First Winter Camping Trip of the 07-08 Winter.

December 7th, 2007. We left the trail head at 10pm after a long and difficult drive. The fresh air felt great. It was 6 below zero. We were surprised to find the snow 12" deep. It was a great effort to pull the sleds. We went 1/4 mile to a meadow with a view of the lake. We shoveled out our tent spaces and put up our tents. We talked for a while but it was getting much colder so we went to our tents. I did get up once during the night but slept soundly till 9:15am... I crawled out of my tent feeling great and to view a wondrous scene. The sun rise shown on the white snow and our camp. Over the lake were falling sparkling diamonds, not snow, but little frost flakes that were falling from an unseen cloud in a blue sky. As these flakes fell to earth they tumbled and reflected light from the low angle of the sunrise. It was a joyous welcome back to the wilderness. Breakfast was the usual coffee and bagel. However because it was 20 below the center of my bagels didn't thaw as I roasted them over my little camp stove.
Our minimum registering thermometer said that the over night low was minus 22.2. It was cold but there was practically no wind so it was easily bearable. Our day hike took us to a small lake. We stayed warm while hiking but the whole trip was very refreshing. The afternoon high was 6 above zero.
Back in camp, we enjoyed coffee and started supper. Mine was beans, rice, and hamburger - very good. We went for an evening walk and explored a nearby car camping campground. Back in camp we talked for a while and went to bed at 9pm. I slept good but woke-up often. At 8am it was rise and shine to a snowy landscape, blue sky, and a bright sun. The purity of the light in the minus 10 air was awesome. However, this morning there were no diamonds drifting down from the heavens. A quick check of the min registering thermometer showed that it was 20 below some time before dawn. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and the view of our snow covered icy lake from our hill above the lake. At 11am we were back to the truck and headed home.