The joys of winter camping

As we edge into spring, this bucket list is growing more and more cold but it is still an experience worth discussing: winter tent camping.

As I write this I know there may be friends reading who would not even entertain tent camping in the fairest conditions let alone in setting up shop in the snow and so, I am going to take this time to sell the merits of winter tent camping.

A couple of weeks ago some gals and I embarked on a trial cross country skiing/winter camping adventure on the Pembina River. The experience was amazing and left me wishing that winter was not coming to such an abrupt end. Overall there are six reasons that I can think of, why someone should give winter tent camping a try.

First and foremost winter camping is bug-free. The first thing you will notice if you are a newbie to winter camping is that there aren’t any insects. You can have your tent door flapping wild and free. No flailing arm dance before getting in or out of your tent, no squeezing through a mouse sized opening, no noseeums buzzing in your ear at night. It is all very serene.

Secondly, less crowds. Well no crowds really. So at the beginning of March Alberta Parks opened their reservation for the summer 2021 season and the site crashed there was such a crush of people trying to secure bookings. In the winter you don’t have to worry about this. Winter is the “off” season for the parks. This means little to no people at winter sanctioned campgrounds and in a time of a pandemic when even our obscure parks have seen an influx of activity space is really nice.

I know I already sold you all on the top two reasons but to name a few more: a reason to snuggle, better temperature regulation and a better darker sleep. If I could name a few drawbacks to mid-summer tent camping they would be the sun waking you up at 5 am, and the feeling of sleeping in a greenhouse. Because your overall warmth is based on the number of layers you put on, it is easier to regulate your body temperature with winter camping. I absolutely hate waking up in the summer swimming in sweat because it is already +20c at sunrise.

While the merits of winter camping are substantial there are really two personal reasons why I wanted to try it. The first is that I wanted to know that I could. You could call this the grit test. Did I have enough grit to sleep outside in the cold of winter? Pushing myself to do something out of my comfort zone, and in this case physical comfort zone was really why this made my bucket list. Secondly, I wanted to find new ways to enjoy the outdoors. We live in such a beautiful country that actually has four distinct seasons. I really want to continue to find ways to enjoy all of these seasons and with the right equipment and proper planning this can be done.