The Winter Bug Out Contest! Rookie of The Year Award!

[the_alias]

Awesome Blackdog! I like the burn down fires.

That reindeer hide looks like a great addition - my friend has a sheep skin he swears by.
I'm getting more and more excited

[RGR SNAPLINK]

Awesome Black Dog! I gotta ask, what kind of pack is that? The one I used in my entry, was burnt up a couple nights later when a buddy tried to make that same kind of fire right before we turned in for the night. Except he tried to do it from an existing fire. Coals on top and bottom! Flaming inferno of fail!

I really like the WM bag, and deer hide. great idea.

[Blackdog]

Awesome Black Dog! I gotta ask, what kind of pack is that? The one I used in my entry, was burnt up a couple nights later when a buddy tried to make that same kind of fire right before we turned in for the night. Except he tried to do it from an existing fire. Coals on top and bottom! Flaming inferno of fail!

I really like the WM bag, and deer hide. great idea.

Yikes, burned up, that's a real bummer. I was snoring under a poncho liner with my boots sitting out when a rock head stoked up the fire and burned my boots, made for a long day, for both of us.

The gear fairy was very good to me a few years ago, the pack is a custom Dan McHale pretty much like this.

http://www.mchalepacks.com/ultralight/detail/UnLtd.htm

And not just a deer hide, a reindeer hide, they are pretty warm to sleep on but go figure don't pack down real well.

[Kulprit]

Blackdog: Silly question - out of curiosity where does the dog sleep?

I like the idea of bringing my mutt but he's a but of a puss, haha.

[Blackdog]

Blackdog: Silly question - out of curiosity where does the dog sleep?

I like the idea of bringing my mutt but he's a but of a puss, haha.

Well, pretty much where ever she wants to. She is a good girl bred for the mountains and spends a fair amount of time out and about so for the most part just on the ground although if it is cold I will, like this time pack a extra mat for her and if not so cold she will usually sleep on my jacket. This time out the little weenie crawled into the bivi with me which worked out OK. Like us mutts have to be in good physical condition and acclimated to the enviroment (also pretty well trained for free range wandering).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakachan_Dog

[kyle]

I tossed up a banner add for this event. Hopefully it will get you guys more exposure. This is a great idea.

I'm not very graphicly-able so if anyone can come up with a better banner, let me know. I stole that image from the New York chapter website, by the way, http://zsny.org/ I hope you guys don't mind.

[riverjoe47]

Blackdog: Silly question - out of curiosity where does the dog sleep?

I like the idea of bringing my mutt but he's a but of a puss, haha.

Well, pretty much where ever she wants to. She is a good girl bred for the mountains and spends a fair amount of time out and about so for the most part just on the ground although if it is cold I will, like this time pack a extra mat for her and if not so cold she will usually sleep on my jacket. This time out the little weenie crawled into the bivi with me which worked out OK. Like us mutts have to be in good physical condition and acclimated to the enviroment (also pretty well trained for free range wandering).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakachan_Dog

This is such a great idea . Every post teaches me something .
Just called local store about the Marmot parka . Don't know if I can afford it but gonna go look at it . Those 5 toe socks seem like a great idea ,Im gonna order some of those . Looked up those knots since Im always looking for a better knot . Kinda hard to learn but I think I can master the Siberian since there is a video for that .
That dog looks like he ought to generate a lot of BTUs Id definitely be dragging him into my bag .Like the idea of the upside down fire too . Thanks BD.

[gatorglockman]

I just wanted to sound off to let the true Winter Bug Out posters how much I appreciate their pics and commentary. Really good stuff. Motivational and instructional.

I have a Bug Out planned with some friends in the Mar/Apr time frame. I hope I do half as good as you guys in regards to the capture of quality pics and valuable learnings.

[Kulprit]

Blackdog: Silly question - out of curiosity where does the dog sleep?

I like the idea of bringing my mutt but he's a but of a puss, haha.

Well, pretty much where ever she wants to. She is a good girl bred for the mountains and spends a fair amount of time out and about so for the most part just on the ground although if it is cold I will, like this time pack a extra mat for her and if not so cold she will usually sleep on my jacket. This time out the little weenie crawled into the bivi with me which worked out OK. Like us mutts have to be in good physical condition and acclimated to the enviroment (also pretty well trained for free range wandering).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakachan_Dog

Wow awesome dog. Considering that my dog insists on sleeping under the covers with us INSIDE I can't imagine it would be down to sleep on a mat in a winter bug out. LoL

I plan to start taking him on hikes with me (short ones) on a leash. At the least it'll burn some of the energy off him as he has TONS of it.

[R3dShift2012]

and for the first real test a pair of 5 toe Iniji sock liners which really worked out well to my surprise.

I really like these as well. My toes sweat a lot in the in-between spaces and the fabric of the toe socks really help wick it away.

injinji Performance Crew Toesocks

[riverjoe47]

I tossed up a banner add for this event. Hopefully it will get you guys more exposure. This is a great idea.

I'm not very graphicly-able so if anyone can come up with a better banner, let me know. I stole that image from the New York chapter website, by the way, http://zsny.org/ I hope you guys don't mind.

Great banner . I don't see how it could be improved . Well maybe hardwoods instead of conifers it doesn't look much like Indiana .

[Bubba Enfield]

I'll be heading out in the morning. Supposed to be high of -5C, low of -10C, with maybe 5cm of snow. Hopefully by Sunday night I'll have figured out the whole photobucket thing and post a report.

[bark-eater]

bark-eater

I just checked out your updated entry. Looks like a great time. I found the Paratarp a bit tight but then again I take up a bunch of room.

It was a good trip, I just wish I had a bigger time and weather window this year. My next "winter" trip will have to be in East Texas. The ParaTarp is what I got, so it works. There's just enough room in there for me to sit cross legged, but Im going to be wiping all the condensation off the inside with my body getting into that position. The lack of living space definitely influenced my decision to decamp. The thought of melting snow puddles and down insulation meeting cinched it though. I spent a month in a MountainSmith tepee a while back and had a foot of snow get melted by rain. There was a visible flow of water in one side and out the other. It was a good thing I had a cot set up. Im going to have to get myself north or west for a dry winter sometime soon.

[Woods Walker]

Blackdog.

That video was funny. 4 miles up hill thought the snow is hard. Frozen wood does suck; I had the same issue during my last outing. Dry camps are a pain in the backside any season. Glad the biner/prussic combo has worked out. Interesting metal canteen you got there. That is one hell of a knife and reindeer skin.

Everyone who has spent enough time sleeping out in colder weather has gotten a chill overnight at one time or another. To the best of my knowledge there are no exceptions. I can only speculate but guessing you started to sweat going uphill. Probably developed a slight chill a few minutes into the rest before setting up camp, I often do. That went away during camp chores such as setting up the shelter and cutting wood. This work also added moisture to clothing and burned though water and calories. Melting dry low density snow is a pain to scoop up over and over again only to watch it vanish into nothing. Probably reduced the total intake of water which makes dealing with the cold harder. Naturally this is all speculation on my part but given the same set of circumstances I would have probably got a chill during the night as well.

Great looking trip.

[sworbeyegib]

So I juts now found this thread, thanks to the awesome banner.

I'd love to do it, though I do believe my winter bug out is going to be much different than most peoples. It's so cold here that I might have to put a shirt on.

[Woods Walker]

bark-eater

I just checked out your updated entry. Looks like a great time. I found the Paratarp a bit tight but then again I take up a bunch of room.

The ParaTarp is what I got, so it works. There's just enough room in there for me to sit cross legged, but Im going to be wiping all the condensation off the inside with my body getting into that position.

On the pro side it sure packs down small. How well did that Ti-goat stove heat it? Mine can heat the Paratipi ok.

[bark-eater]

I was comfortable with the stove throttled down as low as it could with out smoke puffing out the front. My results are probably skewed as I was burning dry hardwood I cut and stashed on last years trip. It got nice and warm when I let the stove go, but I did get uncomfortable with the air freshness/carbon-monoxide level once with both the stove and and a butane cooker going at the same time and had to open the door. I set the Paratarp up so I could go out the side and not have to squeeze past the hot stove, being that I am big, clumsy and wrapped in flammable stuff.

[Blackdog]

Blackdog: Silly question - out of curiosity where does the dog sleep?

I like the idea of bringing my mutt but he's a but of a puss, haha.

Well, pretty much where ever she wants to. She is a good girl bred for the mountains and spends a fair amount of time out and about so for the most part just on the ground although if it is cold I will, like this time pack a extra mat for her and if not so cold she will usually sleep on my jacket. This time out the little weenie crawled into the bivi with me which worked out OK. Like us mutts have to be in good physical condition and acclimated to the enviroment (also pretty well trained for free range wandering).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakachan_Dog

This is such a great idea . Every post teaches me something .
Just called local store about the Marmot parka . Don't know if I can afford it but gonna go look at it . Those 5 toe socks seem like a great idea ,Im gonna order some of those . Looked up those knots since Im always looking for a better knot . Kinda hard to learn but I think I can master the Siberian since there is a video for that .
That dog looks like he ought to generate a lot of BTUs Id definitely be dragging him into my bag .Like the idea of the upside down fire too . Thanks BD.

I'm not sure what the current version of the Marmot Alpinist parka is like (or if they make one), I bought the one I have in 1999 so I figure by now I got a good deal on it. The shock cords are starting to lose a little bit of their elasticity now and a while back some of the seam tape started coming off, but a little seam sealer and back in buisness.

I gave up on sock liners years ago as they always seemed to slide down and around but I have to say the Injinji liners are really really nice and I am glad I gave them a try.

http://www.rei.com/product/806483

Back over here we talked about tarp knots and such (and I learned a couple of things from this thread after putting up tarps and ponchos for many years, thank you again WW). For real being able to tie oh say 5 or 6 knots well makes a big difference.

http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=65909&hilit=randy&start=0

and again here:

http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=66875&hilit=expedient+tarp

Many edits: I gotta have cup of joe before I do this again.

[Blackdog]

Blackdog.

That video was funny. 4 miles up hill thought the snow is hard. Frozen wood does suck; I had the same issue during my last outing. Dry camps are a pain in the backside any season. Glad the biner/prussic combo has worked out. Interesting metal canteen you got there. That is one hell of a knife and reindeer skin.

Everyone who has spent enough time sleeping out in colder weather has gotten a chill overnight at one time or another. To the best of my knowledge there are no exceptions. I can only speculate but guessing you started to sweat going uphill. Probably developed a slight chill a few minutes into the rest before setting up camp, I often do. That went away during camp chores such as setting up the shelter and cutting wood. This work also added moisture to clothing and burned though water and calories. Melting dry low density snow is a pain to scoop up over and over again only to watch it vanish into nothing. Probably reduced the total intake of water which makes dealing with the cold harder. Naturally this is all speculation on my part but given the same set of circumstances I would have probably got a chill during the night as well.

Great looking trip.

I slept warm enough both nights this trip but like I often do got the shivers after the sun sets, everything is pretty much done and was just sitting around the fire twiddling my thumbs watching snow melt and melt and melt like you said into not much. As this has happened more than once I know that for me the solution is to knock out some push ups and squats right away. As a added thrill the dogs water bowl would freeze over quickly so had to work that also. I don't mind the cold so much, the drag of winter to me is when it is pitch dark at 5:30 in the after noon. Thank goodness for a headlamp and the Kindle my wife induced me to get.

[aa1pr]

I tossed up a banner add for this event. Hopefully it will get you guys more exposure. This is a great idea.

I'm not very graphicly-able so if anyone can come up with a better banner, let me know. I stole that image from the New York chapter website, by the way, http://zsny.org/ I hope you guys don't mind.

This should be an yearly event !

[Woods Walker]

I don't mind the cold so much, the drag of winter to me is when it is pitch dark at 5:30 in the after noon. Thank goodness for a headlamp and the Kindle my wife induced me to get.

The ZL H501 is nice around camp and in winter there is a bunch more dark camp time. I pack a headlamp and flashlight as often run late hunting/fishing. The same applies for hikes and camping plus my BOB. The downtime in winter can be a drag however I can watch fire aka caveman TV all night.

[b.m.]

Looks too cold to be any fun for me- but I have to ask- what kind of knife is that? It really is quite beautiful...

I also like that you used an upside down fire... I've yet to try one of those, but am looking forward to it...

BM

[xxxDarksidexxx]

I tossed up a banner add for this event. Hopefully it will get you guys more exposure. This is a great idea.

I'm not very graphicly-able so if anyone can come up with a better banner, let me know. I stole that image from the New York chapter website, by the way, http://zsny.org/ I hope you guys don't mind.

where is this awesome banner? i see a link to the contest on the main page, but no banner... unless im a dummy and thats the banner...

thanks for the support kyle!

[xxxDarksidexxx]

I tossed up a banner add for this event. Hopefully it will get you guys more exposure. This is a great idea.

I'm not very graphicly-able so if anyone can come up with a better banner, let me know. I stole that image from the New York chapter website, by the way, http://zsny.org/ I hope you guys don't mind.

This should be an yearly event !

i might be. there was some talk about making it a yearly carity event.

maybe next year i can actually enter!