Help with cold weather trip

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oldmopars

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So, I am heading off for a weekend trip to explore some of the area near me. The foothills of Mt. Rainier. The weather was looking great till 2 days ago. I can see where we are going from my house and there is snow up there now. My guess is only about a trace to 1in, but still cold. I am not worried about the truck or the trails, they will be fine. There is not enough snow up there to cause me any issues, if there is, I will go a different way.

I am more worried about my buddy that is going with me. I have a Thermorest NeoAir Xtherm insulated pad and a Browning -35 degree sleeping bag. We will be in the back of my Suburban. I don't think he has either of those, just a normal sleeping pad and a 20 Degree bag. I suspect we could get close to 20 degrees overnight and we all know bags never keep you as warm as what the rating says.

I have a bag liner I can let him use, and I have a roll of Reflectix that we can put under his bag. The back of the Suburban is carpeted and has some insulation, but not a lot.
Long Johns, gloves, Balaclava, and warm socks will also help keep warm. I may also crank the heat up in the Sub to get the inside really warm right before we go to bed, this may help also.

He and I have done a lot of trips together on motorcycles and we stay in tents. We have done cold camping before, but not quite this cold. I don't want him to suffer and get turned off on doing this kind of this, as I am hopeful that he will want to get a rig and explore with me in the future. If his first trip is a total poop fest because he is freezing at night, he will not be to inclined to want to do this again.

Any suggestions that I am missing?
 
Winterpeg

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Just grab an extra quilt and toss it overtop of the bag.... should be ok.
You'll likely benefit from an extra blanket too.

Sounds like you got a pretty good handle on things.

I generally don't wear socks in a sleeping bag because it holds the moisture from your feet and then gets cold. Pretty much just my gitch, a t-shirt (to keep my shoulders warm), and a balaclava if it's really cold.
 
Pretzel

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You've covered the most important thing with the reflectix underneath by guarding against loosing heat through his compressed insulation. When I know it's going to be cold at night when I camp (hammock camping), I wear loose socks with hand-warmers tucked in under my toes, and warm sleeping clothes (flannel or wool pajamas). Don't forget a warm beanie/cap for the head. If you've got the space, toss in a couple extra blankets and he should be fine. Crack open a window in your shell to avoid condensation in the cab. Cold weather camping is my favorite, sounds like a wonderful trip. Enjoy!
 
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oldmopars

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Pretzel said:
You've covered the most important thing with the reflectix underneath by guarding against loosing heat through his compressed insulation. When I know it's going to be cold at night when I camp (hammock camping), I wear loose socks with hand-warmers tucked in under my toes, and warm sleeping clothes (flannel or wool pajamas). Don't forget a warm beanie/cap for the head. If you've got the space, toss in a couple extra blankets and he should be fine. Crack open a window in your shell to avoid condensation in the cab. Cold weather camping is my favorite, sounds like a wonderful trip. Enjoy!
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Thanks. I love the cold camping also. NO BUGS! And you never have to fight to find a spot to camp. As for space, I am driving a Suburban, to get more space I would have to use a moving truck.
I like a beanie, but the Balaclava works great too, leaves less exposed.
The other advantage to cold/fall camping is that we can finally have a fire. It is so dry here in the summer that fires are strictly forbidden. I just checked the FS web site for the area we are going and the fire ban is lifted. WooHoo!
 
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Virginiawilderness

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I’ve used sleeping bag liners in the past when temps dip close to the rating on my sleeping bag.

Hot water in a Nalgene or similar bottle can help.

Wearing a knit cap to bed often works for me as well.

The key for cold weather nights to me seems to be about staying dry.
 
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My wife and I are headed out in two weeks for a western tour. First stop will be the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming for some cold weather camping, touring and hiking. Years ago we bit the proverbial bullet and purchased a Mr Buddy heater to use in our large Oztent as our 15 degree bags weren't cutting it. Just about dusk I fire it up to warm up the tent. Later on we go into our somewhat warm tent, get into our bags and turn the heater off. We also carry our big older bags with us, so if it's really cold we are encased in two bags. I usually awake about 5 in the morning, fire up the heater, get back in the bag/bags till the tent warms up a bit, then get up, get dressed and put the coffee on. My wife wakes up around 7 gets dressed then we turn the heater off. This method works well in as low as 10 degrees. Don't know about any colder because that's as cold as we have camped in, but I think we'd be good down to zero. I don't know about anyone else, but we sleep like old dogs in the cold weather.
 
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I think the important items have been mentioned,
1) Buddy Heater
2)Boil water, pour in stainless steel or plastic container and place in sleeping bag.
3)A quality base layer and extra blankets.

The only concern I would have for you is that the recent snow fall up there is not likely to stick around, especially on any southern exposed trails. Could be pretty muddy and slick, so take it easy and have recovery gear.

Have a great trip!
 
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Ya, complete BS. The story stated he had a mr buddy heater hooked up to a five gallon propane tank and was using it to cook a roast. What is it? I hate when people write or talk like that. Was he using the mr buddy to cook the roast? Or was he using propane with a burner? If the mr buddy was being used then how? If the mr buddy was being used as a slow cooker, one would have to bypass all of the safety features. The last time out I stepped on the hose of my heater, just enough to jar it the tiniest of bit, and it ( obviously the heater ) shut down. I’m a stickler for proper grammar, especially when it is abused in news stories.
 
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The other Sean

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I'd also mention that if your friend is a grown adult, you should be able to suggest to him a few things and then, aside from packing an extra blanket or something, if he is cold, well, that's on him. I did this with my wife once when we went camping and it was going to get a little cool. She insisted we didn't need, extra, I still packed extra blankets and a space heater for our camper. She got cold, I made her get up and turn on the space heater and now she listens.
 
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Regarding head gear, I keep a light toque in my sleeping bag at all times. Whether or not I need it it's always there when I unroll my bag. If I had to think about packing it for cold weather trips I'd probably forget it.
 
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