Chinook by George Hosier II - Winter Camping

Finally, we got some cold around here! I didn’t think we were going to get any decent camping weather at all this winter. At the risk of having my official Sourdough status revoked, I am going to reveal a closely guarded Sourdough secret: The best time to experience Alaskan camping is in the winter. There, it’s out! If the Sourdough police come for me, they’ll just have to do what they have to do. I just don’t think it’s fair for all of us old-timers to get to enjoy all the great winter camping, while Cheechakos have to suffer the rigors of trying to camp in the summer.

I’ve camped in the summer, both out of necessity and for…ahem…“recreation”. Let me tell you, summer camping is no fun! No wonder the tourons bring RVs with them when they tour our great state. I’ve noticed that most tourons are elderly retired folk, which means they’ve lived a long time, which means they’ve probably accumulated a lot of wisdom over the years. Obviously, one of the pieces of wisdom they have accumulated is “Don’t camp outside in Alaska in the summer.” I urge my readers to follow their sage advice. There are hazards introduced by summer camping which don’t even enter into the equation on a crisp January Alaskan night. By way of illustration, let me list but a handful:

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