Overlanding in January: 5 Tips to Survive the Cold!
In the world of overlanding, not all of us are blessed to live in the warmer parts of the world, like Southern California or Arizona. Don't get me wrong, there are perks to living in Utah (like easy Moab access!), but it takes a lot of work to keep up the overlanding through the winter months.
We recently took a short overland trip down to Little Sahara Sand Dunes. Not very far from home for us, but the itch to overland was driving us crazy. Seeing long trips on popular instagram accounts down to Baja California drove us crazy, and on a whim, we decided we had to go somewhere. So, we loaded up the Jeep and took off!
It was admittedly warm for a Utah January, but winter is winter. We packed sleeping bags, plenty of blankets, and lot's of clothes.
Here's some of the great drone footage we got that day. Don't let the sun and the sand fool you - we were in for a cold night.
So without any further ado, here's the 5 lessons we learned from overlanding in January!
1. Propane heaters will keep you alive.
My father-in-law's trademark advice is "stay warm", so how fitting that we borrowed his Mr. Heater Buddy propane heater for this trip. This heater made the difference between us staying the night and packing up to head home. We were close enough to home that turning back was definitely an option, but we're no sissies. We're overlanders. So we cranked up the Mr. Heater Buddy in the tent while we were outside taking pictures, and by the time we got in for bed, it was nice and toasty.
2. When it comes to layers, quality is better than quantity.
We knew that it was better to overpack clothes than underpack, and we figured that it would be better to load up on layers before bed rather than to get cold in the middle of the night and have to layer up. What we learned is that when you're wearing seven hoodies, your arms tend to go numb and fall asleep. Better to have a few, really warm layers than lots and lots of mediocre layers.
3. You're going to need towels.
Even if there's no forecast of precipitation, towels are a must. Why? Condensation, that's why. It's negative 1000 degrees out there, and that harsh environment is turning the walls of your tent into a surface colder than your ex-wife's heart. All that warm air you're breathing out through the night is condensing on the inside of your tent. This water will make everything wet. EVERYTHING. So pack some towels.
4. Bring your own firewood.
If you're like me, you rely on the goodwill of other campers to make the nightly fire. Usually, on arriving to a campsite, scavenging other sites yields a decent supply of leftover wood from other campers. Well guess what? Not in freaking January. We were able to make a sad little fire out of some twigs on the ground, which promptly went out because January is cold, and wet, and sad, and it doesn't condition wood to be burned very well. Bring your own wood.
5. It's still going to be really cold. But who cares, you're overlanding!