Well I did it again, I packed up my car and headed out for yet another camping weekend! This was a very quick one night trip to Grand Bend to camp at Pinery Provincial Park where I just wanted to relax from the city life and enjoy the warmer than usual November weather. I have written a review on this park already this year so this blog post will be a little bit different. In this post I will be discussing the equipment that I used for this late fall camping trip.
During this trip I didn't do anything exciting. I didn't hike any trails, I just sat around the campfire and took in what was left of camping season. I did take a walk to the beach and dip my toes in the water but other than that I just chilled out. I came to Pinery in April of this year and enjoyed to warmer than seasonal temperatures. This time, camping in Mid-November, was a little different for me. I have never camped this late in the season but I am trying to push myself to do things that are out of my comfort zone.
Camping this time of year isn't for everyone. When I told my sister I was headed out she thought I was nuts. I was very prepared for this trip and made sure that I had packed extra blankets as well as a smaller tent to stay warm. The tent that I used for this trip was a small 3 person A-Frame tent made by Woods. Setup was so easy! With just 5 poles, the tent was up in no time. I think this tent would be amazing in the summer for stargazing. Just remove the rain fly and you can lay on your back and just look up at the stars. This tent was just the right size to give Rosie and I enough room to sleep. The A-frame design gave me a little bit more head room than the traditional 3 person dome tents. Despite the small size, there was plenty of room inside the tent for our sleeping pad as well as a small space heater that I packed.
The campsite that I booked was site 510 in Riverside campground. Riverside is the only operating campground at Pinery this time of year. It is a fully electric campground. This was the same campground that we stayed at when we came up here in April. I booked a site at the end of the road hoping that no one would be around. I was ready just to sit back and enjoy the crisp fall air, have a fire and sip on some hot apple cider. Just to my luck, after I had set up the tent and pulled out my heated Kuma Chair, a family came and set up camp right next to me. I know this is a normal thing when when camping, but I was really hoping to not have anyone around me.
As I mentioned, this was an electric site so I was able to run an extension cord from the outlet into the tent to power the space heater as well as the heated blanket that I picked up from Costco. I also was able to find a cordless heated blanket from Costco. This one I wore like a shawl for most of the trip. It is powered with a rechargeable power bank. This blanket kept me nice and toasty when we walked along the beach as well as when I was journaling by the campfire. The Columbia sleeping bag that I used for this trip is a favourite of mine. While, it is very large and hard to pack, it kept us nice and warm throughout the night. It is winter rated and is a double sleeping bag. You are able to unzip it and make it into 2 individual sleeping bags, however as I knew Rosie would be crawling in to stay warm, I made it one big sleeping bag instead of 2 individual ones. You can do this with almost any sleeping bag. Taking two individual sleeping bags and zipping them together is a great way to add extra room in your sleeping bag or cuddle up next to someone for added warmth. Check out this YouTube video for a quick tutorial.
A camping trip is never complete without a Yeti Tumbler. Especially on this cold trip, my coffee and apple cider stayed piping hot in this travel mug! I also like to fill this with ice in the summer time to keep my drinks extra cold. If you don't have one of these yet, I highly recommend picking one up.
Another thing I used on this trip was HotHands Toe Warmers. These little guys are incredible. You just put stick them to your socks and your feet stay warm for up to 8 hours! I put on socks and attach them and then add an additional pair of socks to keep them in place. I have used these for many winter hikes as well as for snowboarding or any outdoor winter activity. I also find that if they get too warm, you can take them off and just toss them into your sleeping bag and they will add some extra heat while you are sleeping.
HotHand Toe warmers are available at most stores. You can pick them up just about anywhere or even order them from Amazon. They also make hand warmers to put inside your mittens to keep your fingers warm in the cold temperatures.
Not only did I need to make sure that I was warm this weekend, I also needed to make sure that Rosie was warm. Even though Rosie is a dog and has a fur coat, she still gets cold easily. I made sure that she had her winter coat for this trip. If you know anything about Bulldogs, you know their body shape is different. While Rosie has a short body length, she has very wide shoulders and neck so finding a coat that would fit her properly was very hard. I have been able to find 2 brands that I love for apparel of her. One of them is Canada Pooch and the other is Shedrow K9. Her winter coat that I have form Shedrow K9, I have had for a few years not. It easily slips over her Canada Pooch harness and keeps her nice and warm. It is wide enough in the shoulders and short enough on her back. I also have a Canada Pooch True North Parka that she wears when there is a lot of snow.
Well camping in this weather isn't for everyone, it was something that I truly enjoyed this weekend. Despite the below zero temperatures, I had a great time! I layered up and dressed for the weather. I had all of the important gear that I needed to keep warm at night as well as a great cuddle buddy, Miss Rosie. I think this will be the last camping trip this season for Rosie as the weather is starting to get to cold for her. But this will not be the last trip for me! I am going to push my limits this year and give winter camping a shot. If you have any tips or tricks I need to know about winter camping, leave me a comment and I will be sure to consider everything as this will a first for me!
Until next time,
Happy Camping 🏕️
Love,
Liz
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