Re: Coldest temperature you've ever camped in?

Dan, thanks for the kind words, but, as I have made clear elsewhere, my experience is very limited compared to Bill and Jim who have done the big mountains and the true expeditions. Much of my knowledge has been learned from the mistakes of myself and others. If anything, my "skill," such as it is, is my ability to convey those lessons to others.

Having said that, I have found that in general, camping isn't rocket science; it certainly involves skills, but those can be learned, even on your own sometimes, fairly easily. For example, if you have a stove, spend a bit of time at home learning how to take it apart and put it back together. Get a repair kit for it. No need to learn that lesson miles from anywhere, when you can do it in your kitchen or out on the patio. BTW,I don't recommend starting up an old stove in the kitchen without the means to put out a fire handy. It only took me about two minutes to learn that one. You can learn to use a map and compass or a GPS in your local park, rather than trying to do so while lost miles from your car in the wild somewhere.

For the average backpacker, if you read Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker and absorb as much of what he says as you can, practice a bit before you go (which I did)and use some common sense, you'll be fine.

Aside from mountaineering, which presents very different problems that do require specialized training and skills, backpacking, in my opinion, boils down to six basic rules:
1. Stay dry;
2. Stay warm (or cool in hot weather);
3. Stay fed and watered;
4. Don't get lost;
5. Know how to treat basic injuries.
6. Don't panic if you break one of the first five.
The rest is just details.

There are plenty of good books and advice on forums such as this one that deal with all of the above. I'm very big on reading. Is that a substitute for practical experience? No, but it is a good start to understanding what to expect when you go out.