We learned a lot while attempting for the first time to camp in the winter. I can tell you now that research is no substitute for experience. Based on the research I had done, we had a very successful trip. There were a few things that we did learn the hard way. The hardest part of the trip was sleeping, without any form of heat in the tent. With the many layers of clothes and good insulation between us and the cold ground, the chilly temperature of -22 celsius was manageable. What we had not anticipated was how stiff our boots were in the morning and could not put them on to go outside to warm them by a fire. So picture a couple of men trying to walk through deep snow, half in our boots like wearing high heels, desperately try to get to the truck to warm and soften our boots.

We had a good laugh – after we got to the truck. Everything else we learned ahead of time, served us well: gathering and chopping wood keeps you warm, snowshoeing kept us warm, keep yourself elevated and insulated from the cold ground when sleeping and eat/drink warm food. Next time our boots will be under some blankets next to our bodies to keep from freezing solid.