Primitive Camping: A How to from the pros: How cold can you go?

With winter in full swing, we decided it was time to dust off our ice picks and hit the trails for some rugged, cold weather priming. That's right. Our first sub-freezing, snow packed climb of the year putting our moderate survival skills to the test. It doesn't get much better than icy rocks, frozen earth and that shred of fear about a wicked snow drift covering us during the night.

Now before I go on and on about our adventure, I must warn you of the real and immediate danger facing hikers and primers during the winter camping season. Preparation is always an important tool when priming, but during the winter, it is our most important tool and the only way to create an exciting and enjoyable experience. Location, gear and weather must all be considered at great length before you embark on a chilling journey on the trail.

We decided to head to Grandfather Mountain for our trip. We considered a few other locations but determined that Grandfather would give us a good hike and plenty of cold without us diving to deep into the Blue Ridge. In preparation, we re-fitted ourselves with sub-zero mummy bags, new thermals-polyester and wool--and some new ice tracks for walking on slick mountain ice. Our goal with the re-fitting was to minimize our carry-in weight and keep our layers warm yet light. We reduced our bag weight by about 7 pounds by switching to lighter sleeping bags and adjusting our supply numbers. Our rations consisted of black beans, apples, cheese, almonds, and bread.

The forecast for Boone and Grandfather Mountain could not have been better. Temperatures were just above 20F (-6C) at noon on our arrival day and expected to drop down to 5F(-15C) during the night. The wind was a brisk 15mph, which dropped the wind chill to around 12F. Snow was also blowing in during the day and night so it gave us a real wintry experience.

Well we left Greensboro and made a few stops along the way. We planned on arriving at Grandfather by 1:30pm, which would have given us plenty of trail time with enough daylight to set-up camp. The weather slowed us down and we did not arrive in Boone until 2:00pm. Unfortunately, we got turned around trying to find the trail head. Some of the entrances were closed and others were iced over. After about an hour of directional miscues, we finally landed on the right road. However, the shadows were beginning to stretch further and further across the car and the clouds seemed to be rushing in lower and lower as the day slowly passed. We had to decide if we wanted to risk losing the daylight before we reached our camp or admit we missed our window and come back another weekend.

After evaluating our situation and deciding to re-schedule, we made the most of our time around the mountain and took some pictures and climbed a few rocks. We have set a new date for our next cold weather priming adventure and hope to provide you with more than just a few photos. But until next time, enjoy the weather and keep priming.