[at-l] Hiking in the Rain

[bennettk@xxxxxxx (ken bennett)]

 =A0Does
> anyone have any insights about hiking in the rain?
>


I seem to have done a lot of that the last few trips <g>.

1=2E Shelter. You can rig some tents and hammocks so that they can be set up
in the rain without getting the inside soaking wet. This is a good thing
<g>. Even better is a large tarp - you can set it up in the rain, get under
it, put out a groundsheet, and stay very dry. You can even cook at the edge
of the tarp while staying inside. The new SilNylon tarps are much more
waterproof than coated nylon, are half the weight, and don't absorb water. I
like an 8x10 tarp for solo or two-person use, and the whole thing with
stakes weighs about a pound.

2=2E Walking. If it's warm out, I just get wet. If it's cold out, I wear ra=
in
gear, usually just a rain shell and gaiters. I have used the Colin Fletcher
style 'rain kilt' made from a trash bag -- it works quite well, even if it
looks a little ridiculous. (I would buy one made from silnylon if it were
offered -- anyone listening?) I like to wear a hat to keep the rain out of
my face. As for food, it's nice to find some sort of shelter for lunch.
Otherwise, lunch is just more snacks eaten while walking.

3=2E Pack. You need to keep your clothes and sleeping bag *dry*. I line the
inside of my pack with a trash compactor bag, and my clothes go inside a
silnylon stuff sack. Then I put a silnylon rain cover over the outside of
the pack.

4=2E Camping. If you can keep everything dry while you set up your shelter,
you have won half the battle. The other half comes when you tear down camp
the next morning. If it is still raining, I try to pack everything while
still inside my tarp, then take down the tarp, tie it to the outside of my
pack (or put it in a separate plastic bag inside), and start hiking. If you
are reasonably successful, you can set up a wet tarp, spread out the
groundsheet (wet side down), and stay pretty dry even if it is still raining
the next evening. Of course, if the sun comes out during the day, I like to
stop and dry out all the gear. No sense carrying the extra water.

5=2E Hammocking (a subset of #4, for hammock hangers): when I got home after
my last hike, I could wring out my hammock. I poured water out of the stuff
sack. Yuck. While the hammock sets up very well in the rain (leave the fly
attached to the body and it just pulls out of the stuff sack and stays very
protected and dry), it's difficult to pack it back up without getting
everything soaked. (Just like a tent, as a matter of fact.) I still need to
figure out how to deal with this when it rains for more than a day or two.
On the plus side, the hammock was comfortable and dry inside on a night with
20+ mph winds, rain lashing down in sheets, and 35-degree temps.

Happy trails, and stay dry,

Ken