...too tired to think straight...©

 

 

Sorry guys, I am too tired to think straight, my 9-to-5 has been kicking my butt.  If this was a boxing match, I’d be on the ropes getting pounded!  I don’t think that I can write an article this week, one that I would want to read anyways, and one that you deserve, so instead...how about a magazine article from 60 years ago on winter camping?

 

Winter camping!  Dude, give it a rest, it’s spring already! 

 

Yes, and that is exactly when surprise snowstorms catch people unawares.  Besides, there is some great, all weather, four-season wilderness advice buried in the article, see if you can find all five, go to notes^1-5 for the answers.

 

I hope you enjoy “Camping at Thirty Below”, by Stuart James, from January 1964’s, Popular Mechanics magazine.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “The Susquehannocks, True Giants...or Just Big People ©”, where we will talk about the Susquehannocks of the 17^th and early 18^th centuries, and just how big they really were. 

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ “Bending a sapling through the head opening of a poncho”, page 129

 

² “Always carry an extra pair trousers, they should be wool and nylon to shed the snow”, page 131.  Keeping your legs dry in the snow, or anytime really, is difficult, and being wet in the cold kills.

 

³ “Keeping warm is prime consideration...Two or three layers of light clothing...are much warmer than one heavy layer”, page 132.

 

⁴ “The perfect weight for a pack is the lightest you can get away with”, page 212.

 

⁵ “What to carry is an individual matter...follow the maxim of the U.S. Mountain Troops – ‘when in doubt leave it out’...”, page 212.

 

Sources

 

James, Stuart; “Camping at Thirty Below”, Popular Mechanics January 1964, page 128 to 132, 210 and 212, https://books.google.com/books?id=AeMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA128&dq=shelter+improvised+snow+trench&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiihKHdoOWEAxUxEGIAHcw6CvQ4PBDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed March 15, 2024