9:30 PM Circle up to discuss campout logistics

Transcription

1 Winter Campout - "Solve the HATS code" Ashwill Ranch Directors DAUGHTERS: Jan Chris Bowles chris@highadventuretreks.org (214) Paul Niemyski p-niemyski@ti.com (214) SONS: Jan Alan Gant alan@highadventuretreks.org (214) John Baldwin john.e.baldwin@gmail.com (214) Schedule Friday 4-8 PM Arrive at Ashwill Ranch near Terrell, TX (directions below). Approximate driving time 1.5 hours Wear your HATS T-shirt! Welcome. Set up camp. Dad & Daughter/Son teams bring prepared dinner or dine on the road 8:30 PM Games 9:30 PM Circle up to discuss campout logistics 11 PM Lights Out Saturday 7:30 AM Dad and Daughter/Son team breakfast 8:30 AM Group games in camp 10:00 AM Begin adventure of solving the HATS Code 12:00 PM Dad and Daughter/Son team lunch in the field 1:00 PM Continue solving the HATS Code! 5:00 PM Light charcoal and begin dinner (Wildman Feast for the Sons) 7:30 PM Camp fire, skits, ghost stories 11 PM Lights Out Sunday 7:30 AM Dad and Daughter/Son team breakfast 8:30 AM Dad and Daughter/Son exercises and breakout 11:30 AM Pack up, police the area 1

2 Gear List General Gear: 3 gallons water per person 8 lbs self-lighting charcoal 3 pieces firewood for campfire 2 sleeping bags 2 foam pads 2 lawn chairs Tent & ground cover Meals Stove, fuel, pots, scrubber Spoon, knife, fork, plate Heavy duty trash bag Matches or lighter Toothbrush/paste/floss Medicines Ice chest Flash light or head lamp Must have gear for Saturday in the Field: Comfortable boots/shoes Day Pack Extra Toilet paper Pocket knife Jacket and under layers as necessary Bandana Packed lunch, snacks 2L of water per person Compass Matches Sun block Rain gear Insect repellent Moleskin for blisters or Duct tape Gloves/Hat Clothing: Extra socks Extra shirt(s) Extra pants/shorts Extra underwear Down vest/down parka Moccasins/camp shoes Gloves Rain Gear Extra Gear for Cold Weather Camping: Extra sleeping bags for double bagging Thermal long underwear pants/shirt Glove liners Buff, ear muffs, knit cap Ski pants or rain gear pants Thick wool socks HotHands hand warmers or similar Propane heater (Heater Buddy/similar) What NOT to Bring Any electronics Cell Phones Alcoholic Beverages Limit carbonated drinks Pets Firearms Food Suggestions Breakfast - Eggs, hard boiled eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, yogurt, cereal, fruit, juice, bagels, powdered donuts Lunch - Lunch meat sandwich, pita sandwich, PB&J, Subway, fruit, chips, crackers, nuts, popcorn, snack bars Dinner- Chicken, steak, sausage, fajitas, hot dogs, hamburgers, corn, tomato, beans, zucchini, potato, backpack meal, salad, M&M's, fixins' for smores 2

3 Directions & Maps GPS coordinates , Directions to New Member Campout at Ashwill Ranch Directions starting at 635 E and Hwy 80 E Follow hwy 80 until in merges with 20 E 20.7 miles Continue down to exit FM miles This exit is just past CMV Truck weighing station and is FM 2965 Continue on access road.9 miles Access road becomes dirt road, bear to the right 1.6 miles The dirt road will dead end to a T Turn left at dead end (Hiram Rd/ Co Rd 2627).9 miles Turn right on Co Rd miles Follow Co Rd 2628 until there is a Y with gate on right and curve left to a second gate. Take right turn through gate onto Ashwill ranch. DO NOT take Y to left! This is private property and the owner is not happy about cars coming onto his property! Approximate drive time is 1 hour 3

4 Medical Emergencies Hospital... (972) Presbyterian Hospital of Kaufman 850 Texas 243 Kaufman, TX Head north on Co Rd 2628 toward Co Rd 2627/Hiram Rd 2. Turn left onto Co Rd 2627/Hiram Rd Continue to follow Hiram Rd 3. Turn right onto Farm to Market Rd 2965 N 4. Turn left toward I-20 W (signs for I-20 W) 5. Take the ramp onto I-20 W 6. Take exit 506 for Farm to Market Rd 429 toward Farm to Market Rd 2728/College Mound Rd 7. Turn left onto Farm to Market Take the 1st right onto Farm to Market Continue onto Farm to Market Rd 2728/Kaufman Rd Continue to follow Farm to Market Rd Turn left onto TX-34 S 11. Turn right onto N Washington St 12. Turn left onto W Grove St 13. Turn right 4

5 Winter Camping Preparation By HATS Senior Directors In HATS, we rarely cancel a campout due to weather. We do have some campouts in January and February, which can be cold. The Wilderness Leadership campout, earlier this year on the DeWitt Ranch near Marietta Oklahoma, had a low temperature early Saturday morning of three degrees Fahrenheit. That is cold! However, the Wilderness Leadership group is fairly experienced and we were able to camp in this weather with no serious issues. Here are some tips for camping in cold weather. What to wear: Clothing for cold weather camping is all about layers. Here is an example of effective layer combinations for very cold weather camping: Heavy synthetic socks and high quality hiking boots (Keen, Merrell, etc) Long thermal underwear pants, long zip off synthetic pants, ski pants or rain gear pants Long sleeve synthetic shirt, synthetic sweat shirt, fleece jacket, down jacket Buff around neck and over ears Wool knit cap Glove liners and fleece gloves Almost all of this clothing is synthetic cloth, which is important in winter camping. Don t wear cotton for winter camping. Cotton can get damp with perspiration and then it has no insulating ability at all. Synthetic will still provide some warmth when damp, though the efficiency is a bit reduced. Therefore it is important to adjust your layers with temperature variation. As the day warms up, you can remove layers, and then put them back on as it cools off in late afternoon and evening. If it is raining or snowing, you will want an outer layer that repels the moisture. There are lots of options for this, from garbage bag arrangements to Frog Toggs to sophisticated Gore Tex rain gear. The main thing is that you are prepared to stay dry. Being wet and in the cold is not a good combination. If there had been snow on the recent Wilderness Leadership campout, a ski jacket (or other heavy jacket) could have been substituted for the down jacket. If it had been raining (would have required warmer temperatures), Frog Togg jacket and pants (or other rain gear) could have been substituted for the ski jacket and pants. Keeping warm while sleeping: If you talk to three experienced campers, you will get three different variations on the keeping warm while sleeping theme. The good news is that there are many effective options. Here is a setup that was effective during the Wilderness Leadership Campout: Used smallest possible tent (2 man backpacking tent) Pitched a large heavy tarp, brown on one side, reflective on the other, over the tent. Purchased at Home Depot, pitched reflective side down Slept on full body length RidgeRest foam pads Doubled up on sleeping bags, 35 degree mummy bag inside 20 degree mummy bag Wore two pairs of dry socks, with Hot Hands hand warmer between the layers on each foot Wore long thermal underwear pants and shirt, gloves, Buff and wool cap 5

6 Other teams on this campout used propane heaters in their tents (be careful of both carbon monoxide poisoning and fire hazard!). Some experienced campers advise wearing little or no clothing inside sleeping bag. Others prefer some clothing, such as tight fitting thermal underwear. But there is good general agreement among experienced cold weather campers that more clothing than one snug layer leads to colder sleeping. Keeping water and other gear from freezing: There were several methods used with good effect to keep water from freezing on the Wilderness Leadership campout: 1. Put water containers within a five gallon bucket. Wrap a survival blanket (very thin, light, reflective, metallic blanket) around the bucket, and put it in tent vestibule right beside tent, or under fly right up against the tent. 2. Put water into an ice chest and use the insulative ability to keep cold out rather than keeping the cold in. 3. Some campers recommend boiling a half liter of water and pouring it into a half full 1L Nalgene bottle. Then put this down in the foot of your sleeping bag. This will both help keep you warm and keep your water from freezing. However, if you do this PLEASE make sure your water bottle DOES NOT LEAK. 4. Lighters and fuel canisters can be kept in the tent beside sleeping bags. Contact len cases and solution can be kept in doubled up zip lock bags at the bottom of your sleeping bag. Other tips: Heaters such as Mr. Heater Buddy are worth their weight in gold if it is really cold. You can use these to heat up the inside of the tent before going to bed. You can also set it just outside the door of the tent while bedding down. Most people turn these off before going to sleep. Heaters can be used while preparing meals and do a good job of cutting the cold. Cost is $50-$80 dollars depending on the model. But the expense will seem negligible while it is warming you up on a cold campout. Be careful, though. These heaters get hot enough to melt items that get too close. HATS camper casualties have included Nalgene bottles, plastic utensils, rain gear, and even a tent that caught on fire. Be extremely careful if you choose to leave your heater going inside the tent while sleeping. Ensure that there is adequate ventilation and that the heater is of a type that automatically shuts off if it is tipped over. Conclusion: It is possible to stay warm, dry and comfortable in nearly all of the conditions that will be encountered on HATS campouts. Follow the recommendations of experienced campers. Use common sense. Being able to manage all of the possible adverse conditions and stay comfortable brings a lot of camping self-confidence. 6