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I posted this in another forum but think people around these parts might also enjoy it. This was part of a group outing in the Adirondacks. The temperatures for this time of year can easily fall below -20F but my primary concern was a nasty snow storm expected to hit on Wednesday 2/5/2014. Worse still my truck's heat and blower stopped working last week. The only option was to leave on Tuesday and return on Sunday to avoid winter storms during the 400 mile round trip. No heat is no fun driving during a snow storm because the windshield can frost and ice over. My uncle came along for the outing.
Heading out from the truck on Tuesday at dusk. We pulled sleds for the last 1.5 miles which wasn't all that easy. The snow sucked up my uncle's "old school" metal runner sled making it more of an anchor than a sled. The speed dropped to sub 1 mile per out. We would be setting up in the dark. No one was expected for at least a day or so.
Glad I packed the snow shoes. Soon there would be more than enough snow to justify the weight. Even with the early shallow snow base the shoe's spikes helped me pull the sled up hills.
The base was still too shallow for floating a camp so we dug the area out. There was a pesky 3 inch icy layer near the ground that would be removed around the stove. I like to get a kettle boiling first thing when camp is setup.
Nothing takes the edge off the cold like a glowing stack robber and pipe.
Frozen Mellow Yellow for the win!
Sausage. Cooking on a wood stove is yet another advantage to a heated shelter.
One of the downsides to a heated tipi shelter is the need to police it during storms and staking the tie-offs in the snow. The shelter is wind and snow resistant but NOT free standing.
I don't have a liner for my 6-man. The inside canopy iced over once the stove burned down. Even with the stove making the inside hot the ice never did drop below the stove's level. Beyond a little dampness on the outer sleeping bag shell it wasn't really a problem but I might just get a liner. I have one for my 4-man and like the extra heating and warm inner shell.
Snowed all through the night into the next night.
Enough split wood for days. The DIY stove and stack robber combo is very efficient.
Gathering kindling and small wood using the pulk.
If the shelter is large enough I like to slide the pulk in to unload the wood. Working in warm dry air is always better during winter.
People started to show up over the next few days.
Nice axes and guns!
Had dinner with these gun toting, axe wielding knife brandishing men. The 8-man Kifaru tipi with large stove was roomy and warm.
Overnight temps fell to -5 F. Not bad for the Dacks but still a bit chilly. I used my down bag as a blanket given the extreme warmth and comfort of the Exped Downmat 9 DLX.
During the coldest nights I ran a candle lantern once the stove died down. Notice the spark screens higher up. This was part of an experiment which worked out ok.
My supplies of firecraft grade chaga were getting a bit low so went foraging for more.
Chaga that is soft, yellow and dry tends to work best for firecraft. This is too wet to hold a coal but will be dried for later use be it tea, incense and firecraft.
We set the 24-man tipi up with the new Kifaru Oval stove.
Didn't take long before the stove glowed red.
Most of the pipe glowed. Given the high of a 24-man tipi that's impressive.
Outside temps hovered in the singles F but the massive 24-man tipi felt warm using this stove alone with the second jack open venting out heat. This is one BIG tipi.
I can't comment on longer term durability etc as this was my first experience with a Kifaru Oval stove but at least this model drafted like a dragon. I was impressed.
After burning a wood stove for days the ash must be cleared out. This can be done by removing the stove to dump ash or using a cook pot and a stick for ash removal. The ash won't harm a metal cook pot and is clean so using the same pot for cooking isn't an issue.
Winter wonderland hiking up the dirt road looking for a good place to enter the woods.
We setup a day camp using items which would normally be packed within a day kit. Our intention was for a camp to cook deer meat and boil water for Hemlock tea. I will elaborate more on the shelter later.
Night snowshoe outing. Lots of fun!
Pulked my gear to my truck for the 200 mile ride home. Made it home before the dark and snow.
Once again all my gear came through but really enjoyed the Downmat 9 DLX. Made sleeping on the ground day after day warm and comfortable.
Here is a video of outing.
[video=youtube;tzlDXivnTUc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzlDXivnTUc[/video]
Heading out from the truck on Tuesday at dusk. We pulled sleds for the last 1.5 miles which wasn't all that easy. The snow sucked up my uncle's "old school" metal runner sled making it more of an anchor than a sled. The speed dropped to sub 1 mile per out. We would be setting up in the dark. No one was expected for at least a day or so.
Glad I packed the snow shoes. Soon there would be more than enough snow to justify the weight. Even with the early shallow snow base the shoe's spikes helped me pull the sled up hills.
The base was still too shallow for floating a camp so we dug the area out. There was a pesky 3 inch icy layer near the ground that would be removed around the stove. I like to get a kettle boiling first thing when camp is setup.
Nothing takes the edge off the cold like a glowing stack robber and pipe.
Frozen Mellow Yellow for the win!
Sausage. Cooking on a wood stove is yet another advantage to a heated shelter.
One of the downsides to a heated tipi shelter is the need to police it during storms and staking the tie-offs in the snow. The shelter is wind and snow resistant but NOT free standing.
I don't have a liner for my 6-man. The inside canopy iced over once the stove burned down. Even with the stove making the inside hot the ice never did drop below the stove's level. Beyond a little dampness on the outer sleeping bag shell it wasn't really a problem but I might just get a liner. I have one for my 4-man and like the extra heating and warm inner shell.
Snowed all through the night into the next night.
Enough split wood for days. The DIY stove and stack robber combo is very efficient.
Gathering kindling and small wood using the pulk.
If the shelter is large enough I like to slide the pulk in to unload the wood. Working in warm dry air is always better during winter.
People started to show up over the next few days.
Nice axes and guns!
Had dinner with these gun toting, axe wielding knife brandishing men. The 8-man Kifaru tipi with large stove was roomy and warm.
Overnight temps fell to -5 F. Not bad for the Dacks but still a bit chilly. I used my down bag as a blanket given the extreme warmth and comfort of the Exped Downmat 9 DLX.
During the coldest nights I ran a candle lantern once the stove died down. Notice the spark screens higher up. This was part of an experiment which worked out ok.
My supplies of firecraft grade chaga were getting a bit low so went foraging for more.
Chaga that is soft, yellow and dry tends to work best for firecraft. This is too wet to hold a coal but will be dried for later use be it tea, incense and firecraft.
We set the 24-man tipi up with the new Kifaru Oval stove.
Didn't take long before the stove glowed red.
Most of the pipe glowed. Given the high of a 24-man tipi that's impressive.
Outside temps hovered in the singles F but the massive 24-man tipi felt warm using this stove alone with the second jack open venting out heat. This is one BIG tipi.
I can't comment on longer term durability etc as this was my first experience with a Kifaru Oval stove but at least this model drafted like a dragon. I was impressed.
After burning a wood stove for days the ash must be cleared out. This can be done by removing the stove to dump ash or using a cook pot and a stick for ash removal. The ash won't harm a metal cook pot and is clean so using the same pot for cooking isn't an issue.
Winter wonderland hiking up the dirt road looking for a good place to enter the woods.
We setup a day camp using items which would normally be packed within a day kit. Our intention was for a camp to cook deer meat and boil water for Hemlock tea. I will elaborate more on the shelter later.
Night snowshoe outing. Lots of fun!
Pulked my gear to my truck for the 200 mile ride home. Made it home before the dark and snow.
Once again all my gear came through but really enjoyed the Downmat 9 DLX. Made sleeping on the ground day after day warm and comfortable.
Here is a video of outing.
[video=youtube;tzlDXivnTUc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzlDXivnTUc[/video]
