View Full Version : What do you do in the morning...
Double Wide
10-09-2012, 12:07
After it's been a really humid and cold night? My question is based on the fact that last night I tried out my 35-degree down bag for the first time, and this was probably the coldest night I've spent outdoors in over 20 years. It got down to the upper 30's last night, and I was fine with lightweight long johns, wool socks, and a headband covering my ears, didn't even need the silk bag liner I have.
But what I'm getting at is that it was so humid and cold last night that when I woke up this morning, my tent fly was completely soaked on both the inside and outside. It hadn't started dripping on me, but when I bumped my head on the wall of the tent and it touched the fly, I got a cold and wet surprise--like a dog sticking his nose on your face when you're asleep. I got up and fixed my breakfast, but it was so early that the sun wasn't really up yet and I had to leave the tent up for a few hours to dry it out. (BTW, the tent is an REI Quarterdome T2, so no venting or condensation issues otherwise--it was just so damn humid that every surface outdoors was soaking wet--trees, grass, wood, tent, pack, boots, etc.)
Now, I know that a lot of people are early risers on the trail, so what do you do with your tent every morning? Do you pack it up wet and lay it out in the sun on a lunch break, do you pack the fly separately so it doesn't get anything else wet, or do you just wait? What is the morning ritual to be able to get back on the trail in as little time as possible?
Thanks in advance for the info!
Gray Blazer
10-09-2012, 12:09
Sham-wows work good.
i get everything else far away from my tarp, then shake it out (still fastened, in my case, to trees...) then just keep it on the outside of my pack and don't bother with it again till time to set it up. you don't have much choice on this if it is raining, anyway. if it isn't crazy cold i'll use my hiking shirt as a cloth and wipe down the tarp, then wring the shirt out and put it back on. or just use my sleeve. the shirt dries from body heat and i don't have to carry a wet tarp.
Slo-go'en
10-09-2012, 12:30
You definately don't want to waste time sitting around in the morning waiting for the sun to dry your tent. Well, most people don't. Once I'm up, I want to get moving a quickly as possible, especially if it's a cold morning.
So, the best you can do is shake as much water off and/or wipe it down. Then later in the day, take it out and hang it in the sun (if available). I do this at lunch time and is a good excuse to rest for a 1/2 hour or so.
colorado_rob
10-09-2012, 12:34
We're early risers too. After shaking it out best we can, we just pack up the wet tent and head out. We like to get 10-12 miles done in the morning, seems like that time of day works best for us, then after a decent lunch break coast the rest of the day. If it ain't raining, we dry stuff out at "lunch" best we can.
On a recent trip, I weighed our tent "wet" because we returned home on a day when we didn't get a chance to dry it. since it was in a sack, no additional water had evaporated. Seems like it should be more, but the tent was only 7 ounces heavier than when bone dry (smallish tent, the BA Fly Creek 2). That was good news, basically not a huge weight penalty carrying a wet tent. YMMV.
ChinMusic
10-09-2012, 12:49
I use a Buff or a camp towel to remove much of the condensation BEFORE moving about. At least get rid of the areas you are going to rub against.
Get up, start moving.
If you are lucky the sun will be out at noon. Hang your wet gear, eat lunch, move on.
Drybones
10-09-2012, 13:00
I take a sham-wow and wipe as much condensate as possible off inside and out and put the tent in the stretch pocket on the back of my pack. Whenever an opportunity exists I take the tent out and let it dry.
I pack mine wet and keep going. When it's time to camp again I pitch my wet tent. Eventually it dries.
Reminds me of something I thought of on a hike once....
Q: Do you know how to tell it's going to rain?
A: Everything is finally dry.
Tent/tarp: pack wet, keep it separate from your other gear, either outside the pack or in it's own plastic bag.
What's more important on this type of morning, is how do you handle your sleeping bag. It is also full of moisture. As long as the bag is warm, most of that moisture is in vapor form and is driven out of the bag. If you just crawl out of your bag and go pee, eat breakfast, get water, then pack up your bag however, the bag will cool down and you will get the same type of condensation inside your sleeping bag - not a good thing. On cool/cold damp mornings, I stuff my sleeping bag IMMEDIATELY after I get out of it, before peeing. This forces most of the warm, moist air out of it before it has an opportunity to condense on the down. It is preventing this type of internal wetting that is key to keeping your down bag efficient. Wetting from the rain or tent condensation is much less detrimental.
Tipi Walter
10-09-2012, 15:06
I wonder if mesh tents like yours get more wet from the inside of the fly than regular two wall tents with a solid canopy? Anyway, my first concern is to air out the down bag in the morning if able so I hang it outside to sublimate or air-convect or what the heck else you call it. I call it "drying out". You can't dry a wet tent in the morning so just pack it up soaked and hit the trail. It will get set up wet and then I usually use a rag/sponge to get the floor dry for my gear. In a day or two or maybe that next night it will be bone dry again.
Slo-go'en
10-09-2012, 15:13
On cool/cold damp mornings, I stuff my sleeping bag IMMEDIATELY after I get out of it, before peeing.
I always stuff my bag and roll up my pad as soon as I get up, be it in a tent or a shelter. My pack is pretty much packed and ready to go before I do anything else. It always amazes me how some people lolly gag in the morning, taking an hour or more to get going.
ChinMusic
10-09-2012, 16:22
It always amazes me how some people lolly gag in the morning, taking an hour or more to get going.
How do you know they lolly gagged around for an hour if you were already gone.........
HikerMom58
10-09-2012, 16:26
How do you know they lolly gagged around for an hour if you were already gone.........
Private eyes are watching you......
88BlueGT
10-09-2012, 16:50
i pack mine wet and keep going. When it's time to camp again i pitch my wet tent. Eventually it dries.
Reminds me of something i thought of on a hike once....
Q: Do you know how to tell it's going to rain?
A: Everything is finally dry.
lol! +67689854376
hmmm. I never thought about the warm air condensing in the sleeping bag in the morning thing. i guess that really happens, at least a bit? really?
i tend to let my bag air out for as long as i can before i cram it in the bottom of my pack. I think I'll start squeezing out the warm air first, and then let it air out till i need to pack it. make sense? Lyle, did you post that condensation in the bag advice just to see how gullible i am?
Slo-go'en
10-09-2012, 17:09
How do you know they lolly gagged around for an hour if you were already gone.........
Because their the ones who get up well before me and are still getting ready after I leave....
Starchild
10-09-2012, 18:29
Running into this this past weekend, I have shaken it off, packed it wet and then took it out at lunch to dry on a sunny and windy rock outcropping attached to my pack so it can't blow away (or take my pack also with it if it does) .
MuddyWaters
10-09-2012, 18:47
If you want things to dry you often have to wait till 9-10 am when things warm up.
Shake if off, pack it up and dry and air things out mid morning and at lunch. It will dry quick then if air is dry. If not it might not dry at all, in which case you just set it back up that evening.
Not dealing with a wet tent or condensation is one good thing about sleeping in shelters. Maybe the only good thing.
Nope Lazarus. I learned that many years ago from folks who used down quite extensively all winter long. Makes sense to me. If I'm going to be hanging out in camp for a while after sun up and it's a nice day, I spread the bag out in a sunny spot to dry/air. But if it's a cold/damp morning and I'm heading out right away, I pack it up immediately, before it cools down and air it out in camp that evening.
If it's been getting a little damp feeling for a few days, I may pull it out at lunch and take a long break while it drys out. Much easier to take care of the down and prevent it from accumulating any more moisture than necessary than it is to dry it if it really gets damp. These same folks who taught me this would unpack their bags and drape them over their heads (footbox like a hood) while hiking when on nice open trail on a sunny day. Looked strange, but helped keep their bags nice and fluffy. I've never gone that far personally, but it's in my toolbox if I ever feel the need.
Last step to keeping it lofting the way it should is to take advantage of every town stop to run it through a dryer cycle.
I think maybe what you propose may be beneficial - squeeze the air out when you get up - then let it air a bit. I just don't think my early mornings allow enough time to do any good in the drying game.
Running into this this past weekend, I have shaken it off, packed it wet and then took it out at lunch to dry on a sunny and windy rock outcropping attached to my pack so it can't blow away (or take my pack also with it if it does) .
Done this to dry a tent so I didn't have to carry the extra pound or so all afternoon. Just make sure you don't sit with your back to the west. Don't take a several hour lunch. And don't let a sudden storm shower undue all your drying effort before you can pack back up.
Yep my wet, then dry, now saturated tent had water pouring out of it by the time I got it packed back up. Everyone else thought it was hilarious and wanted pictures of the water pouring out of the stuff sack when I leaned over. Me - not so much.
Seldomseen
10-09-2012, 19:33
A well placed tarp or very well vented tent will fix that problem. Below freezing a VBL we almost totally stop any condensation.
swjohnsey
10-09-2012, 20:55
You will pack up wet on occassion if you hike the trail. If the opportunity presents itself I like to dry my chit out (sleeping bag, tent, etc.) when I stop for lunch. Condensation will be a problem no matter what kind of shelter you use. You sleeping bag will get damp even if it ain't raining. I am one of those early risers. I am up when it is dark and moving at first light, it is wonderful to see the sunrise as you walk.
When I get up I wipe down the inside of the tent with a microtowel anywhere I think I might rub up against it. When I get out of the tent I do the same thing 10-k does -- I pack up the tent wet. Since I use an external frame pack with three different cylinders that clip onto the frame I always devote one cylinder to stuff that's bound to get wet or that it doesn't hurt to get wet (tent, water bottles, rain jacket, etc.) to keep it away from anything that needs to stay dry. And since I like to end my hiking for the day a couple hours before sundown there is time to set up the tent and let it dry before I retire for the evening.
Double Wide
10-09-2012, 22:21
Thanks for the info, everyone. I *do* have a shamwow-style pack towel, which I didn't even think of, so I'll go that route. Also, putting my gear up tonight when I got home, I realized that my down sleeping bag was not a 35-degree rated bag as I'd originally said, but actually rated at 25--a big ol' tag at the top of the zipper tells me so, as does the model info printed on the storage 'loft' bag. Kelty Coromel 25. Duh...:rolleyes:
I may have lolly gaggled… Enjoying my coffee after throwing my bag and fly over a couple of young quakies… Getting some air… Getting some sun. I marveled at the Aspen forest that stretched endlessly before me and above me into the deepest, richest, most vibrant blue. The forest had been totally green when I pitched my tent that crisp evening before. Now, sipping from my cup, I noticed through the rising steam the whispers of yellows and hints of gold that would soon rush like a wildfire up and over the Colorado high country to winter. Interestingly, that evening, when I pitched my tent again, I never thought, “Dang… I whist I got here sooner.”
In our environment here morning damp is not such an issue and I actually turn my bag inside out and air it to allow the damp from my body to escape before I stuff it away. On warmer nights I would recommend this as it also makes for a dryer, cleaner bag.
Sounds like you need more ventalation.
88BlueGT
10-14-2012, 20:32
okay, so I just got back from a trip today and I'll share what I did this morning if you care to listen...
Woke up around 6, decided... eh, too early, going back to sleep. Woke back up at 9:30... perfect! :) I unzipped my tent (still in sleeping bag) and rolled my legs out with my body still inside. I sat there for about a half hour observing the beautiful sight, smoked a cigarette and relaxed (I know, horrible habit) . Grabbed my food from the tree, jumped back into my bag and made myself coffee and a grilled cheese for breakfast. Watch the mountains for a while longer and finally stirred up the energy to get out and pack up :) It was a great day! Slept a bunch, ate a bunch and relaxed!
Wake up, boil coffee water, take the camp apart, drink water, eat a Cliff Bar for breakfast, pack up and hike.
I really love being 6-7 miles into my day and then stopping to boil water for a second cup of coffee - a real luxury -
if I happen to have the little radio with me, NPR is a treat too.
Furlough
10-14-2012, 21:26
Wipe it down with a camp towel I carry for that purpose. Stuff it away and hike on. May take it out at some point during the day if the weather is good and let it dry out a bit.
wornoutboots
10-14-2012, 21:50
A well placed tarp or very well vented tent will fix that problem. Below freezing a VBL we almost totally stop any condensation.
+1 I noticed you said this was the 1st time you were in the cold weather with your tent, make sure you keep your tent vented, if not you'll end up with this situation over & over again & when it drops even colder, you'll have frost on the inside & outside of your tent.
When my fly is a little wet, I shake it off the best I can, pack it up & set it back up at the end of the day. On a rare occasion, (if I'm at an amazing over look) I may pull it out & sun dry it.
ChinMusic
10-14-2012, 21:51
I just got back from a trip today as well. Here was my final morning.
My iPhone rings with my wake-up call about 7am. My buddy wants to break camp at 8 but it never takes me more than 30 minutes to get ready, oh well. I now have 30 minutes to check on yesterday's college football scores. West Virginia? WT.....?
I pack up, take my dog into the woods to do his business, break open my last Pop Tart (unbroken, what a bonus), watch a couple newbs try to figure out how to pack up (I swear they had enough for an Alaskan Expedition), and leave right at 8.
88BlueGT
10-15-2012, 00:00
+1 at checking scores. Before I ate I decided to check on Sat nights Yankees game... I was disappointed to say the least. My grilled cheese for breakfast was an attempt at making me feel better. It kind of worked...
daddytwosticks
10-15-2012, 07:05
Woke up literally in a cloud yesterday morning in my Lightheart Solo at Tray Mtn. shelter. Everything was wet and dripping. Packed up my wet tent and got humping back to the car. Make sure the wet tent can get lashed to the OUTSIDE of the pack! :)
I am a very early riser and try to start hiking the moment it is light enough to hike without a headlamp. With the conditions that you described, no rain, why are even setting up your tarp? No tarp to get wet drys instantly. Second, as others have mentioned, site selection is critical to avoiding condensation. But in the event that my quilt, bivy or even tarp is wet I wait until it warms up again, like a lunch break, and lay it out to dry. Other than packing up in a rain I have never had significant weight added from the moisture.