Another Trip Report - Pic Heavy - This Time... Winter Wall Tent Camping

[Albertadiver]

Well, I kinda like sharing some of our forays into the outdoors with others on this site. This is an Outdoorsman Forum, and given there are so many viewers that visit the site that don't post much, maybe they enjoy little snippets like this where people can maybe see what it's like to step outside of city limits once in a while.

This trip, I have a HUGE thank you owed to The FishermanGuy who graciously allowed me the use of his fantastic wall tent and wood stove. I put a thread up about tent rentals a while back and had a number of offers, so thanks guys. My hat is off to the forum once again. I promise we tried to keep good care of it and we certainly appreciated its use.

So the trip itself was fairly uneventful, did a lot of walking through the bush with my wife and our black lab Duke. Lots of stick throwing and fetching. A fair amount of tin can plinking with the .22. (Yes, we cleaned up everything we brought, in fact I left a ton of cut and split firewood out there for the next user of this spot).

The weather was great during the day, and we came home a day early as we didn't want to be packing up in a blizzard as we're currently experiancing this evening.

Wall tent camping is hard work, but so enjoyable. There is something to be said for the crackling of the fire in the stove, keeping you in shirt sleeves while it's cold outside. If you're prepared, a person can enjoy the winter greatly. There was NOBODY around the whole time we were there aside from 2 guys on quads out enjoying the country as we were.

Very rewarding experiance. Here's some pics of the last few days. Hope you like them.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr214/albertadiver/Winter%20Camping%20Dec%202010/IMG_7286.jpg

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[Albertadiver]

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr214/albertadiver/Winter%20Camping%20Dec%202010/IMG_7324.jpg

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[Albertadiver]

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr214/albertadiver/Winter%20Camping%20Dec%202010/IMG_7313.jpg

[mudbug]

Great pictures, thanks for posting them. Wall tents get easier to set up use after you've set up and used them a few times. Was Duke cold after his time in the water :thinking-006:

there's a trick to setting up those frames and getting the tent over them too, once you've done it you can set them up in no time :)

[goober]

Looks like another very sweet trip dude!!!

[Albertadiver]

Great pictures, thanks for posting them. Wall tents get easier to set up use after you've set up and used them a few times. Was Duke cold after his time in the water :thinking-006:

here's a trick to setting up those frames and getting the tent over them too, once you've done it you can set them up in no time :)

It took us about 35 minutes to have the tent up and running even with me mixing up the roof truss poles with the side poles, but didn't take any time at all really. I was surprised at how easily they set up.

Duke is a lab that cannot be kept out of water. He would splash around and sit in it shivering till you force him to come out and warm up in the tent. Then, he'd be back in again. He's a water dog for sure.

[Rockymtnx]

Looks like it was a awesome camping trip AD.
Thanks for sharing you pics with us.
What size is TFG's wall tent?

[mudbug]

Labs and water are inseparable :)

[mudbug]

Are those fish your cooking ones you caught?

[Albertadiver]

Looks like it was a awesome camping trip AD.
Thanks for sharing you pics with us.
What size is TFG's wall tent?

I think it is 14x16, with a 5' porch.

Are those fish your cooking ones you caught?

Nope, store bought salmon. This body of water is closed to fishing during this time period unfortunately...

Should have posted pics of my sampling of deer backstrap steaks. YUMMY! which is why I didn't get any pics, too busy eating. I like to panfry the backstraps in a little butter, some garlic salt, seasoning salt, and fry them up with mushrooms to keep the moisture. I'm hungry all over again now!

Just cause you're camping doesn't mean you can't eat well! Healthy too! I lost 4lbs this trip so that's a bonus all around. Although... my liver is a little sore today for some reason....

[Alberta Bigbore]

looks like alot of fun.

[New Hunter Okotoks]

Great pics as always. I especially like the pic ( I think it was the second last) where Duke is out for the count on his dog bed! It shows that he had a great time in the fresh air!

BTW..Nice,organized setup you had going there as well.

[backpacker]

Thanks for sharing your pics AD. I too had a great chuckle at that pic of Duke all sacked out! He's getting big fast huh?
I wish this forum had a spot specifically set up for trip reports. I don't hunt but I am sure a lot of the places I(and others) backpack would be interesting to any outdoors man/women.

[Wrongside]

Looks like another great time AD. You certainly ate well...

Thanks for sharing!

[pitw]

Excellent pics of a great looking time.

[Wrongside]

I wish this forum had a spot specifically set up for trip reports. I don't hunt but I am sure a lot of the places I(and others) backpack would be interesting to any outdoors man/women.

Just had to come back and agree with backpacker. I really enjoy all the trip reports with photos, hunting and other. They're what keeps me coming back to AO.
:)

[The Fisherman Guy]

Terrific trip report ABD! Great to see that you made it into the spot without any trouble, and that you had the river to yourselves for the holidays!

Sounds like you ate very well for being in the woods on Christmas! Deer, Salmon, Beer - Holiday feasts are even more rewarding when you are beside a secluded river covered in snow. I bet I know what Duke wants for Christmas next year!

Glad it all worked out amigo; But what about the rum you ask? It's spectacular, and it's gone!

[harrydude]

loooks like fun...........

can I ask were you went??

[BrownBear416]

Great pics Ad...

Amazing that little girl truck could haul all that stuff..

[mick35471]

quick reply-- but that is the happiest dog sleeping i have ever seen sleeping -- ty for sharing that . content and having dream's of a great day..--- NICE

[walking buffalo]

AD, you are getting soft. No Igloo? :D

Cool pics! :happy0034:

[honda450]

Very nice pics AD. Like BB said guess that little Ford couldn't pull a trailer eh?:scared0018:

[Slannesh]

I too always enjoy your trip reports.. definitely makes me want to get out more and remember to take pics when I do heh. I always have my camera with me but I so often forget to take it out...

Looks like you had fun!

[flygirrl]

Great trip report, loved Duke's Im down and out. Your doing what most outdoorsman dream of but never seem to do..

[Albertadiver]

AD, you are getting soft. No Igloo? :D

Cool pics! :happy0034:

Yeah yeah... I know. But you see, there wasn't enough snow, and the opportunity to try wall tent camping was too good to pass up! We're headed to costa rica in February, then in March we'll try some late season igloo camping maybe...

Very nice pics AD. Like BB said guess that little Ford couldn't pull a trailer eh?:scared0018:

Ooh zing! I suppose we could have hauled the trailer out, but it would have got stuck more than likely. Besides, where's the fun in that?

Great trip report, loved Duke's Im down and out. Your doing what most outdoorsman dream of but never seem to do..

Well, I'm fortunate that my wife is my best friend, and she likes to do this stuff as much as me. Super fortunate for that, otherwise I just wouldn't get out much I don't think.

[Roebag]

You guys are my kind of people. Stuff like this is my favorite thing to do as long as you have a good supply of good wood. Awesome pics - set up, food, and scenery. Makes me want to go right now.

Did you guys have one of those Queen sized fold out beds in there. We're thinking of buying one for the tent

[Albertadiver]

Couple more pics. Duke passed out again.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr214/albertadiver/Winter%20Camping%20Dec%202010/IMG_7365.jpg

And a forced time-out. The dufus was shivering so bad we had to keep drying him off and forcing him to lay down with him whining to go back outside constantly. Duke gets at least an hours walk every morning, and again in the evening in Calgary, but when he sees the mountains he gets as excited as BB416 when he sees a girl smile at him...

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr214/albertadiver/Winter%20Camping%20Dec%202010/IMG_7320.jpg

You guys are my kind of people. Stuff like this is my favorite thing to do as long as you have a good supply of good wood. Awesome pics - set up, food, and scenery. Makes me want to go right now.

Did you guys have one of those Queen sized fold out beds in there. We're thinking of buying one for the tent

It's a blow-up bed made by woods I believe. About 65 bucks at crappy tire. There's two mattresses that zip together to make it fairly tall.

Glad you enjoyed the pics, thats why I like to share em, to get people motivated to head outdoors!

[mudbug]

You can sure tell that Duke had a great time by the way he's crashed out :sHa_shakeshout:

[packhuntr]

Very cool winter outing, but I still dig the snow shelter trip!!

[greylynx]

Thanks for the pix. Your dog is one neat lookin fella.

I hoped your trip lowered the BP you mentioned earlier this fall.

Are you converted to the Wall house type of tent now, or would you and the Missus continue to think about a Tipi tent?

Again, thanks for sharing your pictures with us.

[TreeGuy]

but when he sees the mountains he gets as excited as BB416 when he sees a girl smile at him...


Duke see's more mountains. :D

__________


Most excellent report as always ADD (did I just typo another 'D'? :innocent:).

Must have been a pretty cool way to spend Christmas and get that fine truck miles and miles beyond where the last GMC was found dead in the ditch, eh: lol

Glad you guys had fun and thanks as always for making the effort to share your adventures with us. Wait'll you see what I'm up to next........ ;)

[Albertadiver]

Thanks for the pix. Your dog is one neat lookin fella.

I hoped your trip lowered the BP you mentioned earlier this fall.

Are you converted to the Wall house type of tent now, or would you and the Missus continue to think about a Tipi tent?

Again, thanks for sharing your pictures with us.


Yeah, we started with a rescue dog that was well documented on the forum, and then we got Duke, and have found it very rewarding a year later.

What a character! My wife and I laugh every day with him no matter what crappy stuff we've had to deal with.

As for wall tenting, this is the bomb! I don't want to give up on the tipi tent though, but it will have to be the largest size, and even then we'd have to down size. I'd actually prefer cots though. Someone seems to hog the blankets and Duke seems to think I make for a nice bed when the weather is cold.

This fall has been very stressfull. I'm still on holidaze, so burning off a lot of stress by not doing a whole lot of nothing.

Duke see's more mountains. :D

__________


Most excellent report as always ADD (did I just typo another 'D'? :innocent:).

Must have been a pretty cool way to spend Christmas and get that fine truck miles and miles beyond where the last GMC was found dead in the ditch, eh: lol

Glad you guys had fun and thanks as always for making the effort to share your adventures with us. Wait'll you see what I'm up to next........ ;)

Well, I wanted to make BB416 feel good, but we all know that smiles from the ladies are few and far between. At least we tried eh??

The Ford made it, but I'd be a bit concerned leaving today. There's a fair stretch of 4x4ing off of the road, and a few soft spots, but with a shovel and some gumption, we'd have got out. Just ask RockymtnX about how bad BB416 got thier truck stuf the other day. Sad really...

I'm a little scared to see what you're up to next given the fact you've recently been in the presence of CaberTosser, KenAOvette07, AND wwbirds!!

[Ken07AOVette]

Great pictures B, I think you are nucking futs camping outside, but roughing it for me anymore is hoteling it.

Looks like fun. :scared0018:

[chopperman]

Awesome pics, I love walltenting in the winter. That picture of your lab passed out says it all.

[Outdoors Woman]

Great post! I love the pictures of Duke, especially the one where he is totally out of it!
I didn't realize how much I miss winter camping till I saw your post. I have done some with a wall tent but have done a lot more with a 4 season expedition tent. I miss the unbelievable quiet of winter, no bugs, sun/moon light on the snow....... aaaaahhhhh the memories.......
Just might have to dust off the old tent!
O.W.

[Nester]

Just excellent! That is the way too do it.


Did you put your wife on stovewatch at night? :)

[Albertadiver]

Great post! I love the pictures of Duke, especially the one where he is totally out of it!
I didn't realize how much I miss winter camping till I saw your post. I have done some with a wall tent but have done a lot more with a 4 season expedition tent. I miss the unbelievable quiet of winter, no bugs, sun/moon light on the snow....... aaaaahhhhh the memories.......
Just might have to dust off the old tent!
O.W.

I've gone as simple as using a few tarps and making shelters with spruce boughs and deadfall logs in my single years.

The last few years we've done igloo camping, very quiet and neat experiance.

Trip report at this link
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?p=499633

Just excellent! That is the way too do it.


Did you put your wife on stovewatch at night? :)

Whoever had to get up to commune with nature would stoke the stove. Some nights we'd just let it burn out as I had my propane big buddy heater set to medium to keep the chill off. We tended to sleep in until sun up so we were pretty warm in our sleeping bags and blankets.

One last pic of Duke whining because he wants to go swimming, yet again.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr214/albertadiver/Winter%20Camping%20Dec%202010/IMG_7346.jpg