Her first winter camping trip in Iceland inspired me to give it a shot. To be honest, before reading her post,  I did not know that camping in winter is a thing. 😛

Anna’s post was informative on how to prep for winter camping; however due to last minute decisions and budget constraint, I went with only what I already own and rented snowshoes.

My friends in Lebanon did the majority of the planning and I just went along. They have chosen Qanat Bakish. It was already dark when we got to the location. We didn’t scout much, we went to the closest high point and away from the winter scouts camps. They were pretty loud!

We pitched our tents, set up the bonfire and sat around. Within minutes, my feet FROZE! I wore waterproof boots and snowshoes, but nope! Those did not protect my feet from freezing. My body was pretty warm but not my feet!

I did not last long and went in my tent, struggled through the night to sleep as the sleeping bag I had was not for winter; consequence of poor planning 😛

One of my friends stayed out and built his own fort while I struggled to sleep. He was the only one who actually lived in the moment. I wish I had stayed out and enjoyed the moment instead of struggling to sleep in the tent.

The next morning, my phone froze and wouldn’t work as expected. This always happen in extreme weather. At that time, I did not own a camera so I couldn’t take much photos during the trip 🙁

By the morning, the water we had had turned into a big bottle of rock hard ice.  It was a struggle to make any hot drinks.

So I watched the beautiful sunrise, packed right after and went back to SUNSHINE AND WARMTH!

Will I do it again? YES. I want to chase snow leopards in winter and watch the Northern Light while camping 🙂

Should you winter camp? DEFINITELY! But be well equipped and prepared! You don’t want to go through what I had gone through.

Have you winter camped before? Comment below and share your tips and experiences so winter camper newbies like me can take some notes! 😀

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