Camping and hiking in the rain
. . . isn’t the most desirable situation in the world. But trust us, this can be a very fun and pleasant experience. We have a few tips which will make your rainy trip much easier and enjoyable. And you won’t have to be scared of rain ruining your plans!
Just remember that camping first of all should be safe for you and your companions. If the weather is really bad, you have to consider possibility of a thunderstorm or a flood cutting off your road home. In such extreme situation it’s possibly better to stay home. However, usually rain does not foreshadow such problems.
If a rain catch us unexpectedly, it’s good to have a few items and essential knowledge.
Finding a good place is the fundamental and easy skill.
If you have any doubts about weather, find a place for your tent where you will clearly see the sky. This way you will be able to predict the weather by looking at clouds. If you want to sleep in the middle of the forest or in the cave, you can still take care of finding the place where you will reach the horizon as widely as possible.
The second thing you should secure at the beginning is a proper place for a tent. When the rain comes, the gravity always works the same way and the water is flowing down and creates pools in holes. The worst case scenario, if your tent is in such a hole and after whole night of raining you wake up in a pool. Before you put up a tent, look around and find the place on a rise to avoid such surprises.
When you like camping in wilderness, far away from the civilization, the water from the rain can be very useful. When your supplies of drinking and cooking water comes to an end, remember that you can collect the rain water. Rain is safer than water from a lake or river, that can be infected with bacteria. You can drink the rain water without filters, wash your clothes in it or take a rough-and-ready shower in it. So if you have a big container, place in the open air for a day or longer and collect the water.
When it’s wet outside, keep in a dry place: a wood for the bonfire, fire starters and matches or a lighter. When the weather starts to break, put fire starters and matches to a plastic bag. It is also wise, to use a tarp to secure bigger pile of wood and a fireplace on the ground.
For the items you can take with yourself, there are a lot of camping gadgets in the internet that we think are really awesome, but not necessarily essential.
The two basic products that you should always have in your car or take with you when you’re unsure about the weather are: a tarp and a rope. The tarp gives you the basic protection from the rain. For example as we’ve just mentioned, to secure a fireplace. You can also tie the tarp to trees nearby and enjoy bigger surface under the roof. You can hang a rope under the tarp and dry your wet clothes on. Or just spend your time under it, eat or hang out with friends on the outside of your tent, but not in the rain.
To secure the tarp really strongly and give yourself trustable protection from the water, there is a simple and very effective way of mounting it. Take a smooth rock in the size of a tennis ball. Place it near the corner of your tarp. Wrap the tarp material over the rock and tie a rope around to secure the rock from falling out. This way you have a hard bump in a shape of a doorknob. Do this on each corner of your tarp and use it to tie a rope between the tarp and trees. This will give you much more security than using those little holes on the edges of a tarp and you will be able to pull the material tighter.
Your basecamp is ready, so let’s go then!
It is important to protect yourself from getting all wet, but it’s absolutely crucial to keep dry and warm: your head and your feet. Those two parts of the body can lead to catching a cold very quickly. So supply yourself with waterproof jacket with hood and waterproof boots.
Secure your backpack. Many backpacks come in a set with waterproof cover. If yours is not equipped with it, buy any big plastic cover and always keep it in your backpack.
Remember that during and after the rain it is very slippery. Great if you have shoes with anti-slippery tread. Anyway, you have to be very careful when walking.
And this leads us to another important point – take a first aid kit. It’s slippery, so there is a better chance to fall and harm yourself or to sprain an ankle.
After the long walk or instead it, you will still have a lot of time to spend on your campground.
Take with you for the long evenings:
- Warming tea
- Books and offline games
- Your best friends
Have a lot of fun even in the rain!