After spending all day on your feet hiking to your camp area, and then fighting to get your tent up, there’s nothing quite beats the feeling of crawling into a warm, soft sleeping bag. Getting a decent nights’ sleep while hiking is vital as it revs you up for the journey ahead, so buying the right sleeping bag is very important. If you’re new to hiking, or just thinking about upgrading your gear, here are a few things you might want to consider when shopping for a sleeping bag:
Weight, size and shape
All three of these criteria have to be carefully thought over. A heavy or bulky sleeping bag can make all the difference as the added weight of a heavy sleeping bag can slow you down or take up room in your backpack that you might need for other essential items. Lighter sleeping bags tend to be more expensive than their heavier counterparts, but if you have the budget they are definitely worth the investment. As for size and shape, most hiking sleeping bags are “mummy” shaped to conserve heat, but if you’re a restless sleeper this won’t leave much room for moving around so it might be worth looking into rectangular down sleeping bags as an alternative. Again, they are pricier than standard sleeping bags, but will guarantee you get a better nights’ sleep.
Fill material
When it comes to fill material there are only two choices: down or synthetic. Down is lighter and more durable than synthetic filling, but if it gets wet it will lose its loft and, subsequently, its insulating power. If you’re going somewhere near water or snow, or just hiking on a particularly wet weekend, you will always be better off with synthetic filling. Another bonus of synthetic fill sleeping bags is that they are cheaper than down fill bags, though they are not as durable and will need replacing sooner. The down fill might be a better investment in the long run.
Temperature rating
This should be the lowest temperature you would be comfortable in and you should choose a bag with a temperature rating that’s 10 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the coldest temperature forecast for your destination.
Price
This should be the last thing you consider and the least important factor in your purchasing decision. If you’re on a tight budget price can seem really important at the time, but compromising on quality can mean waking up tired, sore and in no mood to hike in the morning. Weigh up price and quality carefully before making a decision on what sleeping bag will best suit you.
Camp Map
October Mountain is the largest state forest in Massachusetts. At 16,500 acres October Mountain has a vast network of hiking trails including a section of the Appalachian Trail.
The Campground at October Mountain offers 47 campsites on 3 levels. Level 1 is less wooded than level 2 and seem to be better suited for campers or RV’s. None of the sites offer water or electric hookup. Level sites are more wooded especially 47, 48, and 49. Level 3 offers three yurts and a couple of camp sites. There are 2 bathrooms on the ground both were just so so, Not super clean nor dirty. As most Mass State Parks the bathrooms have outdoor dish washing stations, a nice feature.
The few times I stayed here I found most of the campers to be quiet. October Mountain’s biggest downfall is the power transformer station across from the campground. On the first level, the hum from the transformers is annoying at best, on the second level it is quieter but still a constant hum is present. I would choose to stay else where for this reason alone. Not the wilderness campground I was hoping for in Mass’ biggest state park…
by silent stereo
Making the transition from car camping to wilderness camping and backpacking leaves the question about bathrooms… Believe it or not you are going to have to go in the woods, you are going to have to dig a hole and bury it and maybe even pack it out… Let’s dive umm.. head first into this semi-taboo subject.
Most privies are gross. We all hate using them but when they are available please use them… They place them in areas of high traffic to keep the area clean, if they are used it works!
Urinating in the woods is pretty self explanatory. You just need to pick a spot at least 200 feet from any trail, camp, or body of water such as lakes and streams. Women have it a bit harder than the guys here. Avoiding pee in the boots can be a challenge Read more »
Trashed Campsite
Leave No Trace, also known as LNT is something we should all follow to the best of our ability in the backcountry. Keeping the land that we love as pristine as possible for other to enjoy for many years to come.
The beginnings of can be traced back the 1970’s and 1980’s when the US Forest Service and the National Park Service started to teach their visitors how to have less impact on the land. The Sierra Club, Boy Scouts of America, and the National Outdoor Leadership School had all played a big role in what LNT is today.
Leave No Trace can be summed up in seven principles,
1. Plan Ahead and Prepare: Plan your trip thoroughly, when presented with unexpected situations most resort to solutions that can degrade the outdoors or put themselves at risk. Common scenarios are improperly located campsites, excessive trash, and improper campfires.
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces: Damage to land when surface vegetation is trampled takes a long time and lots of work to repair. Trampled land leads to unusable campsites and soil erosion. Keeping pets leashed is helpful to this principle. Plants grow by the inch but die by the foot! In high use areas LNT suggests people hike and camp together to avoid further damage. In areas of little use or off trail travel LNT suggests spreading out when hiking and camping to avoid new trial, and campsite creation. Read more »
Campground Map
Mohawk Trail State Forest Campground is on RT 2 in Charlemont, MA. The campground is along the banks of the cold river, in spring this river flows very strong with winter melt. As summer moves in the river slows to nothing more than a trickle. Sites 47-56 are closest to the river. Sites 1-35 are on an upper level and are far enough from the river not to see it.
56 wooded campsites are available seasonally, and six overnight log cabins are open year-round. The sites here are best for tent camping as they are on the smaller side and have no hookups. Campsitesare clean and well kept, have a fire ring with built in grill and a picnic table. Sites share bear lockers as bears are very prevalent in the area. This campground is about as secluded as you
Totem Trail
get in the area. Over 6,000 acres of mountain ridges, deep gorges and tall old-growth trees make you feel like you are far away from it all. The closest store is 4Family east on RT2 it is a gas and convince store that has the basics. A few hiking trails from the campground will keep you busy, I recommend the Totem Trail.
Bathrooms are clean enough and each has a dish washing station outside. The showers have warm water and are free push button timer style showers.
This is one of my favorite places to camp… You can press your luck and hope for an open site upon arrival or reserve your site through reserveamerica.com.
About a month ago, I was contacted by an old high school friend wondering if I would be interested in an overnight hike in early October. Of course, I wanted to go but lacked the backpacking gear I felt I would need, mainly for sleeping. The plan came together when I acquired a Warbonnet Blackbird hammock and Superfly tarp. I stared to feel this trip could happen; I still lacked a sleeping bag that I could pack and carry. I have plans to buy an over quilt sometime over the winter so I didn’t want to buy a bag solely for this trip. Luckily, EMS rents gear; bags are $5 a day so I rented a 20-degree bag so I was ready to go and agreed to the trip.
Group Shot
The trip was set for Stratton Mountain (3940ft) in Vermont with an over night camp at the Stratton Pond Tenting Area. We had the meeting time set for 8am on Oct. 2; it was cool morning with the temp right around 40 degrees. The night before as I packed my bag I quickly realized that my 28L osprey was not as big as I had thought, I managed to squeeze most stuff in it only had to lash my bag and pad to the outside. The pack weighed in at 23lbs, not bad I thought.
I car pooled to the trail head with 2 friends with plans to meet 2 more there, everyone was on time and we hit the trail at about 8:45. The route was picked, hike the AT/LT to the Stratton Mountain summit then continue on to the tenting area about 8 miles for day one. Then hike the blue blazes out for an easy 3.8-mile hike back to the cars on day two. Read more »
Crown Point, NY
Crown Point Public Campground is located at 784 Bridge Road, Crown Point, NY 12928. This campground is located on the southern edge of the 281,600 acre Lake Champlain and right on the New York / Vermont border. Crown Point rests over battlefields and fort locations dating back to 1775, remnants of the old forts can still be seen. In the campground you will also find a beautiful lighthouse and fishing pier, both seem to be the main draw of the campground. A boat launch ramp is also located inside the campground so, if boating is your thing, this is a great place to stay. The rate to camp here is $17 a nite and reservations can be made through reserve america.
The Lighthouse
The Crown Point website shows many sites that you would think to be waterside or lake front camping, but only few sites even have water front views. Sites 1-10 are they only sites with a clear view to the water but a fence (and a steep hill) block access to the water from your site.
Read more »
Its easy to overindulge when camping. S’mores are just so delicious and hamburgers and hot dogs are so much fun to cook over the open fire. Here are some ideas for healthier camping food options…
The easiest thing to do is take a look and see if you can find lower calorie versions of the food you would normally take. Replace fatty cuts of meat with leaner cuts, hamburgers with turkey burgers, find lower fat hot dogs, baked potato chips or pretzels rather than greasy chips. Beef jerky is a great healthy camping food most are 97% fat free. Don’t forget your veggies too, many are very very tasty cooked over the open fire.
- Corn on the Cob – Peal back the husk and remove Read more »
camping, gear | Husky Hiker - Jim Bradley | 
5/9/2011 6:29 PM | 
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