Cold weather backpackers find exposure can take many forms.
by RORI333. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.
It wasn’t the 17 degree Fahrenheit temperature that had turned backpacking in the North Cascades into a life or death situation…it was the rain. As majestic as the Pacific Northwest is in late autumn, the weather can turn on you in a ferocious way! Failure to plan accordingly can lead to terrible exposure.
My friend Julie and I had set out with the intention of cold weather camping, but because of unusually heavy snowfall the access roads had limited entry to the park. The rangers advised us not to use our backcountry camping pass, but we had driven all the way from rural Oregon, and were determined to rough it out.