COLD WEATHER CAMP OUTS CAN BE FUN IF SCOUTS

The Troop has comfortably and safely slept in tents when the outside temperature reaches 5 degrees below zero. Very experienced adults and a heated shelter are always available during winter camp outs.  Cold weather camping can help your son grow as a person since he can prove that he can overcome adversity by “being prepared”.  Several Scouts are nearing the coveted Polar Bear Badge which can be earned by totaling 100 degrees Fahrenheit below freezing while camping out.  PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR SON TO ATTEND!!!   Scouts can gain a night of camping toward Order of the Arrow requirements and Camping Merit Badge.

Tips for  Winter Camp outs:

1. Dress in many layers.  Long underwear is helpful.
2. Wear synthetic socks. 
3. Bring newspapers in garbage bags to place under sleeping bags for insulation.  A pad under the sleeping bag adds more insulation. 
4. Bring two sleeping bags or a sleeping bag and extra, heavy blankets.  Sleep with your nose and mouth out of the bag. 
5. Wear a stocking cap and warm gloves. 
6. Towel off body and change into dry clothes before going to bed.  Otherwise, you will wake up very cold. 
7. Stay up off the ground and keep dry. 
8. Help out and get involved rather than standing around and getting colder. 

Keys to Winter Camping Fun

Be Prepared:

• Dress Warm
• Keep your Feet Warm
• Keep Head and Hands Warm
• Sleep Warm
• Eat and Drink Warm
• Think Warm:  Keep a Positive Mental Attitude! 

Dress Warm:

• Cotton can kill -- by getting wet and conducting heat away
• WEAR WOOL and SYNTHETIC LAYERS          
  • Moisture wicking next to skin (capilene, coolmax, etc.)
  • Polartec and wool middle layer(s) (if wool is too scratchy, wear a liner)
  • Goretex or other windproof shell
• Remember "COLD"

C - CLEAN fluffy layers

O- OVERHEATING: avoid by layering

L- LOOSE LAYERS to trap air

D- DRY

·        Doesn't matter how you look!

Keep your Feet Warm!

·         Wear two pairs of socks; outer socks should be wool or wool blend; inner socks should be synthetic - not cotton

·         bring extra socks

·         change into dry socks often!

·         Wear good waterproof boots, bring an extra pair.

·         Make sure shoes and socks aren't so tight they cut off circulation

·          Gaiters are good for snow and wet

·         If your feet aren't definitely warm you're doing something wrong!

Warm Headwear:

·         To keep your feet warm, wear a hat! (Blood vessels in your head don't constrict with cold, so you lose lots of heat through your head)

·         stocking hats, wool scarves, balaclavas

Keeping Hands Warm:

·         Mittens plus liners

·         Gloves for camp tasks

·         bring extra pair(s)

Sleep Warm:

·         Shelter with open venting to allow water vapor to escape

·         waterproof ground cloth

·         ground insulating layer (closed cell foam pad, open cell pad enclosed in inflating shell (Thermarest), and/or newspaper)

·         Sleeping bag plus layering (one bag inside another, space blanket, wool blankets, etc.)

·         Change ALL your clothes (even your underwear) just before you go to bed!

·         Don't breathe into your sleeping bag!

·         Sleep with warm dry feet

·         No heaters in tents (CO could asphyxiate you and others)

Eat & Drink Warm:

·         Eat lots of fat, complex carbs, protein (e.g., meats, pasta, bacon, sausage, fruits and veggies, butter, nuts, peanut butter, cheese, salami)

·         Sweets will not sustain you

·         DRINK LOTS of water to avoid dehydration

·         Warm drinks can keep you warm

·         Eat hearty before you go