View Full Version : Camping in the Rain
TrialsKing007
10-24-2003, 09:44
According to the forcast, this weekend will be my first time camping in the rain. Does anyone have some tips on how to stay dry, how to cook.....
SGT Rock
10-24-2003, 10:39
#1 Get a Hennessy Hammock and Snakeskins.
#2 Put it together with the tarp attachement outside the snakeskins.
#3. Put the hammock in place, then set up the tarp over it.
#4. Get under the tarp and cook, change clothing, etc.
#5. When you are ready to get to bed, pull back the snakeskins and set up the hammock.
When you get up in the morning, reverse this process if it is raining. Carry the tarp in a mesh pocket to dry out or to have handy at lunch if you need a place to get out of the rain.
Cedar Tree
10-25-2003, 14:59
Get a Packa so you can be comfortable WHILE you hike.
www.thepacka.com
Cedar Tree
Use an umbrella. No joke. It may look strange, but my $5 shoprite umbrella kept me dry even in windy conditions. I only wore my raincoat on the peak of saddleback mtn over the course of my 14 day section hike. It rained for 4 days, and I stayed dry and ventilated using an umbrella. You may think that holding it is a pain, but unless you use trekking poles, you get used to it after a while. WHile in camp, go w\ stg. rocks advice on the HH. Also, make yourself a god-awful big fly for it like i did:D
Brian
Future Thru Hiker 2013
SGT Rock
10-26-2003, 01:45
I can't wait to get home and try the packa, that is such a cool idea it seems like a ne brainer - funny how no one ever made something like that before.
I can't wait for you ALL to get home...Keep your head down, Buddy!
Hacksaw
USMC 66-70
RVN 68-69-70
SGT Rock
10-27-2003, 02:57
Thanks Hacksaw - are you doing well enough yet to get in some trail time?
Originally posted by TrialsKing007
According to the forcast, this weekend will be my first time camping in the rain. Does anyone have some tips on how to stay dry, how to cook.....
When it rains, everything gets damp. So, the trick is to stay as dry as possible.
For cooking in the rain, I set my stove up just outside my tent. I could reach out from inside to tend it.
Other than that, use lots of plastic bags to keep everything seperate and dry. Use a good pack cover. (Plastic trash bags tend to tear.) Obviously, stuff and unstuff your sleeping bag inside your tent. Use a plastic bag liner inside your sleeping bag stuff sack.
Sure would like to, Rock, but right now the best I can do is about the last half-three quarters of a mile up the mountain from the house here to the summit of Mt. Oglethorpe. Thought I would try Springer to Three Forks this past weekend, but a death in the family has me away from home instead.
Re: The ailment
New (experimental) approach to the problem shows definate promise. Time will tell. Pain management is a bitch.
Watch yer' back, guy.
Hacksaw
what is a packa? same as a parka?
is it safe to cook so close to your tent, wouldn't the smell of food get on your tent and attract bears?
i heard it is best to leave your backpack a distance from your tent along with your bearbag because toothpaste and other smells like clothing you cooked in attract bears too..
The Weasel
10-29-2003, 22:14
Cabalot ---
Others can say more about this than me, but a few thoughts....
(1) I generally cook away from my tent/shelter/hammock in any season other than winter, and very, very rarely underneath a fly/tarp/vestibule. That's because cooking food odors can, yes, get into the fabric and draw varmints (I usually worry more about mini-bears - chipmunks - more than the big ones, but its all the same).
(2) If I must cook under cover, I will only boil water. This is also a hidden fuel-saving trick: For your pastas or rice meals, boil the water, put the food in, shut the stove off and cover the pot. It helps if you have a "cozy" (I made one out of an old foam pad) around the pot and covering its top and bottom. Your food will "cook" in a little more than the usual time, usually 20-25 min. This prevents most, if not all, of the "food odor" that comes from boiling food. If it's not real cold, I still let the pot "cook" outside the cover.
(3) I keep my pack inside my shelter (or under, if hammocking), but I always keep every food type item in my OR dry bag, including toiletries (including soap), snacks, spoon/spork, and cooking items (stove, pot, fuel). Those are the items with "smell attraction." I have not had varmints come for my pack inside my shelter (if a closed one - hammock or tent), and I then "fly" my food bag.
(4) If I'm at an AT-type shelter (ALWAYS mousy), I always, repeat always, try to hang my pack from a hook AND open every zipper 2-3 inches. This permits mice to enter pockets searching for food, which they will even if there is no smell. If there's the slightest smell, they will gnaw through the fabric, trashing a $300 pack in an hour. Of course, food/toiletries/cooking gear is in my dry bag, hung from a "mouse line" in the shelter.
(5) I am more or less strict depending on the kind of varmints that are in the area. If I'm on the AT, I might be very careful in a bear area about clothes that have food/cooking smells on them (another reason to do the boil-sit method). If all I'm worried about are rodents, I might be a bit less careful, although mice aren't fun to have running all over you in the night, and those cute black-and-white-striped "kitty cats" can be a bit annoying, on occasion. And the mini-bears.
smokymtnsteve
10-30-2003, 08:11
Do not camp in the rain...In early spring.... on the southern part of the trail it is always possible to get to town or a hostel in a days walk..travel light and if the weather gets bad..GO TO TOWN.:D
Daddy Longlegs
10-31-2003, 10:51
I love to hike/camp in the rain as long as it is not a huge downpour that last for hours and hours. When I do camp in the rain I try to stay near a shelter so that I can cook, eat and have room to move around but I will still set up my tent so that I can have my own space. To set up my tent a will pull out the rain fly and put it over me while I set the tent up so that water will not get in the tent.
Rain is great just keep your stuff dry and you can have a good time.
Rain Man
10-31-2003, 15:27
Originally posted by Daddy Longlegs
Rain is great just keep your stuff dry and you can have a good time.
You got that right... rain is GREAT. Where would we be without it?!!! :)
Rain Man
The Weasel
10-31-2003, 16:42
We'd be in Southern California.
smokymtnsteve
10-31-2003, 18:28
It never rains in california,
but in the southern appalachians
It pours...man it pours!!
SGT Rock
11-01-2003, 05:08
Weasle is right. When cooking under a tarp, try to stick to boiling water. Heat the water and put it into a container with the meal (Country Time Leomade drink mix containers are ggod) and put something around it for inulation. It will be cooked just as if you boild it on the stove but it will take a little longer. Just make extra water and make tea out of it to sip on until the food is ready. Good time to catch up on chores and journal writing while it "cooks".