Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What is the coldest night you have lived thru?

Mine was about the middle of May in Gallup, NM. I didn't have a place inside a warm building so I had to just wander around all night. Figured I had best stay far away from the law and noticed that three or four of the locals (not cops) were following me around. I was only nineteen but knew for sure to keep a long distance from them guys but just in case, I found a piece of about two inch pipe about two feet long so it became my constant companion.

Good thing, too, as one of them had ferreted me out but I was able to swing first and then get out of there. I whacked him in the head a few times after he went down and I don't know if he ever got up. Didn't care, either.

I sure was glad when the sun came up and I was able to catch a ride on down the road. That guy and his wife even bought my breakfast.

Strange that the day before that night was just about as hot as it could be. That desert sure cools off when the sun goes down.

When I was in the USArmy we slept on the ground in NJ in December or January about 6 inches of snow. Looking back sometimes I really appreciate things now, at least Im sleeping inside tonight.

We've had -40's here, but at least we had some heat. The house leaked and windows kept falling out, but walls are a good thing.

1964, hitchhiking between Lexington and Louisville KY. Late December, -2F, and a blizzard blowing.
That one almost did me in.

#1
Grizzly bear hunting in Alaska in early April.
17 below zero in a pup tent on the snow, nearly lost a few toes.

#2
Backpacked into the rugged Trinity Alps wilderness of Northern California hunting blacktails with lightweight sleeping bag and clothes because opening morning is "Always Warm" when a fluke snowstorm nearly killed me.

About 12 years ago I was working as a wrangler for a sheep hunting outfit in the Rockies in. A fellow in camp decided to shoot an elk across the Smoky river. Said fellow was not only a major PITA and moron, but also deathly afraid of water. S, it fell to me and another wrangler to go butcher and retrieve the elk.

It was still early enough in the day that we figured to be back before dark. We should have known better. The river is deep and fast, and it took us several hours to find a spot where the horses could cross. Even then, it was a near thing. We backtracked down the other side of the river till we found the elk.
We got to butchering and packing it on the pack horses we brought. It was getting pretty dark as we headed back. Before we got back to the crossing, darkness fell and for once, the horses did not seem to know their way back. We ran into one pile of deadfall after another, and finally had to admit we weren't going to make it that night.

We made camp on a small island in the river, to hopefully avoid the grizzly and wolves. The same numbnuts who shot the elk had sat on the stock of his rifle while accompanying us down to the river and broke it. I loaned him mine to ride back to camp, figuring I'd be back in plenty of time. We built a nice big fire and settled in for the night. At first it wasn't too bad, but it started getting seriously cold after a few hours. I used a horse blanket for cover, which didn't smell great but helped some. Not much sleep was had that night, but I did get to see what was easily the most magnificent display of Northern lights I have ever seen, it was absolutely spectacular.

I was well below freezing I'm sure but how cold it was I couldn't say. I've slept in far colder, but never been colder at night than I was that night. Learned my lesson, for sure.

In 1977 my girl friend (now wife) and I took a a long trip in my 1974 VW bus. Started in October on the Oregon coast and then cut inland to Reno, Denver, Casper and then through Montana on our way back to Oregon. Our last night was in mid November at the rest area near Brothers, Oregon. It was -20 and the old VW bus didn't retain much heat. It did, however, start in the morning, which wasn't the case with a number of other cars. We jumped about four or five. It took about a day for our feet to thaw out as the old bus didn't put out much heat at those temps.

January 1965 spent the night in a friend's log cabin in Northern Vermont. Temperature went to 30 below and we literally slept together on the stone hearth of the fireplace. In spite of the fire we both had some frostbite on the toes which I still suffer from.

Minus 54F. Jan 79. Operation Jack Frost AK. I was on my feet moving most of that night. Bunny boots rock.

I was maybe 18-19, some buddies and I drove an old J-10 Jeep pickup up a logging road to a ridgtop to camp and deer hunt. I slept in the back of the pickup, which had a fiberglass cap on it, on a piece of foam rubber in a crappy K-mart bag. The temps dropped an the wind got way up. I awoke with the whole inside of the shell frosted up. I think I may have had some of those old waffle cotton long johns and nothing else.
We built a fire and huddled around it all day, doing little deer hunting at all.

I just about froze to death.

Winter of 1976-77 we went jack rabbit hunting near Fontanelle Dam, WY and were camping in the campground below it. Had a cheap little pup tent for shelter with some kind of ground cloth and a mummy bag rated to 0, but when I climbed in my feet were still cold so I wrapped my down vest around the foot portion.

Zipped it up until just my nose was sticking out. In the morning I remember a big puddle of ice about 6" across on the bag right below my nose where the condensation had pooled. Later we found out that the town right near there had registered -35 that night.

That was the coldest night I lived through.





There was another night we went winter camping where it got to -45, but I died that time.

-35 with a -65 wind chill on the flight line at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Took me a long time to get warm after I got off that morning.

Sub zero, high humidity, in a non-heated tent, poor site location in the bottom of a draw. Was up most of the night in my -5 bag, liner, wool hat, and my long underwear.

I've camped in -15 and was FAR warmer.

Lot of really cold ones when I was married to my second ex-wife... Much better weather for sleeping now.

A couple of nights in Alaska doing survival training in February.

You were allowed to bring anything you wanted with you, so long as it fit in a quart sized ziplock bag. You jump into the salt water in your Gumby suit and swim to shore. Then you get to spend the next couple of days/nights out there with your survival suit and that ziplock bag.

Good times.

That doesn't sound like much fun at all. Do you remember what you put in your bag, or what you wished you would have brought/left behind?

Mine was in the service too. Beautiful Yakima Firing Center, eastern WA in January.

No idea what the temp was but it as COLD. We got our GP medium set up and stoves going, so we should have been set. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) after dark we had to move. Turns out somebody goofed up, and we were camped on a live fire range!

Packed everything up and made a night drive to bum-freaked Yak, and ended up trying to sleep in a canvas covered deuce&1/2 in a 40 mph wind. I shivered my butt off, even in my fart-sack. Ended up taking the floor covers off so we could get a little heat by idling the engine all night. Not that it helped.

I've been out in colder weather, but that night was the worst by far.
7mm

There ain't a lot you can or wished you put in a quart ziplock that would have mattered. I had a knife, a few Zantac's (no food for a few days and heartburn can be a bitch), lighter and flashlight that I remember.

I wore 3 pair of socks and pulled off two once ashore and kept stashed in warm parts of the body.

Ice fished all night, once...We had a popup ice hut, kept lighting the lantern to keep it defrosted. Our sleeping bags we crusted with ice from the moisture. It was a fun night...caught a lot the next day.

Korea 1989. Zipper on my sleeping bag froze shut.