This weekend brought my first winter back country travel experience. I went with the OSU Outdoor Recreation Center to the Willamette National Forest Gold Lake recreation area. Below are some pictures from my adventures in the snow!
Plenty of snow for winter camping!
The snow shelter takes shape along the side of a hill at the camp ground. We dug out a base from the hill and built in some shelves for our kitchen and backpacks!
Once we had the base dug out we were able to cover it up with a tarp to provide protection from wind, rain, and snow. We dug the edges of the tarp into the snow by burying skis we had wrapped up in the tarp and back filling with snow.
Once our shelter was all sealed up we moved in! Here you can see my sleeping arrangements along with a cooking shelf that served as a refrigerator for the food we had brought along. Hard boiled eggs, pre-cooked Quinoa, and even left-overs stayed nice and cold in the shelter which averaged about 38 degrees Fahrenheit with two warm bodies in it!
Here I am ready to go the next morning after a semi-restful slumber. It was a little hard to get used to and I could have used a few extra degrees more warmth in my sleeping bag but all in all it was a wonderful experience. I can't wait to do it again!
Here's a peak into our shelter from above; as you can see it was dug about 4 feet into the ground with snow on five sides of a somewhat cubical shape.
Our "kitchen" shelf allowed us to stay warm and dry while boiling water and warming up breakfast and dinner without having to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning...it's easy for winter campers to suffocate themselves if they try to cook without enough ventilation!
Gold Lake was a beautiful, calm reflecting pool for the snow covered limbs and trees around its bank.
Bright green moss proved a stark contrast to the white snow.
The three-sided Gold Lake shelter provided a respite from the snow with plenty of wood and a stove to warm-up by.
Plenty of snow for winter camping!
The snow shelter takes shape along the side of a hill at the camp ground. We dug out a base from the hill and built in some shelves for our kitchen and backpacks!
Once we had the base dug out we were able to cover it up with a tarp to provide protection from wind, rain, and snow. We dug the edges of the tarp into the snow by burying skis we had wrapped up in the tarp and back filling with snow.
Once our shelter was all sealed up we moved in! Here you can see my sleeping arrangements along with a cooking shelf that served as a refrigerator for the food we had brought along. Hard boiled eggs, pre-cooked Quinoa, and even left-overs stayed nice and cold in the shelter which averaged about 38 degrees Fahrenheit with two warm bodies in it!
Here I am ready to go the next morning after a semi-restful slumber. It was a little hard to get used to and I could have used a few extra degrees more warmth in my sleeping bag but all in all it was a wonderful experience. I can't wait to do it again!
Here's a peak into our shelter from above; as you can see it was dug about 4 feet into the ground with snow on five sides of a somewhat cubical shape.
Our "kitchen" shelf allowed us to stay warm and dry while boiling water and warming up breakfast and dinner without having to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning...it's easy for winter campers to suffocate themselves if they try to cook without enough ventilation!
Gold Lake was a beautiful, calm reflecting pool for the snow covered limbs and trees around its bank.
Bright green moss proved a stark contrast to the white snow.
The three-sided Gold Lake shelter provided a respite from the snow with plenty of wood and a stove to warm-up by.
1 comment:
These are some great shots Lau!! I love it! You're so adventurous. It looks bbrrrrrr cold. :)Can't wait to see you soon!
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