Come along with me on my recent, epic midweek solo adventure of snowshoeing and car camping up at Mount Baker here in Washington State. It’s been a while since I’ve made a solo car camping video and I’ve made a couple new additions to my car camping setup that I’m excited to share with you! Links for all of the gear in my car camping setup are in the video description.
It never fails someone will always sit by you when there is an entire airport of open seats, or park next to you when the entire lot is open! Proven fact - most people can’t stand to be alone and feel safer squeezed in next to another person! So annoying is right! Why!?😂 Love your videos!
Little did they know, they were parking next to someone who was up there trying to enjoy their solo winter adventure. What's funny is that this person parked much further away from the trailhead than they needed to and had to walk there in the icy parking lot in the dark. I had so many questions for this person. Most importantly, WHY???? Hahahaha!
What timing! I'd just finished my first overnight in my beater lifted Subaru Outback and I'm already considering my next steps. Thanks for the inspiration!
@@TheHungryHiker so does that $32 Include access to a bathroom? And if it is the same for an RV, does it include electricity and water? And is that at least snow cleared. That is a lot of money but if these amenities come with it, it’s a little understandable.
Okay two things. Why was in the middle of nowhere and someone parked right next to me, that would scare the heck out of me!!! How do you attach the window insulation to the window?
Only suggestion: Back into your parking space so you can make a faster get away if necessary. Love your setup! Such great ideas! I plan to buy an Outback this year for car camping. That sunshade is way easier and better than what I planned to do. Thanks for that!
I’ve had plenty of really cold and uncomfortable nights of sleeping in the car myself so I feel your pain. Finally I’ve figured it out and have my whole car camping setup dialed in to handle those really cold nights warm and comfortably!
Ugh! I'm not a fan of "grouping." Give me all the space! I also hate it when someone drives right next to me on the freeway. I'm always paranoid someone won't be paying attention and not see me in a potential blindspot.
Nice little setup you got there, looks nice and cosy and overall much more cost effective than the other options such as a camper van. Love the fold-out table too.
One of these days when I'm actually around here in Washington during the summer, I want to come back up to the Mount Baker area to car camp and hike all over the place. I've yet to really explore this area without snow and I know it's really beautiful. I need to see it for myself.
Your car camping setup is so cool. I know it’s a little late this season, but I finally got snowshoes! Next season I’m getting a sno parks pass so I can check out more fun snowshoe trail. Maybe I’ll even try car camping. I didn’t know that was something you could do at Mt Baker.
The issue isn't when someone parks right next to me. The issue is when someone parks right next to me in an empty parking lot while I'm sleeping in your car by myself. It''s not only annoying, but it's also downright creepy.
So cool to tag along on your trips, wow do you pick some lovely destinations! Thanks!!! Wonder if they cut you a deal if you camp and ski? The trip up to coleman glacier is nice if you have not done that one, did a nice overnight trip there once. Some early season hiking off of icicle creek(Leavenworth) can be sweet, once hiked up into the snow and watched the snow showers cover the tracks and turn the world to a magic blanket of white.
Thanks for tagging along! As far as I know, there isn't any special pricing if you overnight park and ski. The overnight parking is determined by the size of your rig though so the smaller your rig, the less expensive it is. I guess it's all about supply and demand. Limited parking with lots of people wanting to camp up there during the winter, especially on the weekends.
Great video! Do you like the platform bed? I've thought about crafting one for my car camping setup but I like being able to sit up in the back of my subaru...
I love my sleeping platform. It is a little tight with headroom and I'm not able to sit up, but it's worth it to me to have all of the storage space underneath. You just have to decide what's most important to you when crafting your build out. For me, it was comfort and warmth when sleeping (not necessarily sitting up) and having enough storage space to store all of my gear I'd need for my adventures.
Thank you for such a awesome video!! I have a little Tab camper but I want to sell it and start car camping in my pilot. I get mildly annoyed with hauling even if I’m great at backing it and set up, it’s still hard to find parking a lot and you can’t just park anywhere and be stealthy. I am so glad to see what equipment you use. I believe I will be ordering it and using your code! I am in the Bay Area and plan to venture more up to Washington state to camp. I do believe I will remove one small seat so I can use my small porta pot in the night only. I like your advice on slowing down on drinking at night but tha5 still never works for me. 😂
I know you were probably entering your car through your trunk to camp but just for safety and comfort purposes I would always back in wherever you go so that if need be you can just start the car and drive forward off. You never know.
I’m new to your channel and have been catching up on past videos. One thing I have a question about on your car setup. That is your car top carrier. It has such a low profile installation. Perhaps that is due partially to the SUV rails. Please give some info on brand carrier and installation method. Thanks. Love your channel and all the adventures and advice.
My pod is an old Packasport (roof top cargo carrier.) www.packasport.com I have no idea what model this one is because I bought it used from a friend a couple of years ago. I already had rails installed on the top of my car, which made attaching the pod to the top of my car very easy.
During the winter, I'll crack open my sunroof for some air circulation. My pod on top of the car helps keep the rain and sun out while my sunroof is cracked open overnight.
A powerstation that has a kilowatt can keep that thing on for 8-10 hours. After that need to charge the station which is a hassle and takes just as many hours. Plus these power station is big and heavy
Going out winter car camping for the first time here in Western Australia.Question regarding condensation Do you keep the window or sunroof slightly ajar throughout the night for constant fresh airflow as it can be suffocating breathing C02or are you totally shut in.
Awesome! Have a fun time going car camping! To answer your question (I actually showed this in the video), but I do keep the sunroof cracked a bit overnight for airflow and to help reduce condensation on the inside of the car while I'm sleeping. The pod on top of my car helps keep the rain and the snow out so I can keep my sunroof cracked without getting wet.
@@TheHungryHiker yup i did see the part where you showed you did before you went to bed but thought you did it briefly.Good to know its whole night.Lets see what happens next weekend.
Hello 👋 I came across your video!! I'm want to prepare to live in my car !! Because I want to get out of a Mental Controlling Abuse Marriage!!! And I have a Ministry that I want to do around the world!! Thanks for encouraging me !! Just need to save my money up and prepare!!
Not in the parking lot, no. If you’re camping in the parking lot, everything has to be contained and within your vehicle. You can, however, park your car up there overnight (with a slightly less fee) and snow camp up on the mountain outside of the ski area with a tent. Lots of people come up here for snow camping in the winter.
As a guy, I think packing a pee bottle (1.5L smart water bottle) would be essential for those middle-of-the-night restroom breaks. What would you do as a girl?
For this trip, there was a heated privy located at the trailhead that I could use if I needed to in the middle of the night. Since I stopped drinking water at the end of the day, I ended up not having to get up in the middle of the night to use the privy. If there isn't a privy nearby and nature calls in the middle of the night, it means having to get out of my tent and find a place that's far enough away from camp, the trail and a water source for those middle-of-the-night restroom breaks. I tend to scope out the area the day before (when it's still light out) to find a good, safe place to go, just in case.
we are social animals, it shouldnt be annoying if someone parks nexts to you. they are scared to park far away from someone else. together we safeguard eachother
I agree that we are social animals, but I disagree about parking next to someone in an otherwise empty parking lot. There's nothing social about a random, empty car parked right next to you when you're trying to sleep in your car by yourself. It's just creepy.
i just bought the power station in the video from thier site for 250$. it was on sale, usually goes for 550$. some of them do get up to 1000$. i have only used it once but it works fine so far.
I installed a secondary Gel battery in my car, hooked up parallel. This gives me double the capacity and still at 12v. I place an isolator in between to balance out both during charging. Then I use a 300 w inverter, and I am gold. The whole setup was $350. The car charges both as I drive and have never had an issue even at -40°Farenhight
Up at Mount Baker at the ski area you do 😀 Plenty of dispersed camping available, you just have to find it and sometimes winter/snow can make those places hard to come by.
It’s all about supply, demand and maintenance. There are only so many spots up in the Mt Baker area available for camping overnight. Plus, someone has to plow the parking lots and roads so they’re accessible during the winter and I know those people don’t want to work for free.
Not really, especially when you consider that it's a ski resort, the overnight parking is limited and it costs $$ to maintain/plow the roads and parking lots so that they're accessible all winter long.
You paid how much to sleep in your car in a car park…….! Such a turn off for tourists, the fleecing of people is unreal in this country on public land and as for Hip Camp! Extortion at its best.
Mount Bakeri s a ski resort with limited overnight parking space. They maintain the roads and parking lots up there all winter long. Someone has to pay for the plows and pay the people who operate them. I was happy to pay the $32 to sleep up there in my car overnight. Also, it was better than getting a tap on my window at two in the morning, asking me to go park somewhere else...
![[Heavy Snow]Camping alone in a small car. Car was completely covered with snow.](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2XkOtFXoU1U/mqdefault.jpg)
![เปิด อาณาจักร หมื่นล้าน "สาระตั้ม" l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3XE0nPF4YkQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Come along with me on my recent, epic midweek solo adventure of snowshoeing and car camping up at Mount Baker here in Washington State. It’s been a while since I’ve made a solo car camping video and I’ve made a couple new additions to my car camping setup that I’m excited to share with you! Links for all of the gear in my car camping setup are in the video description.
😊
It never fails someone will always sit by you when there is an entire airport of open seats, or park next to you when the entire lot is open! Proven fact - most people can’t stand to be alone and feel safer squeezed in next to another person! So annoying is right! Why!?😂
Love your videos!
Out of all the places that guy could have parked at 4am. Crazy.
Little did they know, they were parking next to someone who was up there trying to enjoy their solo winter adventure. What's funny is that this person parked much further away from the trailhead than they needed to and had to walk there in the icy parking lot in the dark. I had so many questions for this person. Most importantly, WHY???? Hahahaha!
For reals!
@@TheHungryHiker geez😭😩😆
@@TheHungryHiker I have a theory .... Wind protection. Your car shields their car from the wind making it easier to keep warm .
What timing!
I'd just finished my first overnight in my beater lifted Subaru Outback and I'm already considering my next steps. Thanks for the inspiration!
Awesome! Happy to help inspire you to get out there and try car camping!
Mount Baker is one of my favorite winter wonderlands. 360 view of a snowy heaven on earth.
It's so beautiful up there during the winter!!
Dang that wooden sleeping platform is perfect.. I want to sleep in my car.. but i know I cant get a perfect bed like you have
Car camper from Mysore your blogs motivational 🙏🏻
Glad you found this video helpful!
@@TheHungryHiker yes thank you 🙏🏻 from India
32 bucks to park a vehicle overnight woah 🤯 people pay that? Homeless people backpack all the time I didn’t know it was a expensive hobby until now….
@RS-cp5wc Then don’t camp here. 🤷♀️ There are plenty of places to camp. This is just one of MANY 😀
I have never paid anything when I have slept in my car.
@@TheHungryHiker so does that $32 Include access to a bathroom? And if it is the same for an RV, does it include electricity and water? And is that at least snow cleared. That is a lot of money but if these amenities come with it, it’s a little understandable.
I stopped doing any type of camping, other than cold weather/winter camping, a few years ago. I don't tolerate heat/humidity anymore. Great video
Thanks for watching!
Man I really now what are you talking about! My season starts in Fall and finishing in Spring
OMG! The fold out table. Genius... adding it to my list. I'm working on turning my SUV into a car camp setup.
The fold out table was my dad’s genius idea!!!
@@TheHungryHiker ok, tell your dad a random internet stranger is thankful for his genius idea.
@@Topo.On.Trail1 Hahahaha! Random internet stranger! ;)
Okay two things. Why was in the middle of nowhere and someone parked right next to me, that would scare the heck out of me!!! How do you attach the window insulation to the window?
Only suggestion: Back into your parking space so you can make a faster get away if necessary. Love your setup! Such great ideas! I plan to buy an Outback this year for car camping. That sunshade is way easier and better than what I planned to do. Thanks for that!
Great idea and makes sense!
Genius of simplicity. Literally never staying in a hotel again.
I'm all about keeping things simple, especially when it comes to camping in the winter.
I love all your mods to sleep in your car! I've been looking at power stations, too. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
The guy wanted to stay near you to keep warm with your new Powdeon! Powdeon for the win! ❤
Totally!!! It did get pretty chilly up there overnight.
This video is magnificent! Watching this just makes me feel good my friend! Such a beautiful presentation, you narrated this just beautifully!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Oh my gosh, thank you for sharing this valuable information. I've had some interesting sleepovers in the car when it's cold (aka it sucked) 😐
I’ve had plenty of really cold and uncomfortable nights of sleeping in the car myself so I feel your pain. Finally I’ve figured it out and have my whole car camping setup dialed in to handle those really cold nights warm and comfortably!
It's a phenomenon called "grouping.": You see it all the time in parking lots. Also, on the freeway, people like to travel in bunches.
Ugh! I'm not a fan of "grouping." Give me all the space! I also hate it when someone drives right next to me on the freeway. I'm always paranoid someone won't be paying attention and not see me in a potential blindspot.
Nice little setup you got there, looks nice and cosy and overall much more cost effective than the other options such as a camper van. Love the fold-out table too.
Thank you!
love your videos kathleen! you always inspire me to get out there!
Awesome! Thank you!
Superb Subaru color choice; I have the same on my '18. Thanks for the great video and the other with your dad building it out.
Glad you enjoyed it
The center of my universe! I’ll be here in July with my new teardrop trailer!
One of these days when I'm actually around here in Washington during the summer, I want to come back up to the Mount Baker area to car camp and hike all over the place. I've yet to really explore this area without snow and I know it's really beautiful. I need to see it for myself.
Your car camping setup is so cool. I know it’s a little late this season, but I finally got snowshoes! Next season I’m getting a sno parks pass so I can check out more fun snowshoe trail. Maybe I’ll even try car camping. I didn’t know that was something you could do at Mt Baker.
Thank you! Car camping is so much fun and makes accessing the mountains and trails more convenient!
Thank you. Maybe one day
If it's important enough to you, you'll put it on the calendar and make it happen. :)
Gorgeous place to hike👍👍👍
It sure is!
I just got a Forester and got the weather tech sun shades too! Great setup
Awesome!!!
"So annoying"...So true...when someone parks right next to you
The issue isn't when someone parks right next to me. The issue is when someone parks right next to me in an empty parking lot while I'm sleeping in your car by myself. It''s not only annoying, but it's also downright creepy.
@@TheHungryHiker obviously..
Yea, creepy and annoying. They might do it because of theft. Maybe they think they’re safer in numbers.
Empty car park then the only idiot around turns up to park right next you i get that all time in the uk
Go figure, right?
Just happened last night 🤡
So cool to tag along on your trips, wow do you pick some lovely destinations! Thanks!!! Wonder if they cut you a deal if you camp and ski? The trip up to coleman glacier is nice if you have not done that one, did a nice overnight trip there once. Some early season hiking off of icicle creek(Leavenworth) can be sweet, once hiked up into the snow and watched the snow showers cover the tracks and turn the world to a magic blanket of white.
Thanks for tagging along! As far as I know, there isn't any special pricing if you overnight park and ski. The overnight parking is determined by the size of your rig though so the smaller your rig, the less expensive it is. I guess it's all about supply and demand. Limited parking with lots of people wanting to camp up there during the winter, especially on the weekends.
Great video! Do you like the platform bed? I've thought about crafting one for my car camping setup but I like being able to sit up in the back of my subaru...
I love my sleeping platform. It is a little tight with headroom and I'm not able to sit up, but it's worth it to me to have all of the storage space underneath. You just have to decide what's most important to you when crafting your build out. For me, it was comfort and warmth when sleeping (not necessarily sitting up) and having enough storage space to store all of my gear I'd need for my adventures.
Can a sleeping platform be made on a normal 4 door vehicle?
Love this ! Thank you for sharing some great tips . Random question -what brand of shoes are you wearing towards the end of the video?
Those are my Blundstone boots. I love them and they're super comfy! Here's a link for where you can find them online: alnk.to/fayWqOW
Thank you for such a awesome video!! I have a little Tab camper but I want to sell it and start car camping in my pilot. I get mildly annoyed with hauling even if I’m great at backing it and set up, it’s still hard to find parking a lot and you can’t just park anywhere and be stealthy. I am so glad to see what equipment you use. I believe I will be ordering it and using your code! I am in the Bay Area and plan to venture more up to Washington state to camp. I do believe I will remove one small seat so I can use my small porta pot in the night only. I like your advice on slowing down on drinking at night but tha5 still never works for me. 😂
I know you were probably entering your car through your trunk to camp but just for safety and comfort purposes I would always back in wherever you go so that if need be you can just start the car and drive forward off. You never know.
I’m new to your channel and have been catching up on past videos.
One thing I have a question about on your car setup. That is your car top carrier. It has such a low profile installation. Perhaps that is due partially to the SUV rails. Please give some info on brand carrier and installation method. Thanks. Love your channel and all the adventures and advice.
My pod is an old Packasport (roof top cargo carrier.) www.packasport.com
I have no idea what model this one is because I bought it used from a friend a couple of years ago. I already had rails installed on the top of my car, which made attaching the pod to the top of my car very easy.
Do you keep all windows closed when sleeping? I have a fear of doing this, but in the winter it would be so cold to have them cracked open a bit
During the winter, I'll crack open my sunroof for some air circulation. My pod on top of the car helps keep the rain and sun out while my sunroof is cracked open overnight.
What's the stuff covering the windows if you don't mind sharing. I am going to live in my car for this winter season?
Those are the WeatherTech sunshades. Check them out here: www.weathertech.com/sunshade/
@@TheHungryHiker thank you very much
I'd love a tutorial on making your platform.
I put together showing how I built my sleeping platform for my Subaru, which you can check out here: th-cam.com/video/3gA_eicpu4A/w-d-xo.html
will this charge your mattress pad for 2 nights or does it need to be plugged in. also will the plug in your car charge it if you were driving around?
A powerstation that has a kilowatt can keep that thing on for 8-10 hours. After that need to charge the station which is a hassle and takes just as many hours. Plus these power station is big and heavy
Going out winter car camping for the first time here in Western Australia.Question regarding condensation
Do you keep the window or sunroof slightly ajar throughout the night for constant fresh airflow as it can be suffocating breathing C02or are you totally shut in.
Awesome! Have a fun time going car camping! To answer your question (I actually showed this in the video), but I do keep the sunroof cracked a bit overnight for airflow and to help reduce condensation on the inside of the car while I'm sleeping. The pod on top of my car helps keep the rain and the snow out so I can keep my sunroof cracked without getting wet.
@@TheHungryHiker yup i did see the part where you showed you did before you went to bed but thought you did it briefly.Good to know its whole night.Lets see what happens next weekend.
Hello 👋 I came across your video!! I'm want to prepare to live in my car !! Because I want to get out of a Mental Controlling Abuse Marriage!!! And I have a Ministry that I want to do around the world!! Thanks for encouraging me !! Just need to save my money up and prepare!!
Thanks!
Thank you! :)
@@TheHungryHiker welcome
How would you advise someone sleep in a normal car?
Maybe that person was lonely or scared and wanted safety in numbers???
Cool setup, I mean warm setup 😊
I doubt it. When I got up, there was no one in the car. 🤷♀️
Hey! What season of the year did you camp there?
Very informative video, thank you.
I was there in March
Does the cold temperature have any significant impact on your portable batteries or electronics?
The cold can easily drain any battery from electronics so you’ll want to keep them as warm and insulated as possible.
What brand of snowshoes do you use?
I use the MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes
alnk.to/58iJ8Ss
Jackery is the best imho
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Find what works for you and go with it. :)
Can you snow camp..AKA build igloos or dug outs in the area?
Not in the parking lot, no. If you’re camping in the parking lot, everything has to be contained and within your vehicle. You can, however, park your car up there overnight (with a slightly less fee) and snow camp up on the mountain outside of the ski area with a tent. Lots of people come up here for snow camping in the winter.
Twin mattress?
Does the heated matress pad produce AC radiation?
As a guy, I think packing a pee bottle (1.5L smart water bottle) would be essential for those middle-of-the-night restroom breaks. What would you do as a girl?
For this trip, there was a heated privy located at the trailhead that I could use if I needed to in the middle of the night. Since I stopped drinking water at the end of the day, I ended up not having to get up in the middle of the night to use the privy.
If there isn't a privy nearby and nature calls in the middle of the night, it means having to get out of my tent and find a place that's far enough away from camp, the trail and a water source for those middle-of-the-night restroom breaks. I tend to scope out the area the day before (when it's still light out) to find a good, safe place to go, just in case.
we are social animals, it shouldnt be annoying if someone parks nexts to you. they are scared to park far away from someone else. together we safeguard eachother
I agree that we are social animals, but I disagree about parking next to someone in an otherwise empty parking lot. There's nothing social about a random, empty car parked right next to you when you're trying to sleep in your car by yourself. It's just creepy.
@@TheHungryHiker if the car is empty, whats creepy about it?
@@HateExisting-d3o Lots of things
@@TheHungryHiker i got you :)
thanks for your response
There is a no over night parking sign at the parking lot.
Being that this is at a ski area, this parking lot is heavily monitored and patroled.
Great video but im looking for methods that aren't super expensive. Everyone seems to have a $1000 power station that i simply cannot afford.
That's funny because the "power station" I use in this video is less than $1,000.
i just bought the power station in the video from thier site for 250$. it was on sale, usually goes for 550$. some of them do get up to 1000$. i have only used it once but it works fine so far.
I installed a secondary Gel battery in my car, hooked up parallel. This gives me double the capacity and still at 12v. I place an isolator in between to balance out both during charging. Then I use a 300 w inverter, and I am gold. The whole setup was $350. The car charges both as I drive and have never had an issue even at -40°Farenhight
I'm just curious why you need a platform in your car . Can you not just put a mattress directly into the car ?
Storage. Having a platform doubles my capacity for storage in my car when I go camping.
@@TheHungryHiker I like you setup it looks very cosy
@@itsjustweard2328 Thank you! I sleep really comfortably in my car with my setup, even when it's super cold out.
how did you match the threads for the paint poles?
We cut them to match and fit the table fold out. You can see the whole process in this video: th-cam.com/video/3gA_eicpu4A/w-d-xo.html
@@TheHungryHiker so you didn't thread them. got ya. ty
They already came threaded
Just keep an eye out for that car... Never know if someone is stalking you
I think if they were stalking me, they wouldn’t be that obvious and they’d be in their car. 🤷♀️
So you have to pay to sleep in your car now?
Up at Mount Baker at the ski area you do 😀 Plenty of dispersed camping available, you just have to find it and sometimes winter/snow can make those places hard to come by.
Disappointment! -- I guess times are changing -- I always used to camp in that parking lot at no charge during winter dumps.
Yup, times have definitely changed.
Tired of paying to camp in my damn vehicle everywhere
32.00 to stay parked overnight in a lot!?
It’s not cheap to keep the parking lots and roads to them plowed and maintained.
It’s all about supply, demand and maintenance. There are only so many spots up in the Mt Baker area available for camping overnight. Plus, someone has to plow the parking lots and roads so they’re accessible during the winter and I know those people don’t want to work for free.
100%!!
@@TheHungryHiker I'm saying it should be much more.
The bigger spots were more expensive. The price is determined by the size of your rig.
i leave my car running all night long
That could be pretty draining on both your battery and your gas tank.
KEEPS IT WARM LOVE THE THICK SMOKE TO DURNING THE FREEZE MONTHS @@TheHungryHiker
That's expensive for overnight parking
Not really, especially when you consider that it's a ski resort, the overnight parking is limited and it costs $$ to maintain/plow the roads and parking lots so that they're accessible all winter long.
You paid how much to sleep in your car in a car park…….! Such a turn off for tourists, the fleecing of people is unreal in this country on public land and as for Hip Camp! Extortion at its best.
Mount Bakeri s a ski resort with limited overnight parking space. They maintain the roads and parking lots up there all winter long. Someone has to pay for the plows and pay the people who operate them. I was happy to pay the $32 to sleep up there in my car overnight. Also, it was better than getting a tap on my window at two in the morning, asking me to go park somewhere else...