Course Location:
Women’s Winter Overnighter!
$185.00
Do you have the gear but you haven’t gone winter camping yet? Do you have some experience but want to expand your skills in simple bushcraft skills? Do you want a weekend out with other likeminded women?
Saturday Dec. 5th 10am- Sunday Dec. 6th noon-ish.
This overnighter is a self-supported event (you need to bring your own gear and food) that will allow you to try a night in your own survival shelter (bring your tent or car as backup!)! Organized group activities will introduce basic bush craft skills (knife use, fire starting using nature, fire reflectors, and survival shelter building!) all with the intent to allow you to spend one winter night outdoors. Fingers crossed we can do a Quinzee!
Group camping is a safe way to test your gear, learn new skills, and support each other through stressors in a safe, controlled, and manageable environment. While it is our intent to help you build a shelter and personal fire to help you get through your night – it is not guaranteed that you will have a long, restful and warm sleep. This is the ultimate challenge! While we all want success in getting through the night in our shelter – you can also bring a tent or sleep in your car. We will however be a short walk AWAY from our cars so…..You NEED to be reasonably comfortable being outdoors all day/night with your clothing, gear and skills (with group support!)
General Outline:
- Gear Checklists provided by Back40 upon registration – SUGGESTIONS ONLY!
- Zoom Preparation Session: Monday Nov. 23rd 7:30pm
- Camp Introduction – site selection and safety
- Fire starting (group fire to burn all day!)
- Fire Reflectors – keeping warmth around you
- Shelters 101 – Instruction & time to build
- Sleeping warm (or as warm as you can!)
- Supper, campfire conversations, and bedtime preparations
- Night Time Safety
COST: $185+GST Includes:
- Camp access fees (includes a heated safety building if necessary)
- Consumable materials for shelters
- Preparation support and ongoing communication
- Surprise gifts relevant to our session!
LOCATION: Camp location will be at a private campground within 20min of Saskatoon. Location will be disclosed to registered participants only. Location is accessible by car but depending on snow depth we may need to hike in to the actual camp site. There will be a heated indoor facility for safety.
Temperature Limit: The overnight portion of this event will be MODIFIED if the overnight temp is colder than -15 c (without windchill) and will be at the sole discretion of the Leaders.
BACKUP PLAN: While we may not be able to camp over night (or want to!) we can still gather together to practice skills for a portion of the day/all day. This will be our primary backup plan. We also have an indoor space that the group could “camp in” while it may not be cushy – it would be indoor shelter. Lastly – you are not obligated to stay all night. If you feel you are out of energy or outside your comfort zone to get through the night you are welcome to go home and return in the morning.
GEAR: You will NEED your own camping gear for this event. A detailed packing list will be provided however it may not reflect all the items that you have/could bring. You will be a fair walk from your car if we get snow before this event so please do not assume you can car camp easily with this event. While you can make multiple trips – it will be a fair distance to go each time.
Mandatory items:
- Winter temperatures sleeping system & pad (or combination of layers)
- Folding saw (or similar, or hatchett)
- Fire starting kit
- Pot for cooking over fire or cook stove
- HEAD LAMP
- You will need layers for the changing temps during the day and to change if you get wet/damp
- A sled / poke will help to carry items into camp if we cannot drive cars right to the site LUXURY!
A detailed packing list will be provided for those who never know exactly what to bring! What you don’t have there is likely someone willing to share or lend – do not hesitate to ask!
COMMUNITY CULTURE: It is my goal to host this event as a way to create a safe and introductory way to winter camp for those with the gear to do so but lacking in group connection, motivation or opportunity to do so. We want to incorporate some basic bushcraft skills for fire starting and basic shelters that will allow participants to challenge themselves to be more prepared for unplanned nights out – with the comforts of a tent / shelter near by! The intent is to challenge participants to enjoy the struggle and test their current gear/skills in a manner in which has accessibility, indoor shelter, and group supper/safety as a nearby crutch. And if we struggle or fail – we can go home and try again another time!
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE DETAILS!
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Do you have all the gear but have never winter camped? Do you want to challenge yourself to sleep outside this winter in a shelter you built?
This Overnighter is perfect for anyone who needs an excuse to get out and PRACTICE! You should already have the gear – now you just need the opportunity!
Whether you are hiking, snowshoeing, fat-tire riding, or x-country skiing – you are experienced enough to be prepared for the weather and your day adventure. But winter camping can be intimidating and can quickly seem undesirable. This Overnighter is an opportunity to challenge yourself to sleep outdoors at least once this winter!
It is expected that participants in this group are independently prepared with the “essentials” for camping. Tent, sleeping bag(s) to layer, sleeping pads, tarp, saw, headlamp, stove/pot, fire starter and so on. While you may not have 4-season rated items – generally most 3 season gear with some enhancements or layers will suffice for one night.
If gear is a limiting factor in your participation – please reach out to me! We have ample gear that we can share to help you start your first experience winter camping!
1. Camp Access
Depending on the snow depth (if any!) – we may have to walk or snowshoe in to the camp site. This may require you to carry – backpack – your gear in. A large sled or pulk is an excellent item to have (share!) for this effort as well!
2. Group Fire
Once we select our campsite we will gather fire wood and prepare a group fire. The goal is to keep this fire stoked all day/night for our use and safety. We will cover tips / challenges on how to start fire using nature only and a variety of beneficial fire starters.
The group will also design, create, and erect fire reflectors around our group site to help reflect and retain more heat from our fire as a group project.
3. Personal Shelters
We will be exploring and building a personal shelter that may help you on an unplanned overnight or need for emergency shelter. While we acknowledge most people will not continue to pursue bushcraft survival and shelter building – the foundations of a good shelter, how to utilize fire to add additional heat, and the principles of heat conservation will be used to design and build a shelter that is relevant to items, skills, and materials the day tripper might have with them.
You are not required to sleep in your personal shelter….but it might be an awesome challenge for those motivated and brave enough to do so!
4. Cooking / Water Boiling over Fire
Some good old campfire tips to help you safely melt snow, warm water, and cook over an open fire. While some may wish to do this others may opt to bring a canister or white gas stove. Either way…you are cooking for yourself this weekend! 🙂
5. Sleeping Warm
We will do some preparation to help everyone transition to bed in a safe, and warm way. There are ample skills to learn here including the importance of dry clothes, not over dressing, personal hygiene issues, and supplemental hot water bottles in your sleep system. Throughout the day we will also gear check everyone’s set up so we are confident going into the darkness of night that you will sleep safely and as comfortably as possible!
6. Group Safety
A large portion of the background leadership in this event will be lessons in leadership, decision making, and group safety. While we assume the lead on this and take responsibility – we know that women are empowered when they are included in on the plans and decisions. Group safety and discussions will be an ongoing feature of the planning of this event and throughout the duration of our time together.
7. Coffee & Morning Celebrations
After surviving a night – with or without much sleep – a warm cup of coffee will be SO GOOD! We will gather at sunrise, discuss our night, and celebrate our success! A brisk morning hike is possible to get the blood flowing before we take down camp and go home! You could be home by early afternoon, have a hot shower and enjoy the rest of your weekend with your family!
NOTE: There will be a facility that can be heated if we need to seek shelter throughout our time together!
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