things to know about hiking in the rain

[pyroman53]

Two other things ive learned 1) I have to force myself to hydrate sufficiently 2) it's a good idea to have no fuss lunch and dinners so as to not stand around mixing and cooking in the rain.

You may not feel thirsty but you are sweating lots. Drink plenty. Even a bigger problem if water bottle is under pack cover.

[garlic08]

Two other things ive learned 1) I have to force myself to hydrate sufficiently 2) it's a good idea to have no fuss lunch and dinners so as to not stand around mixing and cooking in the rain.

You may not feel thirsty but you are sweating lots. Drink plenty. Even a bigger problem if water bottle is under pack cover.

This is an excellent point, Pyroman. It's hard, mentally, to stop during a downpour and gather and treat water, but so important. This is also a factor in my decision to hike without a stove. I can eat anything in my pack any time without preparation. It's a good idea on those all-day-rain days to load up your pockets with snacks, like nuts and raisins, that can get wet and still be edible.

[BostonBlue]

This is an excellent point, Pyroman. It's hard, mentally, to stop during a downpour and gather and treat water, but so important. This is also a factor in my decision to hike without a stove. I can eat anything in my pack any time without preparation. It's a good idea on those all-day-rain days to load up your pockets with snacks, like nuts and raisins, that can get wet and still be edible.

Why would you need to treat water during a downpour? Collecting rainwater is probably the purest water on the trail if unobstructed. (Not rainwater from the shelter roof, etc.)

[hikerboy57]

Why would you need to treat water during a downpour? Collecting rainwater is probably the purest water on the trail if unobstructed. (Not rainwater from the shelter roof, etc.)

that's fine if its raining right into your bottle, but if you're taking water from a source, you might want to filter or treat due to contamination from runoff.

[kayak karl]

Anonymous.

would of guessed Fred Astaire

[FarmerChef]

Why would you need to treat water during a downpour? Collecting rainwater is probably the purest water on the trail if unobstructed. (Not rainwater from the shelter roof, etc.)

I've set up my tart for the night in the rain and used one side to collect clean rainwater. Only took a few minutes to accumulate 2 liters. Not too bad.

[MkBibble]

You have to be careful when drinking directly from a tart. No telling where it's been!

[FarmerChef]

You have to be careful when drinking directly from a tart. No telling where it's been!

Lol - I guess I should have checked my spelling a little better. Tarp was what I was going for

I keep my tarp squeaky clean so I feel pretty comfy drinking straight from it. I've also drunk straight from puddles on rocks just after a rainstorm. That was a bit more iffy.

[hikerboy57]

i enjoy hiking in the rain. the more you do it the more comfortable you become in the elements.
you're not going to stay dry, whats mor important is making sure you stay warm, thats why you need to make sure youve got warm dry clothes to change into at the end of the day.
singing does help.sometimes ensures you'll hike alone.

[Half Note]

I have little to know experience hiking in the rain but got the opportunity to do a short hike the other day and loved it. We don't get to see much rain here in Austin (most people run to get out of it here, I stand there with my arms out and embrace it) so I'm pretty excited about hiking in it next month.

But yeah, I don't see my feet staying dry at all.

[Meriadoc]

I keep my tarp squeaky clean so I feel pretty comfy drinking straight from it. I've also drunk straight from puddles on rocks just after a rainstorm. That was a bit more iffy.

There is some physics missing here. Droplets of water tend to condense around pollution and dust particles that are present in the air. So, it's not unlikely that (a) there are abundant foreign particles and (b) the rain has become acidified.

Also, if we are talking about the AT, and definitely if we are talking about tarps tied to trees, the rain is washing off the trees overhead. So all that dust, pollen, bird poop and so forth is washing into your bottle. Just thought I'd throw that out there too.

It hasn't stopped me from using water off of my tarp in a pinch. But I prefer to get my water from a ground source.

[Another Kevin]

would of guessed Fred Astaire

Not Gene Kelly?

[stranger]

Best advice I can give on hiking in the rain....go stoveless, hiking in the rain isn't that bad, and once inside your tent or tarp, you can manage quite well, but COOKING in the rain sucks, having some non-cook food is excellent for this. Also, make sure you have some dry, warm socks to wear at night, and maybe some moisturizer so your feet don't crack - Andrew Skurka is really big on this.

I personally find pack covers to work great unless I'm fording a river...I put everything sensitive in roll down stuff sacks, then in the pack, then pack cover....never had a problem. I think for new hikers, one of the best things that can happen to you is to have 5-6 days of rain starting out, because that's about the worst it gets, and if you can deal with that, you are fine.

I used to love the rain...not so much anymore, but miles do that...we all only have so many days we can deal with wet socks!

[stranger]

Best advice I can give on hiking in the rain....go stoveless, hiking in the rain isn't that bad, and once inside your tent or tarp, you can manage quite well, but COOKING in the rain sucks, having some non-cook food is excellent for this. Also, make sure you have some dry, warm socks to wear at night, and maybe some moisturizer so your feet don't crack - Andrew Skurka is really big on this.

I personally find pack covers to work great unless I'm fording a river...I put everything sensitive in roll down stuff sacks, then in the pack, then pack cover....never had a problem. I think for new hikers, one of the best things that can happen to you is to have 5-6 days of rain starting out, because that's about the worst it gets, and if you can deal with that, you are fine.

I used to love the rain...not so much anymore, but miles do that...we all only have so many days we can deal with wet socks!