Rain!?!

[Yukon]

Is it ever going to stop raining. I start my end-to-end this saturday but all I keep hearing is how muddy the trail is and how wet everything is. Plus we just had some major storms roll through here about an hour ago dropping many inches of rain. I'm psyched to go but all this rain is really putting a damper on my spirits. I want to use my tent, not have to rely on a shelter. With the ground being as wet as it is it seems the second I put my tent down it's going to be soaked through. I decided I will carry a ground cloth but I don't even know how much that will help right now. Any tips or advice from anyone would be appreciated. I'd just like to hear peoples thoughts I guess so I can relax a bit...thanks.

[Canada Goose]

If you don't want any rain, stay home. But on any long hike, you are bound to have bad weather at some point. The odds are that having had so much wet weather, it will start to dry out soon. If you are starting in Massachusetts, there are bail out spots frequently enough that you can get to town and wait out the weather. You will be travelling in peak hiker season; one of the benefits is the comaraderie of shared experience, both good and bad. Most of my good memories stem from bad weather experiences shared with fellow hikers. I'd rather be miserable in a group, than by myself. You can laugh about it later, right?

I say go, have a good time, and let us know how you make out.

Best of Luck! CG

[Jim Adams]

Go, make the best of it and have as much fun as you can. You will always have some rain on a long hike. The 2003 thru hikers totally amaze me that they stuck with it. Sooner or later the rain will pass...be there when it does!

geek

[Quoddy]

Hey Walt... I don't think you are concerned so much about hiking in the rain as you are with the mud. With the many inches of torrential rain again last night following constant rains during the past week or so the trail is going to be a bog for some time to come. Hopefully this situation will slack off a bit before I head SOBO on the 10th. Hiking in the rain is fine, but hiking in mud above sock level is not. If you want to keep the bottom of your tent clean, then by all means carry a groundcloth... but the bottom of the tent should be sealed and waterproof.

Have a fun hike.

[Jeff]

The hikers this season all talk about VT mud and have a good coating of it on their legs, socks and shoes. But, most wear a smile and talk only of the good times on trail.

[Deadeye]

If you're psyched to go, get psyched to go in the rain. If you really want the rain, it will stop, which would be fine with me. Other than that, just pick your tent site carefully and bring extra socks - there will be mud.

[Plodderman]

Go and have a good time it tends to even out with the rain. You are right we have had a lot of rain so far this month.

[billski]

It seems to me that Yukon's question revolves around keeping his tent dry. It's pretty obvious and simple answer, that's probably why the thread went OT.

IMO, the key to a dry tent bottom is selecting the best tent site. A couple obvious things (when I was a newbie, none of this was obvious to me and I suffered the ill effects) are:

a) Select a location where water is not apt to pool.
b) Select a location where a sudden rush of water is not apt to stream through your site. Look at the leaves above the site for signs of water pushing leaves aside to make it through.
c) make sure the runoff from your tent fly runs away and not underneath the tent.

Then there are other obvious things to keep the top of the tent dry like water wicking:
- make sure the tent fly does not touch the main tent fabric
- don't lean or put anything that may press against the sides of the tent, inside or out.

When I first started tenting, I used to dig elaborate trenches around the tent. I stopped doing that really fast. It's not advised, it leaves a bigger impact and is more work. Better to select the appropriate tent site first.

When the sun finally does come out, make sure your tent and ground cover dry as much as possible.

Lastly, obviously it's much much easier to do all this in the daylight than at night when you can see what is really going on. but sometimes we have no choice...

When a site drains properly, I find that the base layer plastic does more to keep ground moisture out of my gear rather rather than to prevent rain water.

These apply to established sites or wilderness sites.

This is my two cents, I suppose your mileage will vary and lots of other good tips are out there.

[superman]

When it rains I look for a motel with restaurant near by.

[Frick Frack]

Notice Cracker's shoes in this Vermud, er, Vermont greeting last year...

[TOW]

It is is soaked up and down the mid atlantic states, we must have had at least 4 inches of rain in the last two days and more coming......

[Namaste]

I find mud on the body to be cooling and also keeps the mosquitos from biting. Some very wise person once said that time spent on the trail or hiking wherever is better than being at work.

[TOW]

I find mud on the body to be cooling and also keeps the mosquitos from biting. Some very wise person once said that time spent on the trail or hiking wherever is better than being at work.

I'll tell ya a good skeeter repellent is camp fire smoke, plus it is good for killing bad bacteria on the body especially if you are unable to get a proper bath..........

[Yahtzee]

My experience of doing the LT in July is one of rain everyday around 4-5pm. Sounds like you are getting it a bit worse but I think rain in the Vt mountains in July is more the norm than not. Just trudge on through. The good days will come. I'd take zero, tho, if it were looking like rain on a few days up north. Camel's Hump is incredible and I'd hate to through the LT without maxing and relaxing on the summit for a good bit.

Perservere!

[Jan LiteShoe]

Go, make the best of it and have as much fun as you can. You will always have some rain on a long hike. The 2003 thru hikers totally amaze me that they stuck with it. Sooner or later the rain will pass...be there when it does!

geek

Yeah! And carry extra socks!

[Snowleopard]

Are light weight gaiters useful in these muddy, wet conditions?

[DuctTape]

Why not just stay in the shelters, there's plenty of them out there. No reason to make things harder on yourself, right?

Storms are exciting, but the mud can just flat out suck... it's all part of the package. Just keep goin' man and some afternoons you'll be praying for rain.

[Jan LiteShoe]

Why not just stay in the shelters, there's plenty of them out there.

That's a good point. Once the LT and AT part ways at Maine Junction, the shelter space will open up dramatically. You may be the only one there some nights.
Prior to Maine junction, you'll really appreciate your tent. This section of the AT in Vermont seems to be where the NOBO thrus are intersecting with the SOBO thrus, plus summer section and weekend hikers.
You could look at that as a big traffic jam or a chance fun assemblage of kindred spirits.

And before Camels Hump, we sent our tents ahead by mail, since camping above 2,000 feet was restricted to shelter sites.

[Yukon]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I still plan to leave Saturday morning, I was just a bit stressed about the abnormal amount of rain that we have gotten. I just couldn't see it being real exciting if the first 50 miles was sucking my boots off every step ya know? I mean, it can't be that bad but you guys get the picture. I will perservere, I was just looking for some tips and what not, and you guys are throwing me some good ones...thanks

[Tinker]

Is it ever going to stop raining. I start my end-to-end this saturday but all I keep hearing is how muddy the trail is and how wet everything is. Plus we just had some major storms roll through here about an hour ago dropping many inches of rain. I'm psyched to go but all this rain is really putting a damper on my spirits. I want to use my tent, not have to rely on a shelter. With the ground being as wet as it is it seems the second I put my tent down it's going to be soaked through. I decided I will carry a ground cloth but I don't even know how much that will help right now. Any tips or advice from anyone would be appreciated. I'd just like to hear peoples thoughts I guess so I can relax a bit...thanks.

Carry a big tarp and a small mosquito shelter. Set the tarp up first (in the rain) then set the mosquito shelter up under it. The same can be done with a hammock (my favorite shelter) and you don't have to worry about getting the floor wet and muddy.