Backcountry Secrets Blog

Move over Al Gore, Coleman's in town

2009-05-18T08:25:00.002-06:00

I think my favorite "whoops" quote of all-time is from Al Gore, "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Sure I've heard the claims that he wasn't saying he invented the Internet and I've even read Snopes.com's input on it, but he still said what he said and it makes me laugh. I'm not here to pick on slip ups of politicians though - we'd be here for years on that one - I'm here to discuss the great outdoors.

Coleman has a new campaign running with the slogan, "The Coleman Campsite. The original Social Networking Site." You can check it out here. The ad claims that they pretty much invented camping, and pretty much invented social networking because they've been helping people get together and socialize for years. I do have to admit that long before I ever used Facebook or MySpace, I was eating pancakes, bacon, and eggs at Canyon Campground in Yellowstone National Park.

Even though people camped LONG before Coleman was ever around, I do have to say this is a really fun campaign and it's worth watching the videos on it just to enjoy the ~~ugly~~...I mean the old clothes and hairstyles.

An questionable prom date in a dark cave...

2009-05-11T11:41:00.004-06:00

Saturday night I was doing some yard work. My next door neighbor was also outside planting his garden. He hollered over to me asking, "Have you ever been to the Ice Caves?" I asked, "Why?" He said his daughter and three other teens had gone on a prom date out to the Rexburg Ice Caves and that she was supposed to call him when they got out of the cave. He hadn't heard from her and was starting to get a little worried.

I asked him if he knew for sure if they went to the Ice Caves or if they went to the Civil Defense Caves? A lot of people get the two caves confused and claim they are the same thing, when in reality they are two totally different caves. He said he wasn't sure, but that he thought it was the ice caves. He then said that if he didn't hear from them within the next couple hours he'd give me a call. I told him I'd be more than willing to go caving.

About five minutes later, he received a text message from his daughter. She said the cell reception was bad in the area so she couldn't call, but her date lost his keys in the cave and they were locked out of the car.

Thankfully the night turned out good for all involved, but it's just a simple reminder that caving can be dangerous. Always let someone know where you are going, GPS coordinates of the cave location, and when you expect to be out when you go in to a cave. It may just save your life, but it won't save you from an upset dad when you bring his daughter home late from prom.

Mother's Day Eve

2009-05-08T10:53:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is Mother's Day Eve. You know what that means right? It means that you should be thinking (or panicking) about what to do this weekend.

This is the perfect time to give the Mother in your home a day off from cooking as well as show her some fun. Let's start with the fun part of Mother's Day. Mother's Day Eve is a great day to go outside and enjoy the back country. How about taking your mom to the local nature preserve to enjoy a relaxing afternoon listening to creeks, birds, well just nature in general. If she is the fishing type, go fishing. There is something relaxing about being outside for moms. Maybe it's the fact that they aren't looking at all the work that "needs" to be done in the house. The point I'm trying to make here about Mother's Day Eve is to get outside! It's Spring, everyone has been couped up and Mother's Day Eve is kind of like a "get ready for Memorial Day" kind of weekend.

Okay, so now that we are done talking about what to do on Mother's Day Eve, let's discuss Mother's Day itself. Mother's Day is really secretly known among men as "Show Off Your Manliness Day." That's right, Mother's Day is secretly a day to show off your manliness. It's time to crack open the grills and make the neighbors jealous with the wonderful aroma's coming off your manly cooking machine. What an awesome weekend. We get to recognize the wonderful women in our lives AND we get to be manly about it. Who could ask for more?

When to Cut Back on Web Habits

2009-03-02T10:48:00.002-07:00

Be forewarned that I'm not telling you to shut off your computer right now. At least finish reading this post :)

Over the past few years I have noticed an increase in the number of cellphones and portable computers in the outdoors. I understand we all have to make a living and having a job that allows for you to go outdoors with your work is pretty awesome, but when is it too much? For me it becomes too much when I realize I'm not enjoying the outdoors for what they are, a GETAWAY. The outdoors are supposed to be a getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life.

If you find yourself in the outdoors constantly checking to see if you have a wireless phone signal, sending emails, or reading blogs you may have an Internet addiction. It's a real problem and you need help! The first step is to admit to yourself that you are addicted. What's that? You say you don't have an addiction. Ok, then leave the cellphone home. The world will go on without you. Your clients WILL understand that you need a break. If they don't, find new clients.

Just remember, no one died saying, "I wish I had spent more time at the office." Enjoy that family time and actually make it FAMILY time. Teach your son how to make a fire with flint and steel, not check a cell tower to make sure that email sent to Bill.

Shaking Things Up

2009-02-26T11:23:00.003-07:00

The other night I was watching TV and saw a commercial for Bisquicks new Shake and Pour pancake batter. I thought to myself, "Wow, now that's something a camper can appreciate!"

When I go camping the thing I hate the most is cleaning up after making pancakes. With this new item you can just add water, shake, and pour out the pancake batter. No more mess from stirring too fast. When the bottle is empty, you throw it it in the trash, or recycle bin if you are watching your carbon footprint.

Not only does this make it easier to clean up, but now the kids can "help" make breakfast. I love finding things to help wear out my children, or atleast something for them to do so I'm not multi-tasking by making breakfast and making sure they aren't getting in to something they shouldn't.

My bet is that this bottle of pancake mix is a little over-priced. Easy enough, just get your own bottle with a cap, pour in the pancake mix, add water when you get to camp and start shaking things up.

Who knows what they'll come up next? Maybe shake up soda pop.

Dri Duck Trail Vest

2009-02-25T16:00:00.002-07:00

I recently received a Dri Duck Trail 5035 as a gift. This was the first time I have ever owned a vest to keep warm. At first I was VERY skeptical as to whether or not this vest would work.

I started wearing it around the house to see if it really would work before I wore it outside. I was really surprised as to how warm it helped me stay.

Then came my big test. I was going to wear it outside in 15 degree weather with a light jacket underneath. My children wanted me to help them build a snow fort, so I threw this on thinking that I wouldn't be far from home if I got cold and I could go put on my winter coat.

Not only did this keep me warm, but it allowed me a lot more mobility than my winter coat ever has. I LOVE my new Dri Duck vest. It's great for working in, keeps me warm and actually is quite fashionable. I can wear it to town and my wife isn't embarrased. Not only that, who doesn't love the name Dri Duck? It's like Ernie from Sesame Streets dream company. One that makes outdoor gear that can be used away from the bathtub.

The pockets are nice and large. The vest is made from canvas and has a heavy duty zipper. The "cell phone" pocket works out well for holding my GPS unit. It would also be great for fishing lures and other tackle.

I am going to love using this jacket for camping for many years to come. I always hate when I'm camping and gathering firewood and my coat's arms get all sweaty. With this vest that just isn't going to happen.

Head Sokz Face Mask Review

2008-12-11T11:53:00.007-07:00

If you are looking for the best face mask, you have to try this thing called Head Sokz. You can find them at http://www.headsokz.com/.

I've owned one of the original Head Sokz for going on 12 years now. The wind does not penetrate these things. I use mine in temperatures well in the negative teens and my head does not get cold. Mine is now getting to the point that it is wearing a little thin, but I still continue to use it.

The Head Sokz can be worn as a scarf, nose/mouth cover, open face mask, closed face mask (pictured above), or just as a long cap. There are two different pull strings that allow the user to pull it tight or leave it open. I have also used mine as a bag by pulling the neck hole shut and using the face opening to put things in.

The only draw back to wearing one of these is if you swivel your head, you cannot see out the sides very well because the mask does not move with you when it's not tightened down; kind of like a helmet. However, when I wear ski goggles with them, I don't have this problem.

If you plan on doing any cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, or winter camping, I'd say this is a must have item.

New updates to the web site

2008-12-10T16:11:00.003-07:00

I just finished uploading a lot of changes to Backcountry Secrets. The most obvious change is to the search page. I tried to make it more user friendly by supplying all ways to search in one page. Now you can search by location, name, or sport all in one place.

A few other changes that have taken place is I broke Alpine skiing down in to two categories: Alpine Resort Skiing and Backcountry Skiing. This came as a request from one of our members who did not want to search through all of the resorts to find the very few actual backcountry skiing locations we have on the site. I will be going through all of the skiing points to change them to appropriate categories later today.

Our site is also now AJAX enabled. To most of you that probably means nothing. Basically it means that your searches for points will be faster. You won't have to wait for the entire page to load anymore.

We plan on having some more contests for giveaways in the near future. If you have any ideas of a good prize to give away within the $100 range, please leave a comment on this post. Hope you are all enjoying the backcountry!

GPS Winner Announcement

2008-12-05T17:07:00.003-07:00

We finally have a winner who claimed his prize. The winner of the GPS Unit is the user talsan. He is the one picture above with the LOVELY hat. (You can own your very own SHhhh! hat for $9.99 by joining Backcountry Secrets and logging in.) The winning point submitted was Multnomah Falls in Oregon

And the winner is...

2008-11-26T14:24:00.002-07:00

Well, the winner is NOT CLAIMING THE PRIZE!!! We had 128 successful submissions/entries in to the GPS drawing. As I went to do the drawing, the first name pulled out of the hat was none other than my own father. Seeing as in the rules I stated that family was not eligible to win, I continued to draw a second name.

The second winner was aadamp from Rigby, Idaho with a total of 7 points submitted during the contest dates. An e-mail was shot off with a reply by date in order to claim the prize. Here we are well past the reply by date with.....no reply.

In the rules it states that I don't have to give the prize away if the winner does not claim it, but that would be lame and unfair to all of you who really tried to win. So I'm doing a third drawing. Hopefully the third time is the charm for this GPS giveaway.

Stay tuned to see if we finally have a winner claim the prize.

Columbia Lhotse Parka Review

2008-11-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

My old winter coat finally gave up the ghost. The zipper no longer works. This always seems to happen when I buy the discount coats from places like Wal-mart. This year I finally decided to take the leap and purchase a nice coat. I started searching the web and determined to purchase the Lhotse Men's Parka from Columbia.

The description for the coat reads:

Pull on the Columbia Men’s Lhotse Mountain Parka and have the ability to swap layers to suit changing conditions. This versatile winter jacket features a waterproof breathable Omni-Tech shell with a snap-in fleece liner, so you can use one or both jackets depending on the weather. A zip-off storm hood and underarm zip vents provide even more climate control, and the adjustable powder skirt seals out blowing spindrift when you hit the slopes. Stash your optics in the interior goggle pocket, and keep your wallet or keys safe in the zippered security pocket.

Now I don't know if I would go as far as to say that this is a "Parka" in the sense that an Eskimo would want to wear this in -40 degree weather, but this morning it was in the teens. I rode my bike to work wearing this coat and did not get cold.

A few things I wish were different are the length and the pockets. It could use an extra two inches on the bottom of the coat, and the pockets on the outer jacket liner are not real comfortable to use. The size of the pockets and the number of pockets are wonderful though.

I'd give this coat a 3.5 out of 5.

Do you want a GPS Unit? Win one!

2008-07-14T13:25:00.006-06:00

Are all of your friends sporting a GPS unit, yet you are still trying to use a magnetic compass? It's time to get out of the stone age, and enter the digital age. Backcountry Secrets is giving away a Garmin eTrex GPS Adventure Pack.

There are literally hundreds of things you can do with a GPS unit. In case you really do not know, here are just a few of those things:

Get lost and then find yourself.
Know when that exit is coming up on the interstate.
Track every step of your life.
Estimate arrival times.
Let the cops know that you REALLY were not speeding and have proof!
Find cool stuff on web sites like Backcountry Secrets or Geocaching.
Remember where that great fishing hole is.
Know when the sun will rise and set.
Locate your Grandma's grave site that you only visit once in a blue moon.
Strap it to the dog and prove to the neighbors that those really are not your puppies.
Go golfing and determine distance to the hole.
Determine your speed on the ski hill.
And best of all, have fun with your kids!

Now is your chance to gain fame and fortune! Ok, so we really can't promise any fame, but it could save you a few Benjamin's. The rules are pretty simple and basic. Submit a valid point to Backcountry Secrets, have it approved by a member of our staff, earn an entry to our drawing, and start praying your point is selected as the winner.

We are accepting entries until October 31, 2008. There are some official rules and such we had to write up, but if you live in the US or Canada, head on over to Backcountry Secrets and submit a point for your chance to win. The more you submit, the better your odds! All I have to say is, if you win, you better use it because this used up all of our revenue from 2007 and then some...

July is perfect for camping and just around the corner

2008-06-25T11:00:00.002-06:00

July is the apex of summer. The month starts out with a bang and ends with kids dreading having to go back to school at the end of August. There is not a better month to enjoy the great outdoors with your family. Pack up the gear, head out on a camping trip this July and enjoy warm nights, lakeside swimming and priceless family memories.

Winter camping requires great skill and lots of gear to stay warm. The best part of camping in July is being able to pack light. The warm summer nights of July allow one to sleep with minimal covers and enjoy fresh crisp evenings. Tents, expensive sleeping bags, and fires are optional. Everyone can camp in July and enjoy it.

From skinny dipping in the local pond to swimming in the city pool, summer time swimming has become a national past time. A great feature of July camping is having the option to swim. The hot weather allows campers to take a dip and cool off. Swimming is fun and provides entertainment close to camp. If you really want to be “adventurous”, take a couple canoes and have swamping wars. Just remember, everybody needs a swimming buddy.

Society today seems to be doing all it can to degrade families. This is why it is important to spend quality time together as a family. July camping can be quality family time. Remember to drink plenty of water, rest in the shade, and use sun screen. A few small things will help summer camping trips to be much more enjoyable and memorable for years to come.

Break away from the television and the rush of everyday life. Spend some quality time with your family this summer. Go camping! Warm summer nights, lakeside swimming, and family memories are awaiting you at a campsite this July.

Our new sport - Canyoneering or Canyoning

2008-04-17T16:34:00.004-06:00

Do you like to swim, rock climb, walk, jump, and rappel? If you do, you need to know of a sport called canyoning or canyoneering. (Depending upon where you live.)

Canyoning is the sport of travelling through a canyon using different techniques such as swimming, rappelling, and more. This sport is often done in remote locations and requires ultimate wilderness travel skills.

Most canyoneering is done in mountain canyons with flowing water. Countries all around the world have areas for people to participate in canyoning. The Rocky Mountains have numerous canyoneering locations in the US. The majority of canyoneering trips can be completed in a single day.

A word of caution. Canyoneering can be very dangerous. Canyon walls can be steep making rescue extremely difficult and time intensive.

One of our great members suggested this sport to us. I had never heard of it, but it sounds like a lot of fun. We have added this as a sport to Backcountry Secrets. Head on over and add your routes or search for some adventures!

2008-04-16T08:45:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago I was surfing the web and came across a page with a giant sculpture on it. I thought it would be fun to use Google Earth and see how many giant sculptures I could find. This video is the result of my boredom. Here are the coordinates if you want to examine closer:

Giant Stamp (41.505411573, -81.692457496)

Ketchup Bottle (38.662918939, -89.982383508)

Bow and Arrow (37.791521261, -122.389989817)

Ice Cream Cone (50.936455030, 6.948690859)

Bowling Pins (51.445331000, 5.480611000)

Big Bottle (54.574815724, -1.231978576)

Giant Spider (43.269220376, -2.932930972)

Checker Board (51.913074117, 4.472107467)

Garden Hose (47.999729921, 7.830358741)

Pickaxe (51.310555997, 9.503194892)

Button (39.952229114, -75.193698905)

Noah's Ark (37.783276752, -97.464872569)

Airplane on Road (36.109354066, -115.150417173)

Umbrella (41.587398462, -93.621451805)

Baseball Bat (41.881976590, -87.643125562)

Pool Balls (51.956976100, 7.618386775)

Giant Sundial (33.824449271, -111.921772867)

Statue of Liberty (40.688995748, -74.044564691)

A new feature to track points

2008-04-15T10:26:00.002-06:00

We have had a few requests to make it so our users can see what points were added most recently. So to oblige we are reformatting the home page to include the last 10 points added.

We are also excited to announce the release of our first RSS feed. The RSS feed will contain the last 10 approved points with the following information:

1. Point Name and State/Province the point is located in.
2. The member who submitted the point and the date of submission
3. Directions to the point
4. All of the sport descriptions at the point.

Subscribe to Backcountry Secrets' RSS

Road Side Hiking for the Kids

2008-04-14T16:21:00.005-06:00

For the first time in 5 months the temperature gage read above 50 degrees! I'm so excited for the fun weather to be back. To kick off the good weather we went "hiking".

Have you ever stopped at a rest stop on a long trip and noticed one of those signs for a "trail" and thought to yourself, "How much of a trail can there be at a rest stop?" I have plenty of times, but my attitude was changed this last weekend.

My sister left some soda in her camp trailer this winter. One of the cans exploded and leaked all over her floor. Last Friday was the first day in a long time that felt nice enough to clean it up. So she gathered her 4 kids and husband to help her clean out the camper. They cleaned and cleaned, but when her kids found out that they weren't heading camping they were bummed and upset. They decided to take the trailer for a "test-run." They called us up and asked if we wanted to go hiking at the rest stop on Interstate 15. I figured we had nothing better to do so we met them at the rest stop for lunch and a little spring warm-up hike.

The entire path was paved, gained a total of 50 ft in elevation, and was .8 miles long. It was not what I would call strenuous. However, the kids LOVED it. They used the GPS to "find" their way around the path, searched for snakes on the lava rocks, viewed dormant volcanoes from an observation tower and even saw a lion in a cave. (Ok so the lion wasn't real, but don't try to convince them otherwise.)

So what did I learn from this exciting trip? I learned that some of the best kept Backcountry Secrets can be found 100 ft from an Interstate. Next time you're travelling a long distance, it might just be worth taking that nature trail hike at the rest stop.

A consuming society

2008-03-28T08:40:00.001-06:00

Backcountry Secrets has been running on the web now for almost 2 years. I finally feel like the site is starting to get to the point I envisioned it may one day reach. The only problem to date, the web site has too many consumers and not enough producers.

I think I have the solution, a simple requirement. From now on, we are going to require users to submit one point before they can read the details of the hundreds of other points available. I figure it is a small thing to ask for. We've all been told that nothing in life is really ever "Free". Well, this is the price we are asking our users to pay. I figure it's better than $5.95 a month.

Guess we'll have to watch and see if it works or not. Hopefully everyone is not too selfish and they'll share some basic points.

Wet Weather Camping Tips

2008-02-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

Punxsutawney Phil says there are still six weeks of winter. If you are into winter sports this may be great news for you. For those of you who want the warm weather, now is a great time to start getting ready for your first spring campout.

Spring camping often brings with it wet weather and mud. Here are a few tips to think about as you prepare for an enjoyable spring campout:

Visit http://www.backcountrysecrets.com/ to find AND share a great place to camp.

Make sure your tent is still waterproof. It is always a good idea to check your gear after storing for long periods of time. You never know what kind of animal may have found your gear during the winter. A garden hose is great for testing if a tent is still waterproof and your children may enjoy an excuse to hose down the tent.

If possible, design a mud room for your tent. Some tents have mud rooms sewn right onto them, but if you are not fortunate enough to have one of these you may want to use a tarp or other plastic covering to create one. Use this room for putting on and taking off shoes and boots to avoid tracking mud into sleeping quarters.

Make sure your pack, duffel bag, or backpack is away from areas that may get wet during a rainstorm. Nothing is worse than having all of your clothing soaked. I have even seen some people use 5 gallon buckets with lids for packing clothes during wet weather to waterproof their gear.

Use a ground cloth underneath your tent, but make sure the tent covers the entire ground cloth. Otherwise the ground cloth will work as a funnel and collect a puddle under your tent.

Bring games that can be played inside of a tent. This will make the time pass while it’s raining outside and can be a lot of fun.

Do not pitch your tent in a gully. Survey the land of your campsite and determine where water is going to build up. These spots are where you do not want to pitch.

Pack meals that do not need to be cooked on a camp stove. This will allow you to stay out of the rain while you eat and prepare meals. If you must cook, bring some kind of dining fly to cook under.

Building an Igloo

2008-01-24T23:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever camped on a freezing cold night in a tent and thought, "There has to be a better way to do this"? Well there is! Snow caves, tipi's, and igloos.

If snow caves make you claustrophobic and you're not fortunate enough to have the luxury of a tipi (or cannot haul it into the back country), then you need to look into igloos.

In my opinion, igloos are another inspired dwelling from above. Honestly, who thinks of piling snow in a circle to build shelter from the cold? No, I don't even think the Eskimo on the potato chip commercial who wouldn't share was smart enough to think up the igloo on his own. These dwellings are amazing. They are quiet, easy to build, and have an amazing amount of light on the inside.

Ok, so by now you are probably thinking, but "HOW DO I MAKE ONE?" It's easier than I thought! All you need to do is visit Grand Shelters Icebox at http://www.grandshelters.com/ and have a look at their igloo building tool.

You fill this tool with snow, start going in circles and before you know it you'll have an igloo! My only piece of advice is, once you start building one, don't stop. If you let it sit for too long unfinished, gravity will pull your walls down.

You'll be the hit of the neighborhood if you build one of these! Do us a favor and paint www.BackcountrySecrets.com on the side to let your friends know about us. Or you could paint it yellow and say you saw a really big polar bear roaming the streets.

How to clean your Dutch oven

2007-12-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

Dutch oven cooking can be one of the most enjoyable experiences of winter camping, or any camping for that matter. There is nothing better than a hot meal that tastes like heaven on a cold winter night. Then to follow that meal up with a fresh baked Dutch oven cobbler is like reaching the highest level of heaven. When you are done basking in the joy of your meal, you are brought back to real life when you realize you have to clean the Dutch oven. Here are a few tips to help you, when cleaning your Dutch oven:

NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER use dish soap or detergent when cleaning a Dutch oven. The soap or detergent will soak into the small pores in the metal and the next meal you eat will have a NASTY soapy taste to it.
The first real step in cleaning your Dutch oven is to remove as much of the food as you can. This may mean letting the boy scouts finish off the meal, or letting your friendly dog lend a helping tongue.
Once most of the food is removed from the Dutch oven you may find you still have harder to remove chunks of food. DO NOT use a metal scraper or pad. The abrasiveness of metal pads may remove the seasoning on your oven. Place some warm water in the oven and heat it up until it is almost boiling. Then use a plastic scraper to scrape the stuck on food off.
Drain off the rinse water and rinse down the Dutch oven with some warm water.
Dry the Dutch oven as best as you can.
Now use a paper towel to rub a thin layer of vegetable oil over the inside and outside of the Dutch oven. I like to pour a little bit of salt into the oil as I rub the inside of the oven because it helps to remove any additional food that step 3 may not have completely removed and adds flavor to the season of the oven.
If you have any excess oil, be sure to wipe the excess oil off.
Now fold up a dry paper towel and place it on the brim of the oven.
Place the lid on top so that the dry paper towel is both on the inside and outside of the oven. (The dry paper towel will help to remove excess moisture/oil from the oven and helps air flow within the oven during storage.)
Store your oven in a clean, dry space and start planning your next Dutch oven meal.

Winter Camping Food and Water

2007-11-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

Food and water are essential to survival when it comes to winter camping. The food and water you eat and drink is what keeps your body warm. It also gives you the energy you need to play and work in the cold. When winter camping here are some suggestions to make your food and water more enjoyable:

Don't let your water freeze. This can be done by keeping a bottle of water on your person.
If you must melt snow for water, poor in some liquid water before trying to melt snow. This will help prevent the burning of the snow. Burnt snow water tastes nasty.
Bring insulated utensils, cups, and plates. Wooden spoons, plates and cups are great for winter cooking and eating. Most of the food you cook will feel extremely warm to your hands while winter camping so it is a good idea to insulate before grabbing.
Plan meals that are high in protein. Milk, Eggs, Steak and other meats are great fuel and taste great for winter camping dinner meals. Lunches may consist of nuts, trail mixes, and peanut butter & honey sandwiches.
Use lots of margarine for cooking. Vegetable oil fat in the body causes the body to release heat and energy more slowly.
Drink plenty of water. Dehydration causes your body to lose it's heat producing ability.
Plan meals with fast cooking food. Obviously you won't have a microwave, but planning meals that can cook fast will help you stay warm. The more time you stand around cooking, the cooler your body will get. If you plan on cooking hamburger or other meats, you may consider cooking them before you get there and just warming them up at your campsite.
Drink soup and hot drinks for warmth. Soups and hot drinks will not only bring your body core temperature up, but will also provide you with much needed liquids. If you are not a fan of hot chocolate, bring some jello and drink it hot. (Who knows maybe the jello will jell up during the night and you won't have to get out of bed when nature calls.)
Never drink alcohol! (I'll go as far as to say even when you aren't winter camping.) Alcohol causes your blood to cool faster and messes with your head. You will need to be able to think clearly while winter camping. Thinking clearly could be the difference between life or death.
Use a cloth or tarp to stand on when cooking. The tarp or cloth will catch items you may drop. Snow is one of the best winter magicians. If you drop something in it, it disappears.

Winter Tent Camping

2007-11-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

Many so-called "outdoorsmen" only consider themselves outdoor goers during warmer weather. However, winter camping can be rather enjoyable if you are properly prepared and know what to expect. The first and most important part of winter camping is selecting a location. Make sure others know where you will be and when to expect your return.

I prefer to camp in snow caves, an igloo, or the Backcountry Secrets Tipi when winter camping. These shelters provide the most insulation from chilly nights. However, if you must sleep in a tent, here are some suggestions to consider:

Be familiar with local laws and regulations for tent camping.
Wind may play a factor. Tops of ridges are wide open to wind storms. These storms may blow equipment around the camp, knock tents over, or make drifts around your vehicles.
Do not camp in the bottom of a valley. Cold air settles downward and the bottom of a valley is the coldest place you can camp.
Look for branches overhead if you are camping in a wooded area. Branches may easily break under the weight of snow and cause injury or even death.
Look for threats of avalanche in the area. Sometimes small cornices can be broken off of nearby drifts to reduce the threat of an avalanche.
When possible point the front of your tent downhill and facing east or south. This helps protect you from wind coming off of a mountain and gives you the most sunlight exposure. If you can't position the door out of the wind, consider building a snow wall to block the wind in front of your tent.
If the ground is not level, you can use shovels or skis and the snow to level a place for your tent.
If the snow is deep enough, dig a hole about 2-3 feet deep in front of your tent. This will allow you to sit up to put on and take off your boots.
Pack snow as far up the side of the tent as possible. Snow will act as insulation and keep you a couple of degrees warmer inside the tent.
Bring a thick sleeping pad if possible. A thick sleeping pad will insulate you from the cold ground. Next to bringing a beanie cap or other warm hat, a thick sleeping pad is probably one of the best ways to stay warm during the night.

Evolution of a web site

2007-08-10T16:56:00.000-06:00

Back in the summer of 2005 when I came up with the idea for Backcountry Secrets, I knew what I wanted the site to look and feel like. However, I was just not able to come up with the graphic design and feel. The site has under gone many minor changes and basically three major changes.

In the beginning we had maybe 30 points and were excited if we got 12 hits in a month. We were extremely excited if anyone joined. Our first non-related member joined nearly a year later in June. At that point we had 4 members. This summer we have had 320 people sign up so far bringing us to a total of 348! There are a total of 257 points submitted. Please keep sharing secrets and help us grow.

The design process has been frustrating and has even felt as though some of the changes were steps in the wrong direction. I think we are finally there. The newest design is a clean, outdoor feeling site and we hope you enjoy it! Be sure to visit our new Amazon.com outdoor gear store. We hope that this newest design will help you navigate the site easier and want to come back more often.

SHhhh! Hat Giveaway

2007-07-04T15:44:00.000-06:00

Well the Backcountry Secrets SHhhh! Hat give-away has come to a close. The give away brought A LOT of traffic to the website, but did not bring as many points as I was hoping for.

The month long promotion ended with us giving away a total of 5 hats to site contributors. We want to thank those of you who participated in the SHhhh! hat give away.