With a Polar Vortex rolling through and record low temperatures across the whole east coast and the Maritimes hitting -40°C (I believe somewhere in Nova Scotia even went as low as -57°C with the windchill!) I felt that it was the perfect time to gear up for an overnight hike to an exposed mountain top near the Bay of Fundy to test my gear, knowledge and outdoor practices when faced with severe winter temperatures and high winds.
I was dropped off at the Highway on Route 7 to begin my adventure. As soon as I stepped out of the vehicle the cold air hit me like a slap in the face. I slung my Kakwa 40 pack over my shoulders and strapped up my Atlas Helium Mountain Snowshoes for the expedition ahead and forged on into the woods confident in the mission I had set out on.
The first 3km are along a plowed back road to access the camps in the area and the wind was dropping branches all along the path in front of me. My body was creating too much heat for the layers that I had on, so I decided to remove my Helly Hansen winter jacket and Arcteryx Cerium puffy jacket. I was left with an Arcteryx underlayer and Delta Hybrid Hoody which provided sufficient warmth while moving. My lower half was very comfortable the whole hike with an Arcteryx underlayer and Gamma MX pants as well as Salomon Tundra boots. For my hands I was alternating between my thinner Arcteryx Venta gloves which are surprisingly very warm and weather protectant.. and layering them with an oversized and very warm North Face Montana mitt.
The following 12km were untouched with varying depths of snow and crust making for a proper snowshoe adventure winding through the beautiful forest, listening to the wind howl through the trees and enjoying identifying all of the animal tracks along the way from Moose, Lynx, Coyote, Rabbit and Deer. As I neared Turtle Mountain and entered into more of an open hardwood section of trail I knew I was close and I could see the most beautiful sunset peaking beyond the trees.
As I climbed the icy slopes on the dark side of Turtle Mountain with the snowshoes crunching beneath me with every step, I could see the most beautiful red glow growing the closer I got to reaching the peak. I was nearly knocked off of my feet from the blistering winds at the highest point, but I have never seen a more beautiful deep red sunset in my life... so I stayed and setup my camera, surely not far from frostbite at this point.. Just as I went to capture what my eyes were in awe over, my phone flashed a message stating that my phone was shutting down and would turn back on when the temperature raises. I had never experienced this before for cold temperatures, only in the heat of summer... So I stayed another minute longer until my fingers lost all feeling trying to enjoy that last bit of light that was warming my heart. I started back to the treed area that dips slightly below the peak to escape the winds and begin setting up shelter for the night in my Durston Xmid 1p tent.
I brought along my Silky Gomboy saw in the case I grew too cold and to cut a makeshift hammer to pound in the MSR Groundhog tent stakes into the solid frozen earth. I cleared a large area of snow slightly larger than the Xmid tents footprint, beat the stakes into the ground and erected the tent with my Black Diamond Carbon Cork trekking poles before kicking the snow back over the edges of the tent creating a wind block to seal warmth into the tent at night. In the treed area the wind was much more tame and I was just warm enough all night inside of my Thermarest Parsec -18C (0F) sleeping bag (with my underlayers and puffy jacket) while resting my head on my Thermarest Air Head Down pillow. My Thermarest Xtherm NXT did not come in before this adventure, so I used my Uberlite... Certainly not ideal and created some good drafts on the butt, so I used my winter jacket on top of the sleeping pad to combat this which worked well enough.
In the morning I woke up quite comfortable and after packing everything up headed back to the windy, frosty, peak to fly my DJI Mini 2 drone and capture some shots of a frozen Turtle Lake in the backdrop. I stayed as long as I could before losing all feeling in my hands again and headed back to the trees to warm up before the trek back to civilization.
My biggest lesson learned from this trip and what I will be changing next time will be bringing a thermos for my water. Not much water survives in -40°C and boiling snow is not fun.
I hope that this video serves as a trail guide for some and as motivation for all to get out and enjoy some mountains, hiking trails, and waterfalls that our province has to offer!
Whether it be Summer, Winter, Fall or Spring.. Sunny, Rainy, Windy or Snowy..
Every day can be the perfect day for an adventure and each set of weather systems can provide you with different beauty and challenges to experience and enjoy!
Happy Hiking🥾
-Hiking Thru
Turtle Mountain | New Brunswick | Winter Camping | Snowshoeing
Негізгі бет Camping in 40 Below Zero | Turtle Mountain
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