I had the joy of staying at the Fort last weekend. Originally, the temperatures were supposed to be in the high 40s at night, and the 60s during the day. Perfect Fort weather! That didn’t turn out to be correct (go figure…). It was below freezing overnight Friday night into Saturday morning, and Saturday night into Sunday morning it was 33*F. Saturday was above freezing but very wet and raw. Sunday wasn’t bad, being in the mid 50s and overcast, but dry.
Staying at the Fort always gives me an appreciation for what our ancestors lived through. In one weekend (with albeit “white man fires” going full blast), we went through an entire bin of wood. Some of that was for cooking, because we ran into our usually spring thaw challenges with warming up the fireplaces. Some of it was because my cabin-mates were cold at night. The first was a necessary issue, but the second just left me flabbergasted. Regardless, if we went through that much wood in a weekend, how much wood would the entire fort community have gone through in an average month? It’s no wonder that the entirety of NH was essentially deforested during that period!
Here’s the deal: the Fort is made of logs and flagstones and local stone and brick, in a rather haphazard way. In the 1700s, that fire would never have gone out. Ever. During the night it would have been banked, and during the day they’d have been cooking over it. It’s much easier to keep a fire going than to get one started, and that’s exactly what they would have done. When we leave the Fort in November, and it doesn’t get opened up again until March, it’s been sitting almost five months with no fire. Over that time, the damp and cold get into the stones in a way that would never have happened historically. It takes at least two days of heavy fire burning to bring the entire hearth and wood oven up to heat, so that cooking can be done. This was something our ancestors would never have had to concern themselves with.
No matter how you look at it, when we arrive, it’s going to be COLD at the Fort, and we’re going to have to work hard to change that.
This is what I do when I’m going on an overnight trip to the Fort (or anywhere, quite honestly):
- check the temperature for the time I’ll be there at least a week in advance
- keep checking the temperature to catch any trends up or down as the week progresses
- check the projected temperatures for my trip the day I’m leaving, and make appropriate choices for sleeping and clothing
- pack extra warm stuff, just in case
This past weekend was supposed to be nice. It wasn’t. I still had warm enough stuff to keep me toasty. Amongst my things, I had my military sleep system (rated to -30*F), five good quality wool blankets, 2 natural sheepskins, 1 fake “fur skin”, my pillow, my normal clothes and one set of 18th century clothing. After figuring it was going to be about 30*F overnight on Friday night, I knew I’d need my sleep system and one wool blanket over me, and my sheepskins under me. Technically I could have done with less by using the sleep system’s bivy, but it crinkles when I turn in my sleep, and I don’t like using it unless it’s necessary. Yes, I’m a princess, deal.
I ended up sleeping in my leggings, tee shirt, and sweat shirt because they were comfortable. I did that both nights. I kept my socks on, and pulled my hoodie over my face to keep me warm. I was toasty and comfortable all night, and in fact was a bit over-warm the second night. During the day, I tossed on my woolen petticoat (basically a wool skirt) over my modern clothes, because my legs were a bit chilly. That took care of the problem, and I was fine. I even had my jacket off for most of the day, and only put it back on at night when the chill and damp settled in.
My cabin-mates were not quite so thoughtful in their sleeping and clothing choices. One brought only a couple of blankets and a pillow. Poor thing, she’s young and I think it might have been her first event. I lent her three of my wool blankets because she was skinny and tiny and cold as all get-out. She got some sleep, but not enough, and ended up leaving Saturday after the day’s classes were over. My other cabin-mate is an experienced Rennie, and for some reason she left behind her sleeping bag. She made it through the night, but she was cold, so she went and purchased a new bag and one of the space blankets to stick under her cot mattress, to ward off the cold. As she noted, the cold from underneath was more problematic than the stuff from up top.
And there it is. When you are sleeping rough (meaning you’re not in your heated home at a “normal” temperature and with a real mattress), you have to consider heat loss in different ways. The temperature below you is often much colder than the air above you. That’s why I use my sheepskins. They go under my sleep system, but over whatever mattress or cot or air bed I’m on. This insulates me from the cold air (or ground) beneath me. If it’s very cold out, I’ll even fold one of the woolen blankets and put it under me as well.
My sleep system keeps me warm, because it’s layered. You have to think about layers when you’re thinking about survival and keeping warm. Layers underneath, like my wool blanket and my sheepskins. Layers above, like my sleep system and my wool blanket. The army blanket that goes over me is very warm and thick. I usually tuck it under the toe of my sleeping bag, and then pull it over me. This seals in my body heat. I also cover my head, because the place we lose heat the easiest is through our heads. When sleeping in 18th century kit, I have a nightcap that I wear. I have a modern one as well, made of micro fleece, and I use it all winter (my room is cold). Keeping my head warm keeps the rest of me warm! Layers under and over help to keep my body heat tight against me.
If you have to sleep on the ground, similar methods can be used. First and foremost, don’t actually sleep on the ground. Pile up some leaves, or pine boughs, or make a raised cot with some branches and blankets. The ground is always going to leach heat away from you, so getting something between you and it is the best thing you can do. I’ve seen a neat little “cot” made out of two long, sturdy branches and two coats. You slide the poles through the arms and lay over the top of it. That’s not going to last forever, of course, but in a pinch it does the job. You want to find somewhere flat, and with your body flat or your head slightly elevated. What you do NOT want is to have your head lower than your heart and/or feet. Avoid rocks and lumps and bugs and prickers and anything else you might not want to get cuddly with.
If there are beasties around that you’re allergic to or that are likely to cause you a problem if they bite you, take all caution to stop that from happening. Bivys are great for this, because you can seal yourself inside them, thereby keeping the beasties at bay. Keep in mind that swarms of mosquitoes, while not dangerous, are going to keep you awake and miserable. The same goes for ants. Even the little ones can leave a welt if they get their pincers into you. Try not to sleep on top of an animal or bug nest/burrow/hive. Basically, be very aware of your surroundings.
Then there’s the fire issue. Any fire you have going for cooking should be at least banked if not put out before going to sleep. Unless you have a small stove or have built a proper fire ring, it’s too dangerous and could end up killing you. It can also attract things like bears or other predators (like humans), and you don’t want that. This isn’t to say there aren’t good, safe ways to have fires that keep you warm at night. There are, and there are dozens of great videos on how to do it:
- Dakota/Lakota Fire Hole
- Poacher’s Camp
- Self-Feeding Fire
- All Night Fire
- Covered Fire
- Raised Bushcraft Shelter
I could keep going, but you get the idea. Those give you the basic idea, and you can go down the rabbit hole on your own time. If you like such things, check out the various “stealth camping” videos for some GREAT ideas on how to camp light and secretive.
Being warm is one of the things that will help you in a variety of ways. Basically, as humans, we need to have our internal temperature stay pretty solid. If we get too cold or too hot, we tend to pass out. We’re good at adapting, but we have to pay attention to it. As with my cabin-mates at the Fort, sometimes you just don’t think, and “just not thinking” will get you killed as fast as running into a bear.
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