View Full Version : How to cook in the pouring rain...
hallister
01-31-2009, 12:55
How should i go about cooking in the rain guys? Staying dry is vital to your life in the cold, and I'm leaving February 14 NOBO. I've heard of setting up a tarp? What do ya'll think?
P.S. You guys are really awesome and i appreciate all your expert advice. ;)
Many folks choose to camp in or near shelters for this very reason. Most of the newer, or newly remodelled shelters include a covered cooking area. If you choose to camp away from shelters, a poncho or tarp can be useful - just be VERY careful with your stove. If you use a tarp for your shelter, not much of a problem, just use common sense. Silnylon is EXTREMELY flammable.
If I buy a tent, I make sure it has enough of a vestibule to cook under. When all else fails, just eat a cold dinner.
freefall
01-31-2009, 13:00
I keep my tarp in a easily reached pocket for this reason. When I get to camp, I pull the tarp and string it up first. Then I have a dry area to work in to set the rest of camp, cook, etc.... Also, some of the shelters have overhangs.
hallister
01-31-2009, 13:03
I guess I'll just stick to the shelter then. If i absolutely had no other choice than to cook outside, how big of a tarp should i get?
I use an umbrella. Its part of my rain system.
Personally I wouldn't carry a tarp in addition to other shelter just for cooking. Non-stop rain won't be that much of a problem. Rain usually comes and goes, so you can quickly cook during a lull. Most nights a shelter will be available, even if you don't stay at the shelter, stop in, cook, hike on to camp.
If you do want a tarp just for cooking, I would get a small one, 5X8 or something. You will be sitting up under it, so small will work fine.
bullseye
01-31-2009, 13:10
Do you mean like lunch? Breakfast and dinner for many revolves around camp which means either a trail shelter or your tent. If you want to cook in the middle of the day you can either take a break at a shelter or throw up a tarp or tent, but my guess is that will get old fast. During the day if you're moving and keeping the fire stoked by eating snacks and small meals AND staying hydrated you'll do fine.
freefall
01-31-2009, 13:10
Personally I wouldn't carry a tarp in addition to other shelter just for cooking.
I guess I should clarify, I said tarp but meant my rainfly for my hammock.
4eyedbuzzard
01-31-2009, 13:11
Do you have a tent as well? If so, 6 x 8 would be about min size for anything, but I wouldn't carry both a tent and a tarp. If you hammock, you can cook under the hammock tarp. Go for one of the bigger tarps like the MacCats.
If neither, an 8x10 or 10x10 tarp is pretty good for general shelter.
Honestly, I'd just cook under a shelter or tree or carefully in the tent vestibule--or just wait for the rain to stop.
I use an umbrella. Its part of my rain system.
Another option that I may try someday. Would be good on clear trails with no wind. More problematic with a lot of brush or high winds. Plus it will use a hand to hold the umbrella - how good are you at cooking one-handed. I know I need two hands, one to hold the pot, one to stir. Sure it can be made to work with practice.
One other benefit of carrying an extra tarp is if you sleep in a shelter it can be strung up as a windbreak over part of the opening.
Unless the winds are bad, I don't need to hold the umbrella the whole time. It will rest on my back and head while I stir and eat. For hiking down the trail, I strap it to the pack. Hands free hiking.
https://www.ecamo.co.uk/images/CAMO_UMBRELLA_HAT.jpg
That looks cool. I don't know if it would be big enough to cover the cooking space though. Especially in some blowing rain.
ofthearth
01-31-2009, 14:41
How should i go about cooking in the rain guys? Staying dry is vital to your life in the cold, and I'm leaving February 14 NOBO. I've heard of setting up a tarp? What do ya'll think?
P.S. You guys are really awesome and i appreciate all your expert advice. ;)
vestibule+cooking
Cooking in your tent in winter?
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=35712&highlight=vestibule+cooking
Cooking under vestibule of your Tent
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22226&highlight=vestibule+cooking
Cooking inside tent?
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17074&highlight=vestibule+cooking
ofthearth
01-31-2009, 14:47
cooking+rain
Ground Tarps for tent and cooking area
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=704267&highlight=vestibule+cooking+rain#post704267
Feral Bill
01-31-2009, 14:57
If you shelter your stove with a pot cover or whatever to get it started, you can just wear your rain gear and cook in the pouring rain. It's not pleasent but it works.
bigcranky
01-31-2009, 15:00
You will usually know that the weather is bad any given day, and be able to plan your day so you can stop in at a shelter and cook a hot meal at some point. You may then move on and camp, but you'll have had dinner.
Sometimes you eat that hot dinner at lunch time, and eat your cold lunch in your tent later in the rain. But really, it's not that big a problem once you get on the trail.
Cooking in the rain in 4 easy steps:
1) Ditch heavy tent for lightweight tarp/bivy combo.
2) Set up tarp.
3) Climb into warm sleeping bag.
4) Cook dinner.
SGT Rock
01-31-2009, 16:45
I always keep my tarp handy in the mesh pocket of my pack so I can have a dry spot for lunch. I've cooked under my HH tarp plenty of times.
garlic08
01-31-2009, 17:21
You will usually know that the weather is bad any given day, and be able to plan your day so you can stop in at a shelter and cook a hot meal at some point. You may then move on and camp, but you'll have had dinner.
Sometimes you eat that hot dinner at lunch time, and eat your cold lunch in your tent later in the rain. But really, it's not that big a problem once you get on the trail.
I agree with this.
Also on rainy days in areas where there are no shelters or space available in them, there's nothing wrong with not cooking all day. Who says you have to have a hot meal every day? You may be better off getting out of the weather and having a cold meal than sitting out in the wind and rain trying to get water to boil. If you're expecting bad weather on a stretch, you can plan your resupply for more snacks and cold food to get you through a day or two when you might not want to cook.
It takes 60 seconds to put up a MacCat tarp
Blissful
01-31-2009, 17:53
If you have a tent, cook in the vestibule sitting in your tent. Or I have sat in my tarp tent with the pot just outside and cooked - keep it away from your tent, of course.
Or cook in the shelter. Or eat a cold meal that night, it's only one night.
WILLIAM HAYES
01-31-2009, 18:17
I usually just cook at a shelter if it is raining hard or I will use my tarp which I carry in an outside pocket
fiddlehead
01-31-2009, 20:24
Good question for the AT.
I remember hiking one day in the pouring rain and seeing almost no one on the trail.
We planned for lunch at a shelter and passed 3 of them that were totally full with standing room only (this was in the spring in GA about 10 years ago)
There's no way we were going to do that so we just pretty much skipped lunch and waited till we set up our tent and cooked.
If you are hiking with 2 people, i can suggest a great tent for cooking: Black Diamond's Mega-mid. Or similar design.
Here is mine with 3 of us cooking and eating in it in France in '99. (only 2 of us slept in it but oftentimes would use it as the dining/partying tent in the rain. http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg201/fiddleheadpa/IMG_0003.jpg
A kelly kettle will work fairly well in the rain, with birch bark and dead spruce branches.
You can use a piece of birch bark as a chimney cap, but better to find some shelter first.
SunnyWalker
01-31-2009, 21:27
If you use a poncho for rain, use it then for a tarp to set up quickly and then cook. move on to camp.
I heard a rumor that hammockers get real popular in the rain. Everyone wants to cook under their tarps....
SGT Rock
02-01-2009, 10:14
We normally have at least one hammock with an extra big tarp like a maccat or an 8x10 for this.
Pickleodeon
02-05-2009, 10:11
it's a no-go on the umbrella hat. Sadly. It would probably work for cooking, but it's not worth it, it's just not that big, and you can't wear it with a pack on. It limits head turning and gets hung up on the pack, plus you cant really look up, it gets caught.
StubbleJumper
02-05-2009, 12:46
I don't generally bother cooking in the rain. In my experience, it ends up being a PITA to set up a tarp, dig through wet gear and then cook up a meal. During that time of farting around, I tend to get a little chilled from not moving....
Much easier to just grab some ready-to-eat food from the food bag. Take 5 minutes and eat, and then resume moving. IMO, when the sun's not out and the temperatures are low it's better to take several short breaks to eat small amounts rather than a long break.:)
Lone Wolf
02-05-2009, 12:48
How should i go about cooking in the rain guys? Staying dry is vital to your life in the cold, and I'm leaving February 14 NOBO. I've heard of setting up a tarp? What do ya'll think?
P.S. You guys are really awesome and i appreciate all your expert advice. ;)
cook in a tent vestibule. very simple
Gator 65
02-05-2009, 13:55
Another option is to carrya pack of bread dressing as an emergency meal. Just add water, stir and eat. No need to cook in a bad situation.
Slo-go'en
02-05-2009, 14:44
The sun always shines at noon. :sun I read that someplace years ago, I think it was in the Old Farmers Almanac. I have found that statement to be generally true. Sometimes the sun doesn't exactly shine, but the clouds lift and the rain tappers off for an hour or so around noontime. I have also noticed that it will stop raining around dusk for awhile, more often than not. Long enough to cook and set up the tent.
I for one will not cook anywhere near my tent, not inside it or in the vestabule. Doing that is just plain dangerous. Plus old habits learned doing a lot of camping in Grizzly country are hard to break.
superman
02-05-2009, 16:27
I cook exactly the same if it's raining or if it's not. I can mess up what ever I cook under any conditions. When it comes to cooking on any trail I simply lower my expectations to match the reality. Winter threatened to have me charged with abuse for feeding her some of my food.:)
YoungMoose
02-05-2009, 16:49
i would use a tarp
ofthearth
02-05-2009, 17:39
How should i go about cooking in the rain guys? Staying dry is vital to your life in the cold, and I'm leaving February 14 NOBO. I've heard of setting up a tarp? What do ya'll think?
P.S. You guys are really awesome and i appreciate all your expert advice. ;)
The sun always shines at noon. :sun I read that someplace years ago, I think it was in the Old Farmers Almanac. I have found that statement to be generally true. Sometimes the sun doesn't exactly shine, but the clouds lift and the rain tappers off for an hour or so around noontime. I have also noticed that it will stop raining around dusk for awhile, more often than not. Long enough to cook and set up the tent.
I for one will not cook anywhere near my tent, not inside it or in the vestabule. Doing that is just plain dangerous. Plus old habits learned doing a lot of camping in Grizzly country are hard to break.
Grizzlys NOBO on the AT :eek::confused:;).. And they've got signs up on the Florida Trail that "suggest" changing cloths you've cooked in.
stranger
02-05-2009, 21:34
I don't cook in the rain, I eat cold food, but I don't cook every night anyway, I probably cook 4-5 time per week. In heavy rain on a cooking night, I would plan to cook at a shelter then hike on and camp or camp nearby the shelter. Just remember, you won't be the only person with that idea - shelters can be great for cooking on rainy nights, but they are also most likely to be jammed full well beyond capacity
shelterbuilder
02-05-2009, 22:57
When I carry a tent (and vestibule), it's usually snowing, and yes, I'll cook in the vestibule. But there is something to be said for having a tarp set up over you to cook under...to relax under...to sleep under.... They go up quick and they come down quick, and they can give you lots of room to work with.
Slo-go'en
02-05-2009, 23:08
Grizzlys NOBO on the AT :eek::confused:;)..
And they've got signs up on the Florida Trail that "suggest" changing cloths you've cooked in.
Not on the AT, 4 months camping in Yellowstone and two, month long trips into Canadian Rockies. You might not live long if you have food odors on your tent or clothes in those places! And a good habit to get into anywhere you go.