Outdoor Activities
Camping
Being a complete sport that works all parts of the body in cardio and muscle building, swimming is very popular among athletes. As heatwaves push us to cool down, why not go swimming? Fortunately, our vast territory is dotted with large bodies of water often suitable for open water swimming. Why prefer swimming in nature rather than in a pool? It will give you a feeling of well-being and freedom that is hard to imitate.
As summer draws to an end and the weather turns cooler, camping may not be all relaxing. To protect against the elements and stay warm at night, a minimum of accessories are required. Here are our suggestions.
Before choosing your tent, consider how you plan to use it: only on a campground accessible by car (in the fall), or while hiking, snowshoeing, biking, cross-country skiing, or canoe-camping?
For the former case, you can afford a large and voluminous tent where you can stand up, given the ease of transporting it in the trunk of a car.
But if you prefer excursions on foot, by bike, or canoe, you need to find the right balance between size, weight, and sturdiness: no need to exert too much effort carrying it or be burdened with a huge backpack.
Unless you are going to high altitudes for several days or expect extreme temperature drops, a three-season tent designed for fall can suffice for winter camping if done sporadically once or twice a year.
However, it would be wiser to get an expedition tent for camping in windy and snowy areas where precipitation can be abundant and natural shelters are almost non-existent.
Generally speaking, expedition tents are much more resistant to wind and snow weight and have more robust poles. To minimize accumulation risks, their rainfly does not have flat sections and their waterproofing is often superior to standard tents. They are less ventilated than summer tents to retain heat but must have ventilation flaps as the body produces a lot of moisture in cold temperatures – up to three liters of water per camper each night.
Finally, tunnel-shaped tents still appeal to certain groups, especially cyclists, due to their lightweight and low profile making them more aerodynamic. However, they require stakes and guy ropes which limit the types of terrain they can be set up on.
Nowadays, there are excellent sleeping bags made of synthetic materials that tend to lose less accumulated heat and are less expensive. However, to maximize your chances of staying warm, down-filled sleeping bags remain the best option on the market; they are more expensive but offer higher insulation efficiency despite accumulating humidity more easily. Down bags are also lightweight and compact making them easier to carry.
In autumn, a three-season sleeping bag that keeps campers warm in temperatures down to -10°C may suffice. But in winter conditions where low temperatures prevail (-40°C), opt for a specialized winter sleeping bag designed specifically for such harsh environments.
Thanks to their insulating properties, ground pads can make the difference between a cool night and a comfortable one, especially in cold weather. Whether inflatable (best suited for fall) or foam (fall and winter depending on insulating properties and level of comfort), ground pads stop the transfer of humidity between the ground and the sleeping bag.
For cooking, boiling water for drinking or melting snow to clean your face, a camp stove is a must-have accessory for fall and winter camping. In cold seasons and for high-altitude excursions, choose camp stoves that run on liquid fuel (white gas, methyl alcohol, kerosene, etc.). These perform better in cold than compressed gas models such as butane, propane, and isopropanol camp stoves.
To turn on a camp stove or start a campfire, a lighter is more effective than matches which can become unusable due to humidity. To make life easier in difficult lighting conditions, you can scrape a block of magnesium with a knife above the wood to be ignited or drop resin-soaked sticks that ignite even in rain.
When temperatures drop, camera, phone and headlamp batteries tend to drain more quickly. To increase the level of energy you can place the batteries inside your sleeping bag overnight. We also recommend bringing a recharging kit with a solar collector which proves practical in fall/winter months when trees lose leaves allowing more light through despite shorter daylight hours.
Before going camping for several days in cold weather, it's better to test your equipment—especially the tent, sleeping bag, and ground pad—in your backyard or a nearby park. In case of any issues, no one will risk hypothermia—a real possibility in the forest during winter.
During this season, some campers use two ground pads stacked on top of each other for maximum comfort and insulation. This is especially feasible since the mats can be easily transported when attached to a backpack once rolled up.
In autumn, carefully choose the location where you will set up your tent, ideally in the shade to prevent UV rays from damaging the roof and to avoid turning the interior into an oven if the sun is strong. Prefer well-drained and slightly sloped terrain to facilitate rainwater runoff, and try to find a site exposed to light winds to drive away the last autumn mosquitoes and ventilate the tent.
Whenever possible, find firm ground for driving stakes (compact sand, soil, or snow). On unstable ground or snowy surfaces, tie ropes to a tree, a rock, or a bag filled with heavy materials like small stones.
If there's one season when cooking outside isn't appealing, it's winter. Fortunately, there is now a wide variety of freeze-dried meals that can simply be mixed with water to create a respectable dish without needing to bring your entire pantry.
To warm up quickly and effectively, nothing beats a thermos filled with almost boiling tea, coffee, or chocolate. Not only does consuming a hot drink invigorate the body, but a thermos can also serve as a hot water bottle if placed at your feet inside the sleeping bag at night.
In autumn and especially winter, it's better not to lounge around in light clothing inside the tent before slipping into your sleeping bag. Spending two hours playing cards or chatting can lower your body temperature so much that it becomes impossible to warm up afterward, which can lead to hypothermia.
At dinner, drink the minimum necessary so you don't have to get up in the middle of the night to relieve yourself, especially in winter. If you have to leave your sleeping bag and tent at -10°C, you may not regain the same level of body warmth... and the rest of the night will be endless.
Never leave food, toothpaste, or other scented items inside the tent to avoid attracting animals. Store everything in an airtight container and hang it from a branch using a rope.
When leaving a campsite, thoroughly clean your tent before folding it when dry. If the tent is wet or snowy and you must leave, fold it up and transport it home where you can unfold and dry it properly.
Always carry replacement poles in case one breaks due to strong winds or snow weight. Finally, before departing, obtain a repair kit for fabric (cloth, glue, etc.).
Before each season, check the waterproofing of seams, floor, and rainfly of your tent and re-waterproof if necessary.
Regularly inspect zippers' condition and lubricate them with paraffin as needed.
Upon returning home, remove your sleeping bag from its transport sack (or compression sack) and place it in its storage sack.
To store a ground pad, unroll it and keep it in an airy and dry place to minimize moisture impact and prevent mildew formation. Self-inflating pads should be stored vertically when fully inflated with their valve open.
