Tag Archives: winter camping

Winter Camping in Pennsylvania’s Most Remote Forest

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Backpacking, Hiking & Winter Tent Camping with Snow in Pennsylvania’s Hammersley Wild Area.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this early December backpacking trip, I set out to hike a 3 day, 20ish mile loop in the mountains of north central Pennsylvania.  I created my loop by using a portion of the Susquehannock Trail System, some off-trail bushwhacking, and a ridge hike along the adjacent Twin Sisters Trail.

My weather conditions were forecasted to have some fresh snow, temps mostly in the 20’s and a potential for freezing rain as the temps rose further into the trip.  While this was a pretty wide range of possible conditions, it also wasn’t terribly cold, so I was still able to pack somewhat ultralight and minimal.  My camping target for day one was down in the hollow along the banks of Hammersley Fork. On day two I planned to head up to the ridge and camp in the area devoid of trees due to a forest fire back in 1962.  Due to the potential lack of trees, I swapped out my typical hammock setup for a single person tent and sleeping pad to keep my campsite options flexible.

The Hammersley Wild Area is the most remote swath of public land in Pennsylvania, with some spots over 5 miles from the nearest road, which combined with the season, I hoped would make for some rather secluded camping.  Conversely, this area is also a haven for public hunting, so I made sure to wear some blaze orange and remain somewhat quiet and on the trail until I got further away from any road access, as it was the middle of PA deer hunting season.

This trip video was sponsored by Dr Prepare. You can get 10% off their 178Wh Portable Power Station by using code STDP10 with this link.

Route Overview – Stratton Pond Vermont Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Summit Fever – Winter Camping on the Presidential Range

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Solo Winter Backpacking & Snow Camping in an attempt to Summit Mount Washington.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this adventure, I headed up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to do some snow camping with the goal of doing of a Mt Washington winter ascent.  My plan was to set up a base camp at higher elevation, followed by a lighter weight trek up to the top of  Mount Washington.

I went with a tent for shelter on this trip because I originally planned for the possibility of camping above treeline.  I had never done that before, but the weather forecast was rather good before I left home, so this seemed like a good opportunity to give it a go.  The Presidential Range had other ideas…

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the White Mountain National Forest, but a parking fee is required in some areas.

Trailhead Used: Jewell Trail Trailhead
44°16’01.2″N 71°21’40.7″W
Base Station Rd, Jefferson, NH 03538

This is a large parking lot with room for many vehicles.  A parking fee of $5 dollars per day or an annual National Park pass is required.

Notable Backpacking Gear

Camera and Nav Gear used for this episode

Snow Storm at Dawn – Winter Camping on North Fork Mountain

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Winter Camping in a Snow Storm on North Fork Mountain, West Virginia.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this winter backpacking trip, we set out to do some overnight camping in the Monongahela National Forest by an awesome vista known as Chimney Top during the last week of January.  The weather forecast showed the potential for a snow storm to land some time between the first night and the morning of the next day, so we decided to keep our mileage fairly low and laid back. Temperatures were projected to be fairly steady in the low to mid 20’s Fahrenheit.

Our initial climb up to the ridge would require a gross elevation gain of roughly 2,000 feet over the course of two miles.  Once we got to the ridge, we would be afforded with seemingly endless mountain views overlooking the Potomac River, New Creek Mountain, and Dolly Sods in the distance.  After following the ridge for a while we would start to look for campsite opportunities.

Besides the quick elevation gain, our main challenge on this trip would be water.  There is only one semi reliable water source on the entire 25 mile length of the North Fork Trail, and it’s located right around the half way point at 12.5 miles.  We wouldn’t be going that far, so we would have to pack in all of our water for drinking and cooking. If the snow storm had hit prior to our arrival, we would have had the advantage of melting snow. With the ground dry and free of snow upon our arrival, we decided to pack in 1 gallon (4 liters) of water per person.

For shelter, Frank and James went with tent camping in individual tents, while I chose to go with a hammock camping setup.  With this mix of shelters, we hoped to be able to find a decent spot to camp on the ridge with some nice mountain views.

Route Overview – North Fork Mountain Trail Chimney Top – Sintax77

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the Monongahela National Forest.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

Trailhead Used: North Fork Mountain Trailhead, Northern End
38°58’53.0″N 79°13’53.8″W
Smoke Hole Rd, Cabins, WV 26855

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Winter Camping and Finding a Plane Crash – Mt Success DC-3

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Backpacking & Solo Winter Camping in search of a 1954 commercial airline crash near the summit of Mt Success in the White Mountains.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this 3 day, 2 night camping trip, I headed up to a lesser traveled corner of New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest for some snowshoeing, camp cooking, and bit of New England aviation history.

My goal for this adventure was to find the resting place of Northeast Airlines Flight 792, which crashed on approach to Berlin Municipal Airport during inclement weather on November 30th, 1954. It made contact in the dense trees near the summit of Mt Success at an elevation of 3,390 feet.  More information on the details of Flight 792 and the circumstances of it’s survivors can be found in this copy of the official Accident Investigation Report

The 6.5 mile hike to get there would require a gross elevation gain of roughly 3,700 feet on potentially unbroken trail in deep snow.  The final portion of the hike would be an unofficial bushwhack through dense trees and snow.  For this reason, I chose to break up the approach up by setting up camp at roughly the halfway point along Gentian Pond and the nearby lean-to shelter with sweeping views of the Carter-Moriah mountain range.  After camping for the night, I would head up to the top of Mt Success, the first peak of the Mahoosuc Range and the Appalachian Trail’s gateway to Maine. After a few miles and a couple thousand feet of ascent with my trusty snowshoes, I would leave the trail behind in search of the DC-3.

Mt Success DC-3 Winter Backpacking Trip – Route Overview

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the White Mountains, but some locations do require a daily, weekly, or annual pass.  The parking area for this trip did not require a parking fee as of January 2021.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

Trailhead Used: Austin Brook Trailhead on North Road,  44°24’45.1″N 71°04’05.4″W
North Rd, Shelburne, NH 03581

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Stone Shelter Camping in a Snow Storm

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Backpacking & Solo Winter Camping during a Snow Storm on the Appalachian Trail and New York Long Path.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this 3 day, 2 night camping trip, I decided to do a backpacking loop in New York’s Harriman State park.  Despite being just a half hour north of New York City, Harriman SP offers hundreds of miles of trails, rugged mountain terrain, and rustic lean-to shelters built in the 1920’s.  Covering over 47,000 acres, it stands as the second largest state park in New York and feels more like a national forest shortly after hitting the trail.

Because I did this trip in mid December with a forecast of possible snow and a temp range of just above freezing down to the teens, I figured the crowds would be at a minimum.  The shelters in this area also appeared to have some great personality, so I decided to do something different – go minimal and just sleep in the shelter with a sleeping pad and a down quilt.  This is a convenient and common practice for most Appalachian Trail hikers in fairer weather, but it would be a first for me in winter.

Route Overview – Harriman State Park Winter Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

No permit is required to backcountry camp in Harriman SP, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. Most notably, you may only setup camp within 100 yards of one of the park’s lean-to shelters.  You can find more information on the official Harriman State Park website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Alone in the Pemi Wilderness – Winter Camping Adventure

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3 Days of Winter Hammock Camping, Backpacking, & Snowshoeing in the White Mountains Pemigewasset Wilderness.

This trip was sponsored by Backcountry, who gave me the opportunity to upgrade three of my essential winter backpacking gear items for this trip. A gear list can be found at the end of this post.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links, at no additional cost to you. Individual gear selections were made by me and all opinions are my own.

For this 3 day, 2 night spring winter camping trip, I’ll be hiking what amounts to a sort of “Half Pemi Loop”.  While a full pemi loop consists of the Franconia Ridge on one side and the Bondcliff ridge on the other, my plan was to use the lesser used Franconia Brook trail to go straight up the middle of the loop.  This would take me above treeline right near the summit of Mt Garfield, with the option to take either the Franconia Ridge to the west, or the Bondcliffs to the east in order to return to the Lincoln Woods visitor center where I had left my Jeep.

Even during “regular” backpacking season, the White Mountains are a quite challenging area to hike due to notoriously rapid changing weather conditions and steep, rugged terrain.  Add in some deep snow, ice, rain, high winds and a freeze / thaw temp range of 40° to 16° F, and things can get even more fun.  I had a great time, but it was probably the toughest solo winter backpacking trip I’ve ever done.

Winter Half Pemi Route Oveview – Sintax77

No permit is required to camp in the White Mountains NF, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping.  You can find more information on the USFS White Mountains website here. Some parking areas, such as the one I used for this trip, do require a vehicle fee of $5 per day.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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