 
Winter weather brings its own challenges
to backpacking. It is certainly more difficult to keep your pack
weight down in the winter. You need more clothing, more food,
heavier tents and sleeping bags, and a stove that you might not
bring in the summer. It is also inherently riskier to backpack
in the winter. The cold is constantly threatening you with
frostbite or hypothermia.
Of course, you still want to keep it as light as you can when
hiking or backpacking in the winter months. It is enough extra
effort to be walking through snow or lifting those snowshoes.
You don't want a fifty-pound backpack slowing you down as well.
You want to keep yourself safe too. You can't risk going without proper
gear, like you sometimes can in better weather. How then, do you
ultra light backpack safely during winter weather? Here are some
ideas.
Heavier isn't always warmer. My 17-ounce sleeping bag really
does keep me warmer than my 3-pound one did. Look for the most
warmth for the weight. This will usually be found in down filled
sleeping bags and parkas. Nylon pants over lightweight poly-pile
underwear will be lighter, warmer and safer than jeans.
I have actually camped using a tarp in the winter, but generally
a tent is a better idea. The air inside can be ten degrees
warmer than the outside temperature. Frost on the walls inside
is common, so you will want the tent to be large enough that you
won't be rubbing against the sides. Floor-less tents that use
your trekking poles for supports and a ground cloth, can work as
well, especially since you won't have bug problems. They are
often lighter than the alternatives.
You generally need a stove in the winter. Even if you don't want
to cook many meals, you will need to melt snow or ice for
drinking water. An alcohol stove is the lightest option. It
won't work well for cooking, but it may be sufficient for
melting snow, if that is all you'll be using it for. White gas
stoves are better for cooking in cold weather.
Dressing in layers is the rule for winter weather. This isn't actually
about more warmth for the weight, because the extra layers of
shell material (the nylon covering your jacket) don't provide
much extra warmth (you only need one wind-blocking layer). The
more important point to layering your clothes is that you can
regulate your body heat, removing layers as you get warm -
before you sweat and risk getting cold from the wetness later.
Your winter diet should be different than your summer diet when
backpacking. Soup and tea can help keep you warm, for example.
You also need more calories in the winter, because you burn a
lot just to heat your body. If you want to keep it light, this
means bringing more fatty foods, because fat provides more
calories for the weight.
There is another reason to have fatty foods. Fat produces heat
when you digest it. This means that in addition to providing
more calories, it also is reducing your need for calories.
Eskimos get real benefits from eating that whale
blubber.
I like corn chips myself. They are tasty and fatty. You can also
add more fat to your diet by bringing olive oil in a plastic
bottle. Add a little to each batch of soup. Butter and cheese
are decent winter backpacking foods too.
You can use the plastic bladders from boxed wine to carry water, and as a
pillow. Normally I use a plastic soda bottles to carry water
when backpacking, but when I have needed to carry more water
I've used the plastic bladders from boxed wine. They are light
and very strong. I also inflate the bag with air to use it as a
pillow. It just needs a soft covering of some sort, like a
sweater or shirt.
Buy paperback novels at thrift stores and rummage sales for reading on
the trail. You can burn the pages in the campfire as you finish
them, thus reducing your weight as you go.
Hike early. Start getting ready before it is even totally light.
An early start means an early finish - no setting up camp in the
dark. It also means hiking when it is cooler. It is a safer and
more enjoyable routine.
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