-31 Degrees Camping on 2022 New Years Eve

Happ Happy New Year!

I headed the F-350 north in the midst of a bitter cold snap on December 30th. Drove 190 miles north and arrived in the State Forest about 11:00pm.

Temperature was about -20F. This was the same location that I camped at 10 days earlier. Since the previous trip, when there was about 6-7 inches of snow on the ground, it had snowed an additional 13-15 inches. The night was beautiful with the fresh snow and crisp temperature.

The initial challenge was to get into the dispersed campsite. The Forest road is plowed occasionally to the trailhead a half mile further up the road, so with the truck locked into 4 wheel drive it wasn’t an issue. So to get into the campsite, I unloaded the RZR to punch through the deep snow and test the ability to get traction.

Was able to bust through the snow bank and make a loop in the campsite. Then, my decision was to clear the site with a shovel… the alternative choice was to just park off the road. Since I was going to be there for 3 days, I pulled out my shovel and 2 1/2 hours later I was cleared out enough to pull the F-350 and trailer straight into the site. I proceeded to pack down the remaining snow with the truck. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do… worth it.

Packed in a track for the RZR.

The new snow since 10 days ago when I camped here. 16oz PBR was good after 2 1/2 hours of shoveling.

Crisp the first night…

Went for a night RZR drive the 2nd night. About -22 early in the evening.

A bit of an adventure as I got hung up in the deep snow with the RZR. It was a job for the winch. The challenge was getting the winch cord plugged in. With the bitter cold the rubber plug was very stiff, I actually had to trim around the edge of the plug-in with my knife to fit. The winch extracted me with hardly any effort.

Back to camp after exploring with the RZR.

Perfect winter night for a roaring campfire. As the temperature started to drop, the beer was cold/frozen in about 2 minutes, got keep it liquid by the fire.

Spent about 3 1/2 hours stoking the fire on New Year’s Eve @ -26F.

It is amazing the beauty of the subzero forest at midnight with the heat of the fire.

On the 3rd day, cold and sunny, got out in the RZR.

Crispier the 2nd night… haha! 

It was a sunny -31F.

The final challenge on the New Year Trip… 

I slept in on New Years Day, after spending over 12 hours outside the day and night before in temperatures from -10 to -31 it was cozy in my Four Wheel Camper at 68 degrees.

My final chapter for the trip was to pack up and head out.