We have put our winter camping trips on hold since having kids... until this past weekend! Over the past year, our 2 (almost 3) year old continued to show interest when we talked about camping in the winter time. She definitely has a love for all things outdoors but her aptitude for spending long periods of time outside in variable conditions depends completely on her mood and her interest in the activity. But due to the fact that our daughter is old enough to communicate, is relatively independent, and still enjoys riding along in the backpack carrier, we decided to give a backcountry winter adventure a shot. So this past weekend we cross country skied the 4km up to the Anglin Lake Tower Cabin and spent the night.
There were many reasons why we decided on this location for our first over night winter adventure, with the access to a cabin with a wood burning stove being amongst the greatest factors. Its close proximity to our family cabin for safety and
warmth was another factor. The relatively short ski (4 km one way) provided some elements of seclusion and a back country experience but with a low risk factor.
Knowing that the Tower cabin is non-reservable (first come first serve), we knew there was a chance that the cabin would be taken when we got up there. In that case, we were planning to use the cabin to warm up and continue our ski back down to our vehicle. We also knew there were other scenarios in which we might not be able to stay the night, such as not having enough wood, the cabin being too cold even with a fire roaring, etc.
To our delight, the cabin was empty when we got there mid afternoon. The wood pile was stocked and the cabin was a welcome reprieve from the wind, as the temperature was a bitter -26 degrees celsius with the windchill. When we stepped inside, we were met with a charming and well furnished (table, 2 bunk beds, 6 + chairs, shelf etc) log cabin. Kit promptly set to work making kindling and starting a fire in the wood burning stove, as even though we were protected from the wind it was still -20 in the cabin. Our daughter was doing remarkably well but was on the verge of being too cold so I immediately got out our double mattress, our double sleeping bag (0C Limit), and quilt (-7C Limit) for us to go inside to warm up. We snuggled, ate snacks, and told stories for the first two hours or so until the fire started to warm up the hut.
It took a surprisingly long time to get the hut warm enough to take off our snow suits and even then we still had to wear baselayers, fleeces and toques. It was a good reminder that even though the cabin was relatively small, it still took 2-3 hours to warm it up to a bearable temperature. But once it was a comfortable temperature (5-10C) we started to embrace our cozy little cabin and enjoy our evening together. After numerous card games of Go Fish and an impromptu dance party (we always try and bring a small speaker) it was time for supper. A nice perk of the wood burning stove is that we didn't need to use our Pocket Rocket and instead could put our pot on top of the stove to melt snow and boil
water. The menu was KD and sausages and with the fire roaring we were able to get water boiling in no time. We also made a few rounds of hot chocolate on the stove top throughout the night.
Soon after supper, the cabin grew dark so we pulled out our headlights. Our daughter loves wearing hers around and she has her own little flashlight as well. My husband and I read our books by the fire and our daughter watched a bedtime show (downloaded onto our phone) in the sleeping bag. It was nice that we had set up our sleep system about 5ft from the stove so we could enjoy the fire and read while still being close to our daughter. We had chosen to forego the plywood bunkbed room because our double mattress wouldn't fit on the single bunks and we wanted to be as close to the wood burning stove as possible for heat. We also decided to bring a double sleeping bag/mattress to have our daughter sleep in between us to maximize her warmth. Our daughter fell asleep while watching her show, as she was tuckered out from a day outdoors which meant we had a few hours to ourselves before joining her. Our sleep was relatively comfortable while somewhat squishy with all three of us in a double bag, but it definitely kept us warm throughout the night. My husband Kit woke up to stoke the fire at 2 am and 6 am as well to make sure the cabin stayed heated. Needless to say, the sleep was as good as could be for winter camping, especially considering the temperature dropped below -30 over night.
In the morning, we had a warm breakfast of stove top oatmeal and jerky and lounged around the fire for an hour or so. We decided to pack up, tidy the cabin, and head out around 9 am. We debated waiting for the temperature to rise but figured it probably wouldn't be warming up considerably over the next few hours and we only had 4 km to ski. The ski back was much colder than the way in and by the time we got to the truck it showed -35 with windchill. Although we skied as fast as we could to get back and layered our daughter in every way possible, we decided that this was definitely our limit (distance, time, and temperature) for winter "camping" with our kids. Nevertheless, our daughter was an absolute trooper and we did our best to distract her from the cold as we skied out by singing, playing "I spy" and telling stories. By the time we got back to our family cabin at Emma (20 minute drive) she had forgotten about the cold and was excited to tell grandma and grandpa about her stay at the "Grinch's cabin."
Gear List
Sleep System | Kid Clothes | Adult Clothes | Extra |
Exped Synmat Hyperlite Double Mattress | MEC Toaster Suit | Baselayer Top & Bottom | Pocket Rocket, 2L Pot, 2 Nesting Bowls, Sporks x2 |
MEC Reactor Double Bag 0C | Fleece Top & Bottoms | Fleece Top | Speaker, Powerbank, Phone, Headlight x3 |
Thermarest Vela Double Quilt -7C | Baselayer Top & Bottom | Down Jacket | 1L Nalgene, 1L Hydroflask |
Tarp | Sweatshirt | Shell | Wipes, Pullups x6 |
Double Silk Liner | Pants | Ski Pants | Books |
| Neckwarmer, toque, mitts | Buff, toque, mitts | First Aid Kit |
| Wool Socks x2 | Wool Socks x2 | 70L Osprey Aether Backpack |
| MEC Hut Booties | MEC Hut Booties | MEC Child Carrier |
| Fire Kit |
Commentaires