This post was written as part of the Humber College Winter Camping course. In preparation for a winter backpacking trip to Algonquin Provincial Park each student is asked to present to the class on the topic of a piece of gear required in a winter camping setting.

Water is one of the most important aspects of trip planning and the winter weather will require some additional planning to ensure I maintain a reserve of liquid water. In this post I will outline some gear options to deal with the challenges of keeping my reserve water liquid.

Lucky for me, it’s supposed to go down to -20 degrees Celsius this weekend, so I’ll have a chance to test my plans before going out to the woods.

My typical approach

On a typical trip in any other season I carry five water related items with me:

• 1.5 Litre HDPE widemouth Nalgene bottle – This bottle is filled and attempt to maintain this as a clean source throughout the trip. Ideally this bottle only contains home tap water or on trip treated water at all times.
• GSI 600 ml aluminum backpackers cup – With a little duct tape around the bottom of my Nalgene, this slides right on and fits snuggly.
• 1 litre sippable bottle – This is used as my drinking bottle and is where secondary water treatment takes place when i’m concerned about water quality.
• Water filter – I’ve tried a couple, but so far my favourite has been the Katadyn base camp gravity filter.
• Iodine tablets – Aquatabs are my go to. They’re small, easy to use, and you can barely taste them in the water. I use these as secondary water treatment or when my primary treatment (filter or boiling) is not available.

This approach won’t work

Based on the likely weather, it will probably be too cold for this approach. Most importantly I need a way to be sure that I have a source of liquid water available to me at all times.

My options

• Never stop moving – Since moving water won’t freeze my supply is safe while I’m hiking. But once I stop moving I’ll probably run into an issue.
• Melt snow – Snow should be a fairly clean source of water. As long as I can get it in a pot or in my cup I should be able to warm and boil it over a fire. Given the water will be already clean the single treatment will suffice.
• Get it from lakes and streams – At this time of the year the water in the lakes and streams should be safe. Algonquin has reported a high sodium content in the water recently and I will be able to check water reports before heading out on the trip. This water will also need to be once treated for safety.
• Find a way to keep my water from freezing – And this is where the gear comes in.

The gear options

• Change nothing – I could just sleep with my HDPE bottle. Before going to bed I could fill the bottle with heated water as well to keep me warm.
• Insulate my bottle – Some ultralight campers claim that insulating your water bottle with something like bubble wrap can be enough to prevent freezing. I’ll test this over the weekend at home.
• Use an insulated bottle – A light insulated bottle should be enough to keep the water from freezing. Essentially bringing a lightweight thermos to keep the water just above freezing. I’ll be borrowing a insulated bottle to test with but will also research some additional options over the next few weeks.

 

Image – “Just Frozen Water” – Peter von Bagh – Public Domain