Winter campers challenge nature and themselves

Winter camping is not a typical recreational pastime in Illinois and it can be a life-threatening situation for those campers who lack both the proper training and equipment for it.

Cross-country skiing is one of the more common winter sports that people enjoy at various State parks in Illinois. (Photo courtesy of Tom Hecht and the Illinois Department of Conservation.)

By Barb Valiukenas
Co-editor

Summer campers in Illinois are often bothered by mosquitoes; hot, muggy temperatures, and threatening thunderstorms. But these hazards are minor when compared to the possible frostbite and hypothermia often confronted by winter camping enthusiasts.

Toby Miller, park interpreter at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, says Illinois' marginal snowfalls and inconsistent temperatures prevent winter camping here on a widespread basis.

"Many of our State parks have camping facilities open year-round, but winter camping is usually done in a wilderness area," Miller said. "It's hard to go out and camp for one night at a time. It takes the body a few nights to get used to sleeping outside in cold weather."

Miller, a former wilderness instructor, says first timers should never try the sport alone anywhere.

"The weather's limits for camping depend on a person's own limits," he explained. "It's better to have people go winter camping with a wilderness outfitter who offers courses with qualified instructors. Then they would have the proper equipment and training. It would also be cheaper."

Keeping warm and dry are the major concerns of winter campers.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 17 January/February 1985

"If you can't stay warm, you're going to worry about getting warm and you won't have any fun," Miller said. It can also prove to be dangerous without proper precautions.

Winter camping equipment should be selected to keep moisture away from the body so it doesn't get cold. Miller recommends:

• A good sleeping bag (filled with insulating materials like Polarguard, Qualofil or other synthetic fibers). Down, he says, is probably the best insulator. However, it is virtually worthless when it gets wet. If a down-filled bag is used, Miller says it's advisable to use an outer shell made of waterproof, breathable fabric like Gore-tex.

• A waterproof foam pad for sleeping (other than an air mattress that transfers cold directly from the ground to the sleeping bag).

• A four-season tent or a snow cave, if you care to build one.

• A good stove that will run in cold weather. Cooking, Miller says, takes much longer in the winter than in the summer.

Proper clothing and equipment are necessary for sleeping outdoors.

Winter campers are advised to dress in layers of wool and synthetic clothing. Unlike cotton, wool and synthetics keep the body insulated by drawing sweat and moisture to the outer layers of the material. Polypropylene long underwear, a balaclava hat that covers most of the face and neck, wool sweaters, a hooded parka, a wind breaker, polypropylene socks, sock liners, waterproof hiking boots and wool mittens with nylon outer shells should be included in the winter camper's wardrobe. By dressing in layers, one layer can be put on or taken off as a person desires.

Miller also advises winter campers to:

• Avoid getting their face or clothing around steam, as the moisture will freeze.

• Keep fuel off exposed skin. Instant frostbite will occur if the temperature is below freezing.

• Take along extra wool socks and stocking caps.

• Wear a dry pair of long underwear, dry wool socks and a hat while sleeping, but don't sleep with your head in the sleeping bag. A person's breath can produce up to a half pint of moisture in one night, leaving a sleeping bag wet by morning.

Winter campers must always be safety conscious.

• Eat food that is high in starch and carbohydrates, such as noodles, macaroni and cheese, beef stroganoff, etc.

• Drink about three quarts of water and additional hot fluids daily to avoid dehydration.

• Walk after eating so the blood keeps circulating. Normally, much of the blood goes to the stomach area to help digestion.

• Go to the bathroom before settling into your sleeping bag at night. The less fluid your body has to heat, the warmer it will stay.

Miller says he was "very safety conscious all of the time" during the period he served as a winter camping instructor in Maine. He generally took a group of about 13 people on a hiking/camping trip that lasted between seven and nine days. His most memorable experience?

"The comradery that's established with one another after experiencing a week in the wilderness depending on each other," Miller noted.

IAPD/IPRA News January workshop The Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) is cosponsoring a workshop on Urban Sediment Control on Jan. 31 beginning at 9 a.m. at Illinois Central College in Peoria. Registration for the workshop is limited. If paid by Jan. 27, the conference fee is $7. It should be sent to Tazewell County SWCD, 2950 Court St., Pekin 61554. Registrations paid at the workshop will be $10. The workshop agenda includes information about local erosion problems and solutions, the erosion process, legal perspectives, implementation of Greenbook principles in suburbia, homebuilders' perspective of erosion and the State's response to urban erosion control. Additional information is available from the IAPD office, 217 E. Monroe St., Springfield, 62701 (217/523-4554). Other workshop sponsors include the Illinois Municipal League, Illinois County Officials Association, Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, American Society of Landscape Architects, Sierra Club, Izaak Walton League and Audubon Society. New office location The IPRA is moving to different quarters this month. Its new office will be located at 262 E. Palatine Rd. in Palatine 60067. The telephone number (312/991-2820) will remain the same. Magazine deadline February 1 is the copy deadline for the March-April issue of Illinois Parks and Recreation. Articles and photographs should be sent to: Managing Editor IPR 217 E. Monroe, Suite 101 Springfield, IL 62701 Manuscript guidelines are printed on the back inside cover of this magazine.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 18 January/February 1985