Winter Hammock Camping at Oil Creek State Park, PA
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- Опубликовано: 19 дек 2022
- This might be my favorite overnighter of the year! While I enjoy the multi-day backpacking adventures the most, sometimes overnighters are very memorable trips too! That is especially true when you get just the right amount of snow out on your trip!
Oil Creek State Park is located in Western Pennsylvania and is host to the Gerard Backpacking Trail. The trail is a 36 mile loop that includes two shelter areas with tent camping options as well as Adirondack shelters. The campsites feature pit latrines for restrooms, a covered firewood area, Adirondack shelters, picnic tables and more! Since I stayed in a shelter for my last winter trip at Laurel Highlands, I didn't want to cheese it this time around. I decided to brave the frigid temperatures in my hammock.
With winter backpacking, the main issue is always staying the correct temperature and avoiding getting wet. This can be a challenge with the changing conditions. You can get wet from sweating while hiking or from precipitation as well. Basic things such as finding somewhere dry to set down your gear and not letting your water filtration freeze requires some level of skill and knowledge to perform safely. Luckily, I have a bunch of videos on my channel dedicated to winter backpacking to help you brave the elements and enjoy the beautiful outdoors while hiking and camping in the winter!
Oil Creek is home to many old structures from the oil boom in Pennsylvania. There are structures in various stages of aging, from old, dilapidated ruins to reconstructed models for educational purposes. There is also a cemetery, a huge river, railroad tracks, bridges and much more to see! I'm looking forward to getting back to Oil Creek to hike the entire loop whenever I have three days to devote to it.
Some notable gear that was imperative to keeping me warm and dry is as follows; Warbonnet Mountainfly tarp, Warbonnet Blackbird hammock, Warbonnet Wooki Underquilt, Warbonnet Diamondback top quilt, REI 650 down jacket, Terramar polypropylene base layers, North Face Gordon E-Tip gloves, Magpul merino wool beanie, Frogg Toggs rain jacket.
Join our Facebook group and ask us some questions and tag along on our annual trip!
groups/13624...
I built the stone fireplaces in the hiking shelters over 35 years ago!! One of the proud legacies I will leave behind!!
That’s really cool dude. Sometimes I look at stuff randomly and wonder who built it lol
THE SCENERY WAS GORGEOUS TOO COLD SARA MISSED OUT ON A SNOWY HIKE LOVED THE WATERFALL I LOVE WATERFALLS TOO BAD YOU COULDNT OF GOTTEN A LITTLE SHELTER LIKE LAST TIME BUT THE SCENERY WAS GORGEOUS NOTHING LIKE MOTHER NATURE ALL DRESSED IN WHITE ENJOYED THIS VIDEO VERY MUCH
I could have stayed in a shelter I chose not to lol
I'm glad I found your channel! We've hiked a lot of the same trails. This video really got me wanting to get out to hike in the snow; you had perfect winter hiking conditions!
Yeah it was a great trip!
I've seen several videos of different channels backpacking here. The snow really added to the trip. The hammock was probably much cozier than one of the shelters.
It was the perfect amount of snow. Just enough to make everything pretty but not enough to make the hiking itself suck. Thanks for tuning in!
Great video!
That region of north western Pa is know as the "snow belt". You were experiencing the unpredictable "lake effect snow". It will snow randomly until Lake Erie freezes over, which is unlikely this year with the unseasonably warm temps. The lake effect snow phenomenon can make for some truly magical outdoor time and it can also dump a lot of snow very quickly.
That weasel is a truly lucky find! They generally hear us coming and disappear long before you have a chance to see them.
I live by Lake Eerie, very familiar with the snow belt lol
Nice video. I have done the entire loop a couple times. It's very doable with two overnights. One in each of the two shelter areas. The shelters are great you can lighten your backpack a little. Love that place 👍
It’s close enough to where I live that I can definitely bang out the entire loop in a weekend. It’s on my radar for the future for sure. Thanks for watching!
I love your high shots man. I also am a budget backpacker and I love the knorr package with chicken or some other protein source. Tasty and inexpensive way to eat. Doesn't weigh anything either. And that kind of weather you definitely need to carry an extra pair of dry base layers.
I have a dehydrator, overall that ends up being the lightest option and just SLIGHTLY more expensive than buying pasta sides. It’s only about 20% the cost of buying freeze dried meals though so that’s my primary backpacking food usually. I was just lazy and didn’t feel like making anything lol. My base layers are polypropylene, even if they get a little wet from sweat they always dry fully so I’ve never had an issue with needing two pairs. Thanks for watching!
You popped up in my feed, subbed just based on your channel name, I say yes to anything with bacon in it!!!
Haha well hopefully you end up liking the content as much as the name 😂
Every year me and a few friends go to Oil Creek for a winter “backpacking” trip. We just rent the shelters, cook a bunch of food and hang out. It’s a cool place.
Nothing wrong with that. I guess if you carry your gear in on your back and stay the night it’s technically backpacking lol
@@Bacon_N_Backpacking technically it is about a 3/4 mile hike to camp from the car and we carry everything on our backs lol.
Sounds like backpacking to me lol
Cool looking place, man. Love winter trips.
Scenery is the best in the winter, and an added bonus is there’s nobody on trail lol
Many thanks really good video and well edited.
I appreciate the kind words, thank you so much for watching!
Very cool video! I’ve been to the OC park in Venango tons of times. I enjoyed your commentary and camera work.
Thanks for the kind words, appreciate you tuning in!
Nice !!! I like to hang out at Wolfkiel adirondacks and Minister creek
Is it Wolfkiel or Wolfkill? The maps say Kiel but the signs leading to the shelter area say Kill lol
Repping the HPG chest rig! Nice!
Don’t go anywhere without it on trail, great piece of gear.
Dang those perfect snowflakes make everything look so pretty. Gotta love all the old structures too, definitely a unique part of the trail. Bummed I don’t have facebook for the group tho!!
You're probably better off not having Facebook lol. Not missing much. Weather was perfect, it snowed just enough to be pretty but not so much to make it miserable.
Great video man.
Appreciate it, thanks for watching!
Epic!!!
Super fun trip, thanks for tuning in!
Great video. Been looking to go there.
You really should, it was more impressive than I thought it was going to be. Moderate hike, not too hard, not too easy. Plenty to see, ridges, the river, ruins of old buildings and equipment etc. There are also four waterfalls along the full loop. I'm looking forward to getting back there to finish the entire backpacking trail one day.
Another great video. I really enjoyed this place on my solo trip a few years ago. Would like to try it for a winter trip.
It was very scenic with the snow. I'd like to get back out there and do the full loop when I have the time. I'd like to see the other shelter area as well. Thanks for tuning in!
@@Bacon_N_Backpacking The shelter areas are very similar . I did a shorter loop version cause I wanted to cross over the suspension bridge. If you plan a summer trip, keep me in mind, I'd do it again.
Will do
Spectacular. Thanks for taking us on this beautiful trip.
Happy Holidays, Travis and Sara! 🌲
(also, MORE DANCING)
That was my secret Easter egg to see who watches until the end of the video 😂 thanks for watching and happy holidays!
Oil Creek Park is 20 minutes away. I’ve hiked there! 😅
About two hours drive for me, closer to me than any Ohio trails though lol. Need to get back there to finish the whole loop. Thanks for tuning in!
I built the stone fireplaces out there about 35 years ago
Great video. Nice short loop around Oil Creek! There's so much to see there. My nephew and I have been wanting to get back there for some time. Great stuff and thanks for sharing. Congrats on the 1k subs as well!!! -dave
Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting back and doing the full trail. It ended up being a 16 mile hike so it wasn't super short. Cool place though for sure.
Great video! I am glad I came across your page. I am local and looking to do some loops. What was the loop you did here? I would want to rent out the shelters for a winter trip.
It was a random assortment of trails lol. Most of it was on the backpacking trail there, I believe it’s called the Girard trail. A big part of the second day was on the towpath trail.
My backyard
I live in Ohio and it’s actually the closest backpacking trail to me, about a two hour drive. Thanks for tuning in!
I live in Reno. About 6 minutes from Oil City
Hey buddy what kind of pants are those ? Thanks!!!
They’re made by Kuhl. Don’t know the exact model, been a couple years since I got them.
Good morning. 20 Degrees Wooki ??? not too cold ???
Nope. I’ve found the Warbonnet quilts to be a true comfort rating. I’m usually fine with the 20 quilts down to around 20. If you throw on a UQ protector and put a sit pad under your butt, you MIGHT be able to run it down to 10. Keep in mind that’s ME, not saying it’ll work that way for everyone lol.
Looks nice. Any reason you used the Sawyer Squeeze instead of the Grayl?
Yeah, it’s lighter, don’t need the extra filtration of the Grayl in this area, but mainly it’s easier to keep from freezing. I can put the squeeze in a pocket to keep it warm. The Grayl is much harder to do that with because of its size.
Hey buddy what kind of pants are those ? Thanks!!!
I already answered this in a duplicate comment, so I'm just responding to this one to clear it out of my comments lol. Just in case you missed the other one, the pants are made by Kuhl, not sure what model.
@@Bacon_N_Backpacking Got it thanks buddy!