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  1. #1
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    Default Hiking in the Rain

    So after the winter freeze we are having a heat wave locally next weekend in Indiana. Forecast is 70% chance of light rain with temperatures in the upper 40’s. I want to gain some more experience hiking and overnighting in the rain on a local trail I know well.

    Rain hints, tips, advice?

  2. #2
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    Make sure whatever system you use for keeping your camp clothes/sleeping bag ect dry is 100% and always keep a set of clothes dry if camping, getting back into wet gear to hike when needed. I use a pack cover and individual waterproof stuff sacks, some people just do the garbage bag liner or different options but not a bad idea to test everything on a rainy day hike before camping.
    NoDoz
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  3. #3

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    Be aware of the symptoms of hypothermia. People can become hypothermic in temps in the 40s, especially if wet. As mentioned earlier, keep your gear, and extra clothes, dry.

  4. #4

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    One way or another, you will get wet. The important thing is to stay warm. A good rain shell and base layer does that. Then you need a set of warm, dry clothes to change into at the end of the day. Never hike in your dry clothes, you need to put the wet/damp clothes back on before you start out the next morning. Once you get going, you'll warm up quick enough.
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  5. #5
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    In a cold rain hypothermia can set in even in temperatures in the 50's . Good advice above which I do most of but nothing beats the old hard school of knocks, like experience and suffering.
    What's your shelter of choice just watch not to set up in a swell that collects water. I did that once and suffered believe me!

  6. #6
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    And of course synthetic over down a good sham-wow towel or bandana to ring out any water. And a good book or something to occupy lots of darkness time.

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    small lightweight umbrella
    Moses is my 2012 Trail name and was given to me at Fontana Dam

  8. #8
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    Exclamation Two more things to note

    you need to put the wet/damp clothes back on before you start out the next morning
    If you put on a wet base layer right before you start hiking, it may feel super-cold. But don't worry -- after five minutes of hiking, you'll feel fine.

    And I've just noticed that nobody has mentioned what may be obvious to AT hikers, but needs to be repeated constantly: do NOT wear cotton! Not in your base layer, not in your socks, not in pants or outer shirts. Once cotton gets wet, it's actually WORSE than nothing!

  9. #9

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    It really helps to know your gear well and pack appropriately. Not just to keep things dry, but to set up shelter quickly. Hiking generates heat, but once you stop the clock is ticking. You have only so much time to get dry and start warming up before your fingers and brain stop working. Being able to get a roof up and quickly replacing wet clothes with dry layers is key. Being able to do that fast starts with how you pack.

    I keep my tarp and stake bag in an external pocket for fast access. Thanks to a bit of Dutch bling I can have the ridgeline up in a minute and four stakes guying it out in another or two. That makes for a safe place to pull out the dry clothes.
    “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait until that other is ready...”~Henry David Thoreau

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  10. #10
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    Good call on mentioning no cotton. I don't have a single piece of backpacking gear that has 1% cotton in it. All great advice here.
    NoDoz
    nobo 2018 March 10th - October 19th
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    I'm just one too many mornings and 1,000 miles behind

  11. #11
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    Great advice so far. Keep the comments coming. (thanks)

    Reinforces a lot of what I already know but reminders are always good along with practice which is my goal this weekend. Have done plenty of bicycling in cold, wet, crappy weather so all the concepts make sense.


    Quote Originally Posted by LoneStranger View Post
    Being able to get a roof up and quickly replacing wet clothes with dry layers is key. Being able to do that fast starts with how you pack. I keep my tarp and stake bag in an external pocket for fast access. Thanks to a bit of Dutch bling I can have the ridgeline up in a minute and four stakes guying it out in another or two. That makes for a safe place to pull out the dry clothes.
    I will remember this when packing. I too can get my tarp up really fast with an assist from Dutchware bling. I know my knots but the Dutchware is just so fast and idiot proof, especially with cold, wet fingers.

  12. #12
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    It seems like the majority of mine and my husband’s section hikes just happen to fall during a wet week. Each time we get better at keeping our gear dry. Pretty much everything I carry is in a dry bag anyway and sleeping stuff and clothes also go into a trash bag. I keep things I’ll need while hiking (bag cover, map, nicotine gum, etc) in an exterior pouch of my bag. Not having to open your bag, goes a long way in keeping your stuff dry.

    Hope you enjoy your hike!

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kittyslayer View Post
    I will remember this when packing. I too can get my tarp up really fast with an assist from Dutchware bling. I know my knots but the Dutchware is just so fast and idiot proof, especially with cold, wet fingers.
    The Hookworms can be a little challenging once the fingers have gone numb, but the Tarp Flyz can be managed with mittens on if necessary

    Be safe out there. We keep having people kill themselves in the mountains around here the last few weeks so it is nice to hear you thinking about safety before you go!
    “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait until that other is ready...”~Henry David Thoreau

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  14. #14
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    We have a lot of wet and cold weather here, and while I try to avoid hiking in such poor conditions, it still happens that I get cought in rain&sleet sometimes.
    As others pointed out, no matter how good your clothes might be, you will get wet eventually.
    The best results I got wearing standard rain gear, plus a poncho atop. The poncho works fine to protect the huge gap (or crevice?) between head/shoulders and the pack, exactly where most of the sleet/rain will be collecting.

    One issue I never found a good solution is, in cold and wet conditions there is no way to sit, eat and relax a bit during the day.
    Maybe a quick setup of a tarp might be good.

    While the common advice, to never get your dry clothes wet, so you have to start hiking by putting on yesterdays wet clothes, is perfect, for me there is one exception: I'd put on dry socks in the morning.
    By carrying the wet socks close to my body during the day, most likely they will be somewhat dry in the evening.
    When it happens that I'm carrying two sleepingpads (a Z-Pad plus a Thermarest), I'd put the wet stuff between the two pads and found they will dry a bit during the night.

  15. #15
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    You don't need temperatures in the 40s to cause hypothermia.
    https://survivaldispatch.com/freezin...egree-weather/

  16. #16
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    As others have stated stringing a tarp before you even pull your tent out of the pack really helps to keep things dry. I use the heaviest grade black garbage bag I can get as a pack liner. I have tried pack covers and they all seem to collect water in the bottom then it runs down the back of my legs, into my already wet boot.

    Personally when I hike in the rain I do not wear a rain top/jacket because I sweat so much the inside of the rain top gets wet with condensation. Once camp is setup the wet clothes come off and dry is put on. I keep my rain top handy for any time i need to get out of the tent and do something quickly. Wet clothes back on in the morning.

    Don't hesitate to try your ideas of keeping things dry in your pack before you head out on your trip. Pack it the way you will on the trail and then stick it in your shower at home. You will find out if it stays dry - if not you have the opportunity to dry the stuff and develop an alternative plan.

    Safe hiking
    "Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing." Abraham Lincoln (1855)


  17. #17
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    Default

    Good luck on your hike. Rainbows, hail, thunder and lightning, ice storms, graupel, fresh snow, moon rings and solitude - These are all beautiful things to experience that so many miss by avoiding 'bad' weather. Remember to be safe and carry an extra wet layer, extra fuel, and extra 'matches'.

    I have always found getting to camp is frequently the coldest part of the day's hike. With today's quick dry fabrics, I think evaporative cooling is significant particularly at camp stops. I can adjust lunch and other quick stops to the middle of a hill when I am the warmest but camp seems to be at the bottom. Unless I am at one of those MD/PA sites where water fetching is a warming event, I try to get water long before I get to camp and a snack right before the last easy stretch.

    I forget that body heat goes to heating up those dry clothes I put on along with the sleeping bag/pad/ground/tent/... at the same time my heat production has dropped dramatically. That sleeping bag and dry clothes don't warm you up, you have to warm them up. I love a good liter (my pot size) hot water bottle screwed tight inside a wool sock tossed inside my sleeping bag. In the middle of the night as needed, I send my arm out between my tarptent and ground cloth to reheat heat it on an alcohol stove.

  18. #18
    Registered User gravityman's Avatar
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    Staying warm in the tent is easy.

    Staying warm when hiking is easy.

    The hard parts: Taking a break, eating during the day, not over heating when you start because you leave too many clothes on, staying warm when you set up camp and start dinner. Those are where you need to focus your attention.

    1) Keep food handy and snack as you hike
    2) Breaks will likely not be attractive, but if you find a place, take the opportunity, and pull on a warm piece of clothing. And then eat first thing, because you will get cold and want to get moving again.
    3) I don't have a solution to starting warm, but not having to stop. I usually err on the side of too little and suffer for the first hour. My wife does the opposite, and we have to stop every 10 min for the first hour for her to pull things off. And then I get colder. I really should think this through better!
    4) Have a routine at camp: Get water, set up tent, change, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, get dinner going. That's mine.

    Good luck!

  19. #19

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    What local trail are you hiking? Franke or Chain O'Lakes/ Pokagon SP?
    Termite fart so much they are responsible for 3% of global methane emissions.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Night Train View Post
    What local trail are you hiking? Franke or Chain O'Lakes/ Pokagon SP?
    Bloodroot at Salamonie near Huntington, IN. They have six backcountry sites you can hike into.

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