Winter Camping - Storm Alert - Winter Van Life - Primal Outdoors

Winter storm warning for the following area. In Oregon, east slopes of Oregon cascades. Winter storm warning in effect from 4 p.m. this afternoon to 4 a.m. Pacific Standard Time Saturday above 4,000 feet. Heavy snow expected above 4,000 feet. Total snow accumulations of 10 to 20 inches mainly along the cascade crest above 4,000 feet. Winds gusting as high as 50 miles per hour from 4 p.m. this afternoon to 4 a.m. Pacific Standard Time Saturday. Impacts. Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Gusty winds can bring down tree bridges. If you must travel, keep an extra fly flyer, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Well that should definitely make this trip interesting. These winter storms can be extremely unpredictable, so winter camping in the backcountry is not something you should be taking lightly. These are not plowed maintained roads. You want to make sure that you have a vehicle that is capable in deep snow and that you have plenty of supplies like food, water, and fuel in case you find yourself spending a few extra days waiting for conditions to improve. Well we're finally starting to get high enough that it's actually turning from rain to snow which is nice. We're getting into some area that got some previous snow earlier and it's really slushy and heavy which is making it a lot harder for the van to get through because it's very slick and then the weight of the snow is a lot harder for the van to push out of the way. Ideally my favorite snow is good dry powdery snow because you can get really good traction in it and it's really easy for the van to just kind of push it out of the way even if it's fairly deep. Over the last few years I have really come to appreciate winter camping. Growing up as a kid camping was a summertime event. Winter camping was never really considered but as I get older I am finding less and less joy in summer camping and finding that I appreciate the solitude and peace that comes with winter. All right so we just backtracked a little bit here we're going to cut up some firewood. I found a tree that's down over here it's got a little snow on it but I do have some dry stuff inside the van I can get the fire started with and so we just need to make sure we have plenty of extra wood to get us all the way through the evening. There once was a time when I would say that setting up camp was part of the fun and there definitely was a certain joy that came with spending a couple hours setting up a good camp but I'm kind of over that now with all the time I spend in the backcountry. I find I really enjoy the benefits of the van and the ability just to pull into a location and immediately start focusing on the activities that I would rather be doing like hunting, hiking, fishing, photography or maybe I just want to sit and listen to a crackle of the fire while I warm my belly with a glass of whiskey. In the end I don't want to spend a lot of time setting up a camp in winter weather and I definitely don't want to spend the core of my last day tearing it down. Chopping wood is one of those chores I don't mind doing. There's something very satisfying about putting an axe to wood and let's face it a warm campfire is one of the simple pleasures of a winter camping experience. Well all right well we finally got camp pretty well set up it took a little bit with all the blowing snow and everything it just made everything a little bit more challenging. I actually almost didn't really want to come up here it was just pouring rain down below and even though the weather report said that we would get snow at 4,500 feet the way it was pouring down lower I just I was doubting it but sure enough we're actually at 4,500 feet right now we're on a small little mountain lake up in the Cascade Mountains and it's just laid down a beautiful layer of new snow and in fact based on what I can see what's on the awning there's about two inches of snow has fallen since we've been here. We are getting just a slight reprieve right now I can see it's just just barely spitting on me a little bit but not too bad. Anyways I'm just gonna I want to just get a few things straightened up I've got I brought some fixings for a chili tonight I think that will be a good hearty meal for a good cold evening like this and Daisy's just sacked out on her bed she kind of played in the snow a little bit so she's a little bit worn out but yeah all in all so far very pleased with our situation at the moment. One of the advantages of cooking in the van like this is I don't have the wind stealing my heat so everything cooks really well. Cooking is another one of those simple pleasures of a good winter camping trip. There's nothing better than a tasty hot meal after an eventful day in the woods. I don't know about you but I feel like I appreciate the food more when I'm in the outdoors and the meal doesn't even have to be that extravagant. A can of hot beans can be more satisfying than a five-star meal in a fancy city restaurant. Oh Daisy I think it's time to get up babies. You don't think so? Oh that's a good girl. All right well we're just starting to get up this morning. It's still it's just now starting to kind of get light and I peeked my head out it looks like maybe we got another couple inches or three inches nothing too much. It looks like it's snowing a little bit right now but I can't really tell if it's snowing or just blowing snow off the trees but just getting some coffee. We'll get started with that and then let it get a little bit lighter and then we'll go out and check things out a little bit. All right well I think we're all packed up got everything situated in the van had a good little camping excursion. We're going to go ahead and hit the road now while the snow is nice and cold and powdery and easy to drive. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. If you did please do give it a like. If you have any comments or questions leave those down below. Special shout out to my patrons for making these videos possible and we'll see you guys again outside. it's clear to see from up here the world seems small we can sit together it's so beautiful you and me we're meant to be in the great outdoor forever free