Miscellaneous Notes on Camping - part 1

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· Miscellaneous Notes on Camping - part 1

· Miscellaneous Notes on Camping - part 2

Snow is an excellent heat insulating material, comparable to leather and asbestos. The heat of the body quickly warms a small snow structure to the freezing point of water (32° F), provided the snow walls are thick enough (at least one foot), and that all ventilation which is not necessary is excluded.

The amount of fresh air needed for a human being at rest is usually overestimated. Under resting conditions only 0.01 cubic foot of oxygen is consumed each minute. One cubic foot of air per minute for each man is then more than ample. This amount will permeate the unpacked snow around a bivouac. There is then no danger of suffocation from being completely "snowed in" so long as the cave is not glazed with ice.

A small stove consumes more oxygen than twenty men at rest. It may also produce poisonous carbon monoxide. Common prudence requires adequate ventilation while a stove is in operation.

If snow is too loose to cut into blocks for constructing bivouacs and igloos, it can frequently be consolidated by thoroughly tramping an area, first with skis, then with boots. But this is hard work.

Fir and pine boughs are an excellent substitute for air mattresses and even sleeping bags in emergencies. They can be used, not only on the snow floor, but also as a lining on the sides and roof. The thicker and denser the mat of boughs, the better the insulation and springiness. If evergreen boughs are not available, twigs from deciduous trees, dry moss from trees or tundra, dry grass and brush may be substituted.

A good place for the boots is in a hole under the sleep-ing bag. The hole should be lined with boughs, extra clothing or other insulating material, except on top. If this is done carefully, the boots will not freeze during the night. Equally effective, but more uncomfortable is to take your boots to bed with you—but take them off. Boots can also be thawed over the cook stove—but don't get the leather hot.

Warm air rises. The best way to keep it in a tent, cave, or other shelter, is to take care that the upper portion of the shelter does not provide excessive opportunity for warm air to escape. Where practicable with caves or igloos, construct the entrance below the level of the main floor area; that is, tunnel up to the floor. Where a low entrance is impracticable, improvise a door of brush, cloth, or snow blocks sealed at the top, leaving the air opening near the bottom.