Originally Posted by
kyratshooter
I am going to jump on the band wagon with Alan. We often tell beginners to start out with a test night of camping in their back yard just to prove their gear before going out to the woods. All it takes to get a handle on your story is an "overnighter" in the back yard.
Take your Walmart sleeping bag out into the back yard, spread out a tarp and lay the bag down on it. Stuff your space blanket inside and crawl in. See how long you last before you decide there are better places to be. If you are north of the Ohio River you will not be outside long. Come to think about it, I almost froze to death at a camp just outside Tampa FL about 10 years ago.
You can even soak yourself down with the garden hose to simulate the wet snow thing!
Now to add too that. I have been doing this stuff since I was 7 years old and I am now 70. I have camped cold and hot and I have camped in the Army in situations where there was no going to the house if things got bad. There is nothing worse than being in a situation that turns deadly and not having the proper gear. That is why I keep a -20 rated sleeping bag in my truck and have a big tote full of emergency gear in there with it, and I only live in Kentucky!
You have the advantage of being able to equip your hero with whatever gear you wish him to have, so do that. Give him a -20 rated bag, his space blanket and some chemical warmers to use inside the sleeping bag!
Don't make me roll my eyes!
I have quit reading modern fiction just due to the fact that almost every writer now tries to impress the reader with the vast understanding of subjects on which they are completely ignorant. Don't be that guy.
Walk the land you write about, eat the food you talk about, get cold before you write bout cold and get your inspiration first hand, not second hand from someone on a forum. That is not research!
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