>go on a 60 mile hike in Finland
>thought it would be a good hike
>turns out that Finland is really cold in the winter
>way colder than I thought it would be
>temperatures dropped to -30 Celsius
>completely unprepared
>wearing full British milsurp
>spent the whole trip shivering and smoking cigs to keep hands warm
>made a makeshift shelter out of my tarp and some branches
>collapsed in the middle of the night
>had to spend the night huddled under a pile of leaves and branches
>trying not to freeze to death
>thought I saw a bear
>heard a rustling in the bushes
>saw a huge shape moving towards me and panicked
>ran as fast as I could but tripped over
>wake up later
>just my imagination
>there wasn't actually a bear
>finally made it back to civilization
>was so cold and exhausted that I could barely move
>managed to catch my return flight home and vowed never to go on a winter hike unprepared again
>tl;dr: my 60 mile hike in Finland was a total disaster and I almost froze to death because I was unprepared for the cold weather and I thought I saw a bear that didn't actually exist
I thought I would be prepared for winter - spent last winter preparing in Scotland which is meant to be harsher (because of strong, cold jetstream winds) but that didn't seem to help.
Are there any secrets to winter camping that I should know? Experience and YouTube doesn't help at all.
Smoking frickes your circulation
If you're too stupid to bring gloves/mittens, stick your hands down your pants to keep them warm. JFC, and you bongs call Americans stupid.
I did have gloves and mitts, three layers in fact. Thank you for the tip.
Videos make it look rather appealing, I am trying not to make assumptions from this.
I checked the weather for the nearest towns, they all claimed it to be -5, I have seen a lot lower temperatures over here. How do I learn it bit by bit - it becomes winter too quickly to practice in autumn.
Finding people who are interested in hiking and have time off is hard, I am young so finding people is hard, those who can get time off are often old. Is it that hard to do it solo - I hear of others doing so.
>Finding people who are interested in hiking and have time off is hard, I am young so finding people is hard, those who can get time off are often old. Is it that hard to do it solo - I hear of others doing so.
I hear you man I'm in the same boat. I just want you to be safe.
>Are there any secrets to winter camping that I should know?
Yeah the secret is that it's awful, it has always been awful, and it will always be awful.
Cool story bro
Good lord, you were training for a 60 mile winter hike in Finland ALONE and you didn't even think to check the weather? What the frick is wrong with you and how have you survived this long? That is beyond stupid OP and you should be grateful you're alive.
Winter camping is hard and you should learn it bit by bit. You should probably focus on a trio much less ambitious if you got fricked over by not checking a forecast. It's legitimately dangerous to do what you did solo.
Idk, maybe use fur clothing.
Where is the best place to acquire this?
I have some but dog only tries to bite one of them so I assume most are fake.
only use the ones dog approves of
Use fire.
The warmest trip I've ever been on was when I used my tarp, pitched against the wind, and a fire next to me. I woke up every 2-4 hours or so and kept it burning with dry wood I kept under the tarp.
It was like 30 Fahrenheit (about -1 Celsius) that night - Far warmer than what you went through, but it could work all the same.
>temperatures dropped to -30 Celsius
Bring a sleeping bag thats meant for such temperatures and bring many layers of clothing you can wear
Do such bags exist that do not take up your entire backpack?
>Do such bags exist that do not take up your entire backpack?
No. Always bring the biggest backpack that you can find for winter trips or (preferably) always bring a pulk.
If it's -30 there's snow and you have a sled.
You can have all the layers and expensive sleeping bag but they keep warmth in, so useless if your core temp has dropped already.
Need an enclosed shelter / tent (with ventilation) and even a candle will keep such a space decent but cooking in it will sort it out. Also plenty of hot drinks have a good flask.
If true atleast well done for getting out there despite being unprepared.
Where in Finland were u ?
I only hiked in summer in Päijänne area but I want to try winter camping at some point
>full british milsurp
most non-nordic militaries dont have regular gear suitable for these temperatures.
i dont get it, have you ever heard a nordic claim our winters are mild? no. yet you will always find someone online who say
>hurrdurr gulfstream makes our average pretty mild
and then hikers and tourists believe that over locals. just look at a map ffs, see how far north it is and think for yourself.
>hike
no one winter hikes here since skiis exist.
>and then hikers and tourists believe that over locals. just look at a map ffs, see how far north it is and think for yourself.
I am well aware of how north the British Isles are - the temperatures here can get down to -20C in some areas.
>no one winter hikes here since skiis exist.
What activities do they partake in in lieu of hiking during the winter months?
skiing and living out of cabins, few actually do multi day camping trips in such temperatures. one of the reasons is we know it suck. if we do, skiing and dragging a pulk let you carry almost twice as much gear or you plan it so you go from cabin to cabin.
that short period when its snow on the ground but not enough to ski is a perfect excuse to not go outside.
Where can I find these huts - do they need any sort of subscription?
I heard of those shelters online but could not find a list or map of them.
I keep DNP in my snowmobile survival kit with a whole bunch of candy.
It will keep you warm.