Seems like I was just talking about taking fall hikes and suddenly the cold weather is here especially for those of us in the Northeast and at higher elevations...there is already snow on the ground. So here are some tips that will make your winter camping trip successful and free of accidents or emergencies that can prove to be life-threatening:

Tent placement. Whenever possible, place your tent in a location that will catch the sunrise in the morning. This will aid in melting off any ice and evaporating any frost or dew that may have formed during the night. This will also warm your tent as you awaken in the morning. Cold air sinks. Try to place your campsite on slightly higher ground than the rest of your surroundings. Try to choose a protected site if it is snowing or the wind is blowing.

Water consumption in cold weather. Dehydration can seriously impair the body's ability to produce heat. Drink fluids as often as possible during the day and keep a water bottle or canteen with you at night.

Cooking in cold weather. Cooking in cold weather will take about twice as long as normal. Always use a lid on any pots that you are cooking in. This will help to hold in the heat and decrease the overall heating time. Make sure you start hot cleaning water before you start cooking. The pots and utensils must still be cleaned. Try to keep your menu to good one-pot meals. Things like stews, chili, and hot beans stick to your ribs, lessen the cleaning time, and provide good sources of energy and fuel for your internal furnace. A good high-calorie snack before bedtime will also keep you warm all night. Stay away from an overabundance of sugar. Cheese is a good high-calorie bedtime snack.

Sleeping tip. Do not sleep with your mouth and nose in your sleeping bag. The moisture of your breath will condense in the bag, and cause it to become wet and ineffective as an insulator.

Buddy system. Buddies can help each other pack for a trek, look after one another in the woods, and watch for symptoms of frostbite, hypothermia, and exhaustion.

Checklist. Make a checklist of everything you need before you start to pack. Then check each item off as you pack it. This way you will not forget anything.

Taking this last idea to heart, we have included a checklist of some basic items that should be on every camping trip:

Backpack with straps to hold skis/snowshoes
Sleeping bag. A bag with a zero degree rating or less is best
Sleeping pad. Never sleep directly on the cold ground (see above definition of conduction)
Map and compass (every team member should have one)
Headlamp and extra batteries
Candles and matches
Shovel (or use a grain scoop or other substitute)
Sunscreen and sunglasses
Garbage Bags, 3 or 4 (to make emergency sleeping bags or shelters)
Boots, socks (wool is best)
Long underwear (polypropylene or other materials that wick moisture away are best)

Winter camping is a very rewarding sport because it requires so much effort. It is also one of the most dangerous activities you can engage in, if you are not prepared. With the proper preparation, it can be a fun activity for your family that teaches the value of hard work, how to work together as a team, and basic survival skills.

I know I know the point of going hiking is to get away from it all. I don't want to hear a car, TV or a phone when I'm out hiking and I hope to usually get out far enough so I don't have a signal but for those short hikes or those who are new to it then we suggest you keep reading.

Backpacker Magazine posted a good article about the use of cell phones while hiking. Some of this might be old news to you but some could be helpful.

Thanks to recent government regs, almost all digital cell phones automatically fix your location when you make a distress call (called E911 capability). But on a backcountry trip, ringing up a rescue isn't always automatic. Follow these tips to make sure your call gets answered.

Preparation

* Activate your phone's automatic "location" setting, which enables the cell network to calculate your position for all phone calls, not just 911 calls. To turn this feature on, look for the "location" option under your phone's Tools or Settings menu.
* Preserve battery life: Keep your phone turned off (especially when you lose reception; dead zones rapidly drain the battery), but power up for five minutes each day. When turned on, cell phones "check in" with nearby towers every few minutes, leaving an electronic trail of "pings" for rescuers to follow. Phones do this even if the signal is too weak to make or receive calls.
* Make sure your emergency contact person knows your phone number and your carrier, which saves precious time if rescuers need to check your last recorded transmissions and pings.

Rescue

* To make an emergency call, improve reception by heading to the highest ground available. Hold the phone at arm's length (to keep your body from blocking any signals) and rotate around to find the strongest reception. "Return to the same place to make follow-up calls," says Bill Range, New Mexico's E911 Program Director. "Your phone will remember where the nearest tower is and find it faster."
* If your battery is low, send a text message to your emergency contact, which requires less power and can transmit over a weaker connection than a voice call. Conserve juice by keeping your phone off between calls. Note: You cannot text 911.
* Know what method your carrier uses to fix location. GSM phones (AT&T, T-Mobile) use radio signals to triangulate your position; climb to high ground to reach more towers. CDMA phones (Verizon, Sprint-Nextel) use internal GPS receivers; find an unobstructed view of the sky and wait a few minutes for the phone to lock on to satellites. Smartphones (BlackBerry, iPhone) combine both methods for the most accurate position.
* When you connect with help, stay calm and double-check all your location details–such as elevation, UTM coordinates, and which side of a ridge you're on. Panicked hikers have delayed recent search efforts in Alaska and California by accidentally giving rescuers the wrong information.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK -- Ever since the Sierra Club installed a system of cables, pipe supports and 2-by-4 wooden footholds in 1919, the climb to the top of Half Dome has been the ultimate challenge for hikers in Yosemite National Park.



The trek up the familiar granite slab that dominates the eastern end of the park's main valley is one of the great day hikes in America, a 10-hour, 16.5-mile round trip that takes hikers past cascading waterfalls, through lush forests and up a harrowing 45-degree rock face for the final 425 vertical feet.

Each year, about 50,000 people make it to the top, according to park officials. It's a destination around which an active, reasonably fit traveler can organize a trip to the Northern California park, which is considered the birthplace of nature conservancy in America. Once you do, you can expect you'll never look at one of Ansel Adams' black-and-white photographs of the rock monolith in quite the same way.

Our excursion began at "bear o-clock," that pre-dawn hour before sunrise when the black bears appeared to make their daily visit to Curry Village. The 110-year-old camp's canvas-sided tent cabins come equipped with bear-proof food storage lockers, and everyone is vigilant about trying to keep bears from becoming habituated to human food. But every morning before dawn, you could hear a camper or ranger - once directly outside our tent - yelling and chasing off a foraging bear.

The reasonably priced Curry cabins are just a mile from the trailhead, and the only transportation that will take you to that spot at 5:30 a.m. is foot power. The trail starts at the edge of the Merced River and makes a wide semicircle around Half Dome's southern and eastern sides and another huge rock feature called Liberty Cap.

In the quiet morning, with a little mist in the air, the sound of the river pounding below and no other hikers in sight, it was as serene a moment as one could hope for in such a heavily visited portion of the popular park.

For the lower third of the Half Dome hike, you must take one of two of the park's most popular trails: the steep, rock-step Mist Trail or the switchbacks of the longer John Muir Trail. Both ascend through the majestic Grand Staircase, a steep-sided river valley dominated by two waterfalls.

HIKING IN THE 'MIST'

The Mist Trail, which in late summer was not as moist as it tends to be during the spring thaw, runs within a stone's throw of the 317-foot Vernal Falls and the 594-foot Nevada Falls. The guidebook that we bought for the trip made note that there are more than 700 steps, many of them thigh-straining steep, on this route, and at such an early point in the hike we were carrying all of the 4 liters of water stowed in our backpacks. The dramatic scenery - churning waterfalls framed by redwoods, massive pines and sheer cliffs beyond - made it easier to ignore some of the unpleasant messages that our knees and thighs were beginning to send us. In all, the Half Dome Trail gains 4,800 feet, mostly along three stretches of steps and steep switchbacks.

Read the complete article HERE

Second only to its southwesterly neighbor, Mount Marcy, the 5,114-foot summit of Algonquin Peak rewards sturdy hikers with unparalleled views of the Adirondacks and beyond. Begin hiking from the Adirondack Loj parking lot on the Van Hoevenberg Trail (which also accesses Wright Peak, Avalanche Lake, and Mount Marcy) on a slight descent through young hemlocks. Soon the trail crosses a footbridge over a wet area before beginning a gentle southward ascent over intermittent waterbars.

About a mile in, the terrain becomes more rugged and the grade more pronounced after passing the junction to Marcy Dam. Here, the trail picks up a steady climb often aided by sturdy stone steps. After 2.3 miles, pass under a 50-foot cascade (with a nice base pool in wet summer months). After the junction to Wright Peak (a steep, 0.6-mile detour to bag another 4,000-footer), the route becomes more technical and physically challenging. On the final mile to the summit you'll scramble over large boulders, cross logs over mud holes, and navigate sidehill slab as you ascend to low-lying krummholz dwarf trees and unobstructed views back north to Lake Placid and Wright Peak. Entering an alpine hiking zone, look for yellow blazes and cairns to stay on track and avoid traipsing through revegetation areas.

After 3.8 miles, crest the open rock summit of 5,114-foot Algonquin Peak. Various overlooks offer outstanding views of the Adirondacks and beyond. Look east to the Great Range and further out to Giant Mountain. Below to the southeast is Lake Colden and Flowed Lake. Mount Marcy rises beyond Mount Colden (also southeast). A trail leads southwest off Algonquin towards Iroquois Peak, but this route backtracks to the trailhead.

TO TRAILHEAD: From Lake Placid, take NY 73 east toward Keene. About 1.2 miles past the ski jump complex, turn right on Adirondack Loj Rd. Go 4.7 miles to the parking lot at Adirondak Loj (fee area). The trailhead is on the opposite side of the lot in front of the information building.

Fall is a time when hunters visit the woods in search of game. Campers and hikers should take extra precautions to make sure they are safe. Wearing hunter orange, also known as blaze orange, is a great way to be visible so that hunters don’t mistake a hiker for wildlife. Also, when planning a trip, try to avoid camping on weekends when there will be more hunters than usual, such as the first weekend for deer season. THINK SAFETY!

Fall Apparel Guide 2009

Goal: Help you stay comfortable in any weather. Solution: Hike through two-week-long downpours and hurricane-force winds to bring you the best new gear for every trip. Fall Apparel Guide 2009