Camping in the rain is not usually anyone’s idea of a good time. There are a few basic things that are important to remember when rain is in the forecast.
Tent Setup
Your tent needs to be set up properly in order to do its job and keep you dry. First, we recommend a foundation for the tent. If you do not have a footprint for your tent, get a tarp. The tarp should be roughly the size of your tent if it is too big the tarp will collect water and hold it between the tarp and tent. Our advice is to buy a tarp a little bigger than your tent and then cut it to size. Tarps are cheap and readily available, we buy ours at Ocean State Job lot although Walmart or Home Depot will also have them available. A proper foundation will help keep you dry and extend the life of your tent by reducing wear on the bottom.
When you set up the tent you need to take extra care, going through the process of staking the tent, assembling the rainfly and then attaching guy-lines.
Simply if the rainfly is sagging and touching your tent, it can allow moisture to build on your tent wall. To keep dry, keep the fabric of the fly from touching the fabric of the tent.
What is a guy-line? It is a line going from the loops on the outside of your rainfly to the ground, creating tension that will pull the rainfly away from your tent. Now you know what those loops are for on the outside of your rainfly. I have seen some tents that come with guy-lines attached, many that come with the cords in a separate bag, and some without the lines at all. Often if the guy lines came separately they will get lost or diminish in number over time.
It is important to know your tent and have a cord for each loop on the fly. Extra cord is recommended because you don’t know the terrain and frequently will need additional lengths to get the right tension.
With each cord, you will want to have a corresponding stake.
Our recommendation for the accessory cord is Sterling Glocord. This cord is reflective and will light up at night when a flashlight or headlamp hit it. Great for not tripping in the middle of the night. It has tons of uses besides guy-lines and is one of the more useful things you can have in your camping gear.
Our recommendation for tent stakes is galvanized 8″ or 10″ steel nails. Where we camp in New England it is typically rocky and a lot of tree roots. I have tried many stakes and the ones that go in best and stay the longest are these nails which can be bought at your local big hardware store for under a dollar each. Get enough to stake out your tent and all your guy-lines. They are bulky and heavy and practical mostly for car camping or short hike-in camping. You won’t be disappointed with a choice to use them. Painting them bright orange is an extra step which can help with visibility during the day. Another tip is to add a galvanized washer to give your rope a bigger lip to catch on, not necessary but can be useful, you can even glue the washer in place in advance.
10″ Galvanized Steel Nail (6″ is not enough!)
Clothing
In addition to your raincoat, pack an extra set of clothes and shoes. The reality is that on a short camping trip you may not the have time or the ability to dry things.
Activities
Have activities planned in case you get stuck in the tent. You can bring a board game or deck of cards. We do not recommend playing on your phone or iPad during camping trips; but if you are inseparable from electronics, make sure to have a spare power brick on hand.