Question from a novice

imported
#1

any suggestions for setting up a tent in the rain without getting the inside wet? maybe a tarp is a better option in this situation?

cheeserTOM

#2

Tom:

Here’s a couple suggestions:
(1) Location, Location, Location - just like in realestate, your tent placement is critical. Some trees provide quite a bit of rain protection. In rainy situation, i always try to find the most wind-protected and sheltered site for the tent first. When its raining heavily, you definitely want to find an elevated spot on the ground, rather than a bowl like depression. Otherwise you could find yourself with a small pond inside the tent! (i’ve made this mistake twice)
(2) Modern sil-nylon single walled tents like a Tarptent by Henry Shires provide a couple big advantages in wet weather. First, you are setting up the ‘roof’ of the tent immediately rather than the two-stage process of a normal double walled tent, where the floor normally gets wet before you get the fly on properly. The second big advantage is that sil-nylon doesn’t absorb any moisture, so you can use a washcloth or bandana to wipe down the floor of the tent, if the floor gets wet for any reason.
(3) Tarps are great in wet weather if they are set up properly, but you might want to have a strategy for bugs. There are lots of ants on the PCT, besides the mosquitoe issues in the Sierra in June and Oregon in July.

happy trails!

freebird

#3

Tom, definitely high ground. Low end of tent into the wind with fly clipped on or pinned with stakes at this end. then set up door end. little dampness, no lakes. Practice once at home. Good luck.

Sandman

#4

Sometimes there’s just no helping it (besides tips like the one previously mentioned here). Just get good at setting it up as fast as possible and you’ll probably be ok.

zach attack

#5

I have struggled with the issue of setting up (or TAKING DOWN!) a 2-waller when it’s raining cats and dogs, and have found no “easy” answer. I started my 2004 GA->ME AT Thru Hike with a North Face ‘Tadpole 23’, and - being stubborn - I carried it all the way to Katahdin. One of my worst “rain incidents” left me stranded inside the tent one day until the weather broke (a little!) around 2:30 PM… got a whole 3.7 miles in, that day, to the War Spur Shelter, north of Pearisburg, VA!

If you’re going to do a Thru Hike (or an extended Section Hike) on the APPALACHIAN Trail, camping in the rain is a certainty, and a frequent one at that! On the PACIFIC CREST Trail, I didn’t find “rain” to be much of an issue… used a “basic” bivy sack (with mosquito mesh) nearly every night, and only set my tarp 2 nights, to ward off “drizzles”. I did only about 400 miles of the PCT in July/August, in northern CA, so YMMV!

It seems that 2-wallers are - for the most part - incompatible with the concept of Thru Hiking. If you are “car camping” or “recreational camping”, then YOU generally are in control… you just don’t go if it’s raining, or you wait until it’s “convenient” (i.e., not raining!) to set up (or TAKE DOWN!) your tent… or you take it down in the rain and go to a nice, warm, dry home, and dry your gear out when the weather clears up. If you’re Thru Hiking (or LD Section Hiking), you really don’t have that same luxury!

To the point. Short of setting up your 2-waller while beneath a (sil-nylon) tarp, there’s no good way to keep the inside from getting wet before you can get the fly installed. An exception (aren’t there always a few!?) would be one of the newer 2-wallers (like the REI Quarter Dome) that allow you to leave the fly attached to the body (velcro tabs), and have one “dead end” at the end of each “pole tunnel”… you can zip the poles through and set up the body and fly simultaneously.

In retrospect, I would definitely go with a 1-waller, complete with no-see-um mesh… gets the job done when it’s raining, and gives you respite from all of the biting things - especially the mosquitoes, which bite right through no-see-um mesh wherever it lies against your skin (like in a lightweight, “basic” bivy sack!). With trekking poles as supports, it’s hard to beat a well-designed tarp-tent for light weight and convenient set-up/takedown! I’m kind of interested in something like Henry Shire’s Tarptent… maybe the ‘Squall 2’ (I like lots of room inside a tent!)… or maybe his brand new, ultralight ‘Rainbow’ (looks pretty good to me, EVEN WITH the full length “bow” pole!). I’m not associated with Tarptents in any way, but I like the designs, because they offer a taut setup, which reduces wind-flapping noise and promotes water repellency (run off!).

BTW - if you use a ground cloth (recommended, under a lightweight sil-nylon floor or when using a tarp as shelter), make SURE its edges don’t stick out beyond the tent’s/tarp’s walls… rain water WILL puddle on the ground cloth! That = wet gear!

BTW2 - a bit off topic, but… if you go with a tent/tarp with a sil-nylon floor, you might want to consider “painting” stripes on the floor using thinned silicone sealer (any good clear silicone sealer from your local hardware store, thinned with mineral spirits). That sil-nylon is SLIPPERY STUFF, and the stripes will help you “stay put”! Yeah, it will look funky and probably reduce the resale value… but it will make your nights a whole lot less mobile!

Sorry for the length of this post… I can’t seem to write short ones! Hope some of it helps…

TBott GA->ME 04

TBott