Camp – Missing Route/Place

Required Equipment

• Bring microspikes for the dayhikes.  Snowshoes will not be needed.
• No snow means no sleds, so all gear must be carried NOT dragged into the campsites.  The good news is that Staunton's walk-in campsites are only about a 1/8 to 1/4 mile walk from the parking lot.  So for those—like myself—whose winter camping kit consists of older, heavy, bulky gear carried on a sled, making multiple trips between the campsite and the parking lot is an option.
• Minimal snow means that we will be staking our tents into the ground rather than snow.  In my experience, pulling stakes out of frozen soil is a difficult, time consuming task.  I'll probably bring a small crowbar to handle that task.  If using a free-standing tent, an alternative would be to simply use rocks to tie off guylines or, in the absence of excessive breeze or winds, not bother with staking things down at all. 
• No water is available onsite nor will there likely be enough snow to melt for drinking and cooking.  So we'll have to carry our own water into the campsites AND keep it from freezing at night.  My normal trick of burying water jugs in the snow to keep them from freezing won't work here.  Wrapping a jug in a parka at night might work for temperatures in the mid-teens.  Otherwise, using an insulated jug at the campsite (or storing a spare in your vehicle) may do the trick as well.
• Cost is a bit steep.  A $28 campsite gets you a 12x24 tent pad adjacent to a picnic table and critter-proof food storage locker.  Vault toilets are available in the parking lot.  Campfires are prohibited.  In addition, if you don't have a season pass, a $10 vehicle pass is required.  Expense can be reduced by carpooling with other campers and/or sharing a campsite.
• Bears are still active in the urban-wildlife interface and, in some instances, don’t really hibernate for the winter due to readily available food supplies.  As Staunton is surrounded by residential areas, we will assume that bears are active and hungry and, accordingly, store food in either the storage lockers OR our vehicles.
• Participants are welcome to come for just the overnight camping experience, but Staunton has some really terrific hiking trails with fabulous wintry views (making the overnight fees worth it, in my opinion), and optional day hikes (see above) will be organized before and after the overnight camping experience.