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| Carbon River entrance of Mt. Rainier National Park is the start of our journey! |
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| Jeff and I getting ready to head out down the trail. |
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| Perfect place for a snack! |
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| Theresa and Jeff enjoying the snow. |
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| Eventually the snow became deep enough that we could have used snowshoes. |
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| Jennifer |
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| Friends sharing a laugh. |
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| We have arrived at our destination! |
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| The cloud cover began to disappear in the afternoon. We were graced by blue skies and cooler temperatures. |
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| My accommodations, which will be shared by my friend Jennifer. |
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| Jeff setting up his tent. |
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| Getting dark! |
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| Theresa decided to test out hammock sleeping in the winter. |
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| Dinner time! We were thankful for the use of this temporary shelter in which to gather and prepare our meals. I'd like to thank Ranger Jim for allowing us its use. |
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| Luckily that's all the snow that fell on us overnight. |
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| Swimming anyone? |
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| Our campground even had toilet accommodations! |
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| Deer tracks! |
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| Getting ready to head home. |
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| Theresa, always smiling! |
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| I look like I might just know what I'm doing. |
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| Pack it out! |
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| Awed by the view. |
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| Despite the cold overnight temperatures we were all still smiling and friends in the end! |
I feel as though I learned a ton through of the course of the night. I learned how to pick a good tent location (Key: Remember to look up; snow on trees falls downward or even worse the weight of the snow on a tree branch can cause it to fall). I learned how to use several different types of camp stoves (Jetboil, MSR Reactor and the MSR Dragonfly). Most of all I learned I am capable of doing something that is a challenging. And I will gain knowledge to help me adapt to the difficulties I may encounter.
The weather was beautiful during the day and the stars in the night sky were clear than I ever recall seeing. Per Ranger Jim the overnight temperature was recorded around 18 degrees Fahrenheit. For me, it was brutally cold. I spent most of the night shivering and trying to come up with inventive ways to keep myself warm. We were not allowed to have a campfire, which made for an even tougher evening. Overall I am proud of myself and I cannot wait to see what my future holds. I hear the call of the mountains louder than ever!!
Distance: 10 miles round-trip
Elevation: 2,300 feet
Looks like fun. I haven't snow camped for about 4 years, and it was in the summer. We had lot's of snow in Desolation Valley, Calif. that year. It's not so bad if you have good gear, and don't get caught in a blizzard... We brought our back-country skis, and had a blast. The most fun was seeing the looks on peoples faces as we climbed out via Horse-tail falls, and were asked why we had skis. A lot of people turned around and headed back out after we told them the lakes were still frozen. The most disappointed one was a young boy with his fishing pole. We told him he'd need to break through the ice to fish. Hoping to do some more this winter. Nice pics, which stove did you like the most?
ReplyDelete@ Larry,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the MSR reactor the best as I found it easy to use, convenient, fast and efficient. The pot was a bit bigger than the jetboil which made it easier to melt snow as I was able to get more into the pot. I think it is perfect for the solo camper in most situations. The only draw back is it uses isobutane/propane fuel canister which must be kept above 25 degrees to function effectively. I did notice after a bit of use in the cold weather the canisters began to frost up.
I found the Jetboil was the easiest to use as it has an autoignition push button. It lacks in size though which made it more difficult to melt snow, as it was hard to get snow in the pot. Jetboil also uses isobutane/propane canister fuel.
The MSR Dragonfly has good points but it is by far the most difficult to use. It uses white gas so it works better in cold weather which is a big plus. You do have to prime the system and pressurize the canister for it to operate which can be a bit of a hassle. I think if you were camping for several nights, at high elevation or cooking for multiple people this would be a better system to use.