoming a rainforest.

Let’s just assume, for the sake of argument, that it’s going to continue. It rained often last summer and the summer before that. If you plan an overnight hike,  it’s safe to assume it’s going to rain at least part of the time.

You could decide not to go—which wouldn’t be any fun at all. Or, you could pretend it isn’t going to rain, get totally soaked and live with it—which also doesn’t sound like much fun.

Believe it or not, some rain can actually add to the pleasure of camping. There’s something absolutely decadent about snuggling down in a dry sleeping bag in a watertight shelter listening to rain falling

Here are a couple of tricks for enjoying camping in the rain.

Pack Right:

When the tent body is up but the rainfly isn't, the inside of your tent can get wet in a hurry . . . pitching it under a tarp keeps things drier.(Tim Jones photo)

Just as you dress in layers to stay comfortable in bad weather, you have to pack in layers to keep dry. Any one layer of protection can fail, so double or even triple up.

Pack anything you absolutely need to keep dry—sleeping bag, clothing, food, GPS, in the dry bags originally designed for canoeing. There are lots of good ones on the market; I like the siliconized Cordura Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks from Sea to Summit. Never had one fail.

Even though it’s probably made of waterproof material, your backpack isn’t waterproof. It has too many seams and openings. So if you want all the contents to stay dry, use a pack rain cover, a waterproof pack liner, or better yet, both are absolutely necessary. I’ve used pack covers  from REI and they worked great, but newer siliconized nylon pack covers from Sea to Summit are lighter and more compact when they aren’t deployed to cover your pack.

Heavy duty trash bags make pretty good pack liners—but water always seems to find its way into that big top opening, so I’ve switched to a huge Sea to Summit Ultra-sil pack liner with a roll-down top that seals completely. It keeps everything dry no matter what. Get one that completely fills the main pocket of your pack.

It doesn’t matter if everything in your packs stays dry only to get wet when you take it out. So here’s the real trick to setting up a dry camp even in a downpour:

On the outside of your pack, somewhere easily accessible carry a large lightweight tarp and lots of nylon cord. I use an excellent  27 oz. S2 8.5×10.5 foot ripstop WXTex tarp from Pacific Outdoors.  Bigger is better. This tarp is heavier (and probably more durable)  than the new siliconized nylon versions, but it’s served me well and I probably won’t replace it with a lighter version until it fails a decade or two from now.

When I get to my campsite, I  lean my pack against a a tree (so the pack cover still protects it, and grab the tarp. I then choose the spot to set my tent and hang the tarp directly over it, trying to pitch it so the water runs off to the downhill side.  With enough cord, it’s almost always possible . . .

A freestanding tent can then be set wherever you want it, leaving the tarp set up for a dry cooking space. With the fly on, the tent interior stays dry. (Tim Jones photo)

Then,  I carry my pack under the shelter of the tarp before I open it and the packliner in it. I set up my tent and rainfly under the tarp, so the tent’s interior stays dry. Some tents can be pitched so the fly goes up first, then you add the tent body—nifty trick if you have someplace to keep the tent body dry while you pitch the rain fly for added protection if the wind blows rain under the tarp.

In the morning, do everything in reverse order, taking down the tarp only after your still-dry tent and contents are safely stowed. Using this system you can keep your gear dry even through an extended rain. The wet tarp  and wet tent fly add weight, of course, but it’s lighter than a pack full of rain-soaked gear.

HARD-TOP OPTIONS

Shelters like this one are common along the Appalachian Trail, Long Trail, and throughout the Adirondacks, Green and White Mountains. Perfect for a rainy night. (Tim Jones photo)

This kind of weather makes hard-top camping a real option. Throughout the hills of New England you can find cabins, lean-tos huts and yurts, all of which allow you to camp out without having to worry (much) about the rain. You do still have to worry about mosquitoes . . .

The Appalachian Mountain Club, has a system of high huts in the White Mountains, e are perfect options for an overnight, whether it’s raining or not. If you’ve never been backpacking, this is a great way to start since you don’t have to worry about shelter or food. Their cabins such as High Cabin on Cardigan Mountain in New Hampshire and Goose Pond Camp in Mass., are another option.

There’s also a new system of 12 hike-to huts being developed by Maine Huts. Two have been completed.

The lean-tos and shelters along the Appalachian Trail in CT, MA and NH and Vermont’s Long Trail are often crowded in the summer, though that may not be the case when it seems to rain constantly. Mid-week is an especially wonderful time to go and explore.

The Randolph Mountain Club has four shelters: Gray Knob, Crag Camp, The Log Cabin and The Perch, with bunks available on a first-come, first-served basis

The White Mountain National Forest (www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/recreation/camping) has lean-to shelters in some backcountry campsites and several hike-to cabins, some of which can be reserved. Download their “On Foot” brochure for an (almost) complete listing.

Merck Forest & Farmland Center (www.merckforest.org) in Rupert, VT has several cabins that look like they’d be perfect for a rainy-night getaway.

There are several Yurts for rent at Tenney Mountain in Plymouth NH, (www.whitemountainexploration.com/yurts.html), and another one at Maple Wind Farm (www.maplewindfarm.com) in Huntington Vermont.

If you know of any other hard-top shelters open to the general public that I’ve missed, please drop me an email.

Cold Comfort! A woodstove keeps Matt Marean warm as he packs up his gear after having survived his first night ever in a backpacking tent camp. (David Shedd photo)

My young friend Matt clearly needed a little time away from his parents. So my buddy David and I invited him on his first-ever backpacking trip. Sleeping out in a tent in the middle of winter with a couple of feet of snow on the ground expands your horizons and teaches you some valuable lessons—whether you recognize them at the time or not.

David walked Matt through the whole packing process, showing him what he needed and why. He let Matt pack his own pack—leaving room for common gear and food. Lesson: we are all essentially responsible for ourselves and we all need to carry our fair share.

We met for a HUGE breakfast. Like many teenagers, Matt wakes up reluctantly; his appetite wakes even later. I think he was stunned by the amount of food David and I ate so early in the morning. But calories you eat before you leave the trailhead are calories you don’t have to carry in your pack. Lesson: Sometimes, long-term benefits outweigh immediate desires.

At the trailhead, we shouldered our packs, strapped on snowshoes and headed out. Matt’s bindings gave him trouble so we stopped to readjust. Lesson: We all stick together and help as needed.

Many hands make light work! Matt and David pitch in to clear away two feet of snow from a spot to pitch their winter tent. (Tim Jones photo)

Our planned hike wasn’t long—a lesson David and I learned the hard way—and we all took turns breaking trail in the deep snow. When we arrived at the campsite, we all grabbed shovels to dig out the tent site and firepit. Then we set up the tipi, gathered firewood and got the necessary camp chores done. Matt took the initiative when he saw something that needed doing, and took direction when necessary. Lesson: First things first; if everyone pitches in, chores get done.

After lunch, I set up the woodstove and finished camp chores, while Matt and David took a hike to see some scenery. Lesson: Leave time for fun. I encountered a problem with the stovepipe that we eventually solved: Lesson: use your head(s) and don’t give up.

Warmth in the wilderness. With plenty of firewood and steaks to cook, David Shedd and Matt Marean can enjoy a warm refuge on a chilly winter backpacking trip. (Tim Jones photo)

Our evening was spent dreaming the campfire, cooking steaks, talking topics as large as our place in the universe (a natural topic with infinite stars overhead) and as small as how to keep a campfire going. I don’t know that any of us learned anything profound—but I don’t know that we didn’t, either. It was the kind of free-flowing conversation punctuated by natural silences that people can share when they aren’t bombarded by constant artificial images and noise. Lesson: sometimes it’s OK to just be in the moment.

David and I both slept well, cozy and relaxed in a familiar setting. Lesson: trust your gear. As always, we woke up occasionally, listened to the wind in the trees and went right back to sleep. Matt admitted he had trouble sleeping. He wasn’t cold as much as afraid of being cold. That’s not uncommon for new campers. Lesson: sometimes you just have to get through a bad night to reach a new day.

In the morning, the woodstove kept us toasty warm as we ate breakfast and dressed. Then we packed up, put on our snowshoes and hiked out. Matt took the lead and we urged him to range ahead and follow the trail on his own . . . If Matt learned any lessons from his moments alone, he didn’t say.

David and I are planning another winter overnight soon. We’re hoping Matt can join us. Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!

Lessons  Learned Outdoors

I honestly can’t tell you if Matt learned anything from his quick overnight adventure with one man who is old enough to be his grandfather (that would be me) and one who is seriously involved with his mother and therefore a father figure by default. We tried to share a lot with him in a very short time.

I suspect he did learn, but it may take time for those lessons to become clear. That’s the way we all learn.

I can’t even begin to tell you all the lessons I’ve  learned from being outdoors over the years; Lessons about what’s really valuable. Lessons about what’s really necessary and what isn’t, about being alone and working with other people, who you can trust, who you can’t and what friendship really means. Lessons about planning and preparing, about  making good decisions and sticking to them, or about changing direction when circumstances changed, and about backing out when going forward would be foolhardy. Lessons about thinking my way out of trouble when trouble unexpectedly came to find me.

And that’s the big stuff. There were also simple little lessons about how good it feels to use your body the way it was designed to be used, how to take care of yourself day to day.

I know there are venues for learning life lessons other than getting active outdoors. But getting outdoors and doing things is so much fun! And it’s so easy and natural to learn in little steps along the way.

It takes one step at a time to travel a long trail, and life is a very long trail. Spending time outdoors is a natural learning process. Learn as you go from any source you can, and live your life as if it wasn’t a spectator sport.

Gearing Up

No one should ever use “I don’t have the stuff I need,” as an excuse for not doing something active outdoors. Not in this day in age. David and I had enough spare gear between us to outfit Matt. If we hadn’t, we could have rented what we needed.

Every cross-country ski area rents skis and most rent snowshoes. There’s a comprehensive list of resorts at the Cross Country Ski Areas Association (www.xcski.org) and you can get lessons as well. When summer comes, kayaks and bikes are easy to rent

If you have an EMS or REI store nearby, both rent excellent camping and mountaineering equipment at very reasonable prices.

There are also on-line sources for longer-term rentals at (www.lowergear.com) and (www.gogitto.com). They’ll ship whatever you need to your door. I’ve never used either of these so can’t recommend from personal experience but the websites look professional, the gear they are offering is proven, and the concept looks legitimate.