That’s right, nothing like the sound of rain that will make you pack up your gear and go home or stay, pitch your tent and make the most out of yet another camping adventure. There will be days that no matter how closely you’ve followed the weather forecast that rain simply falls out of the sky unpredicted, and the best way to cope with this is to know how to camp in the rain and be prepared for it.
It may be a drizzle that will only last for minutes and do minimal damage to your plans or a torrential downpour that can ruin just about everything in your itinerary even if it lasts for only an hour. Knowing the basics of camping in the rain will save not only your plans but possibly your sanity as well.
How To Camp In The Rain
Where to go camping and other preparation tips?
Ultimately, it depends on the location and the season you have scheduled your camping trip. A campsite in the Pacific Northwest is one of the areas where annual rainfall can be more than 96 inches so you better be prepared for that expected afternoon rain shower. Eastern states also have significant annual rainfall, ranging from 32 to 96 inches each year.
A visit to the Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, for instance, will require you to bring a rain jacket and pants. Also plan your trip at the best time of year when the weather is good and warm.
Now that you have booked your camping trip, it’s time to start preparing your gear. Whether it’s an old tent or the one you just bought, it’s imperative that you check the seams. Better spend some time sealing the seams of your tent than be wet and sorry later.
So how do you seal your tent?
- Make sure your tent is clean and pitch it tautly on your garage or backyard.
- Apply sealant along the seams; this is where the two panels of fabric, as well as visible stitches.
- Allow the sealant to dry.
What to pack?
Aside from what you already have in your list, you will want to add some rainy weather camping essentials as well, just in case. The weather is unpredictable so a few more pounds of camp baggage is going to be worth it once it starts pouring.
- Your tent, of course, seam sealed and waterproofed.
- Several big tarps – one to serve as a roof over your tent. You can set them up to serve as your cooking quarters and dining areas as well.
- Lots of plastic bags are especially important in packing your gear. You want to have at least a couple of waterproof layers between your stuff and the rain. They can also be very handy when packing your wet gear, clothes, and trash.
- Pack rain gears for everyone – rain jacket and pants. It’s easier to move in this outfit than in a rain poncho. Bring as little cotton clothing as possible when you’re quite certain of rain.
- Add an umbrella to your list. They are really convenient when you need to go out of the rain to fetch something in the car or when going to the tent to the cooking/dining area and back.
- Buy a couple of hydrophobic gloves and hand warmers. It’s easy to pitch and unpitch your tent in the rain without freezing hands.
- Bring along a deck of cards, board games, books or whatever that can ease your boredom. People tend to get cranky when holed up inside the tent when it’s raining outside and they have nothing to do.
These additional items may make packing your gears a little more challenging, but having them around the campsite will ease your mind once you see dark clouds over the horizon.
How to Camp in the Rain
You have seam sealed your tent for added waterproofing as well as packed the rainy weather camping essentials, the only thing missing in this scenario is, well, the rain. It may rain, it may not. You just have to be ready for any eventuality and let not the bad weather ruin an otherwise well-planned family outing.
After observing that those dark clouds are really there to stay and feeling the air heavy with coming rain, it’s time to get the tarps out and prepare for the downpour. Here’s a helpful in getting that tent set up for the rain.
- Pitch your tent on high ground. Avoid slopes, indentations, soft earth, and dried sediment as well as indications of old flooding.
- Put a tarp over your tent but make sure the sloping sides are down so that the rain runs off and doesn’t form a puddle on top of your tent. Can you imagine what happens when the tarp gives way after accumulating too much rainwater? Something really wet is coming down and some people are going to be drenched.
- You can set up your tarp first when it’s already raining when you arrived at camp. This makes it easier, and more comfortable, pitching your tent under the tarp.
- Contrary to common perception, a custom-made tent liner six inches larger on each side is going to keep you dry longer than a ground cloth folded underneath your tent.
- Put all your stuff in the middle of the tent and avoid making contact with the tent since you may break the water tension and invite water droplets into your tent.
- Also insure that you have enough ventilation inside. Living inside the tent for prolonged periods will hasten up the process of condensation resulting in even more dampness than you would like, so better open up those peak vents in your tent.
- Have a designated area for putting your wet gear. You can put a tarp on the entrance of your tent to avoid bring wet stuff inside the tent.
- The old practice of digging a ditch around your tent has long been forgotten and unadvisable. They damage the campsite and with the designs of newer tents today, such practice is no longer needed.
- Packing a wet tent is not exactly fun, but when the weather simply demands that you pack up and unpitch a wet tent, then do so. However, pitch the tent at the first chance you get – even if it means in your garage or at a hotel car park. Don’t ever store a wet tent since it grow mildew and be ruined.
- Lastly, take out your deck of cards and get everyone to play a round of poker or gin rummy. Just relax, enjoy, and listen to the rhythm of the falling rain, it may lull you to a sound sleep, and wake up with the rain gone and the surrounding fresh and ready for a new adventure.
There’s really no reason to be wet, miserable and crabby when rain suddenly falls unexpectedly. When you’re ready for it, knowing how to camp in the rain will prepare you for the unforeseen; thereby making this another unique camping experience.
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