In association with Hikercentral.com
and Goingoutside.com
In association with Hikercentral.com
and Goingoutside.com
On this site I will tell you some things about paddling.
Below are some important items when you go canoeing in the backcountry.
| It's good to have either a camp saw or a camping axe with you to cut wood. Camp saws are a lot lighter than camp axes but axes are faster and less tiring to use. If you're not planning to do a very large amount of woodcutting a saw is probably a better idea. But in the wintertime it may be worth it to bring an axe. | SAW | |
| You need to have a very good heavy duty knife. Bringing a Leatherman Tool or a Swiss Army Knife is fine but you have to bring a real knife as well. | TOOL | |
| Sleeping bag? Of course you need a sleeping bag, no doubt about it. | SLEEPING BAG | |
| A good flashlight is an absolute necessity, I recommend a head lamp, very practical. It always shines where you're looking and it leaves your hands free to work. | LIGHT | |
| Rice is a perfect emergency food. Very light weight and full of energy. In an emergency you just need lots of energy, don't worry so much about vitamins. Bring about 3 cups of rice per person per day you think you will spend in worst case. | FOOD | |
| Anybody who
has a Trailstove will agree with me when I say it's the best camp stove by far. It's lighter than any other stove and it burns wood instead of compressed gas. You don't have to carry fuel with you. It's safer to, no flammable and poisonous substances to worry about, just pieces of harmless wood. | PADDLING STOVE |
HOW TO MAKE AN IGLOO
PICK A SPOT
You should build your igloo on a level surface where the
snow is at least 3 feet deep. There should be enough hard snow for your igloo,
if the surface snow is powdery there's probably hard packed snow a bit deeper.
Large bumps on the surface of the snow it usually means that there is a large
object below the snow such as a boulder or a large stomp, they can get in the
way so it's better to pick as flat a spot as possible. Don't make your igloo
bigger than it needs to be. Mark out in the snow where you plan to have the wall
of your igloo.
CUT BLOCKS
Cut out blocks from the area which will be the inside of
the igloo. The lower blocks should be about 1 foot thick, 3 feet long and 1.5
feet high, the higher blocks should be about 6 inches thick, 2 feet long, and 1
foot high. If you size the blocks as I have said above you will need
approximately the following number of blocks:
Sleeping 1 person, 6 feet inner diameter: 30 blocks
Sleeping 2 people, 7
feet inner diameter: 40 blocks
Sleeping 3-4 people, 9 feet
inner diameter: 60 blocks
Don't worry if you think you'll have trouble fitting, once the igloo is
finished you can carve out a bit of space for your feet from the inner
wall.
The hole
resulting from your cutting will be the floor in the igloo so you want a
sleeping area for each person as high up as possible, a general purpose area
that should be a bit lower to allow for mobility, and a deep entrance hole that
extends outside of the igloo. The entrance hole should be as narrow as possible
while still allowing you to get in and out without too much discomfort. The deep
entrance hole will absorb the cold air and release it to the outside while the
warm air will rise and stay trapped inside the dome.
BUILD A SPIRAL CIRCLE
Place your largest and widest blocks in a circle around the
hole where you have been cutting out your blocks, the blocks should be tilted in
towards the center. Start with the block that goes on top of the entrance hole,
the whole entrance hole must be traversed by one single block with plenty of
support on both sides. Cut the blocks so they form a spiral, make sure that the
block covering the entrance hole is the largest block.
BUILD WALL
Add blocks to the wall until you only have a small opening
in the roof. Before you get to the point that it's hard to get in and out of the
dome move any blocks not yet used to the inside of the dome so you can put them
all up in one sweep from the inside.
TOP PIECE
When all the blocks are in place cut the final top piece to the
right size. If you can wiggle it out from the inside and lower it down into
position that's great, but if your hole is very circular this won't be possible,
you'll have to put the block on top of the dome from the outside and then lower
it down from the inside.
FINISHING
Fill any cracks with
snow.
Make a little doorway over the entrance to keep snow out.
You have
to make at least one air hole in the roof to ensure proper ventilation. Without
good ventilation you could run out of oxygen, very dangerous.
Smoothen the
inside of the dome to prevent water dripping.
Your igloo is now
ready to be lived in, check your air hole periodically to make sure it's not
blocked. If you've done everything right you will be quite
comfortable.
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