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Mrs SR just returned from a four-day hike with our four youngest children, during which they followed the 'Offa's Dyke Trail'.
All five of them were kitted out with appropriately-sized rucksacks, together with sleeping bags, mats, cooking gear, etc., etc.. Mrs SR has been training to do guiding, and has plenty of experience on the Welsh, Scottish, and English hills, but other than walking and overnighting the Camino last year, has generally only camped using a car.
My experience, which is relatively extensive, is entirely Canada-based. Consequently, neither she nor I know much about how one would manage day after day of rain. I winter camped in Canada, and learnt all about how to keep warm, and deal with extreme temperatures, but as far as I can tell, there is nothing like water for getting into everything and making things uncomfortable if not downright dangerous.
What I am wondering is how experienced British hikers/campers do to minimise the effects of rain on their bodies and on their equipment. Say, for example, you are going on a three-night expedition in a remote place, and its pouring rain the whole time, what do you pack? What clothing provision do you make? Do you just accept the fact that you will be setting up, sleeping in, and taking down a soggy tent before doing the same thing the following night? How do you dry out socks/boots, etc.?
Some of these questions might have obvious answers, so forgive my ignorance in advance. To date, we have only really car-camped here, and neither of our experience from Canada proffers easy answers.
Soggy tent is a given, from condensation if not rain. Bit of a breeze will dry it out when it stops raining. A little sponge helps to get rid of the worse before you pack it up.
Hiking whilst wet is uncomfortable but not usually life threatening outside big hills in winter, but stopping and sitting around in wet clothes is when you get really cold, so have a dry set to change into at camp and keep them dry for use tomorrow. Does mean you sometimes have to put wet clothes back on again which is no fun.
The Haze Outdoors YouTube channel has covered this on occasions. Entertaining fella as well IMO.
There's a lot you can do to minimise how damp things get. I'm appalled by the campcraft so many people demonstrate these days, or maybe that's the youtoobs I've seen...
Real basics like never getting wet gear in a tent, separating inner and outer into different bags (and having outer pitch first, well vented tent) having a care about not camping in a puddle in the open Vs under a 'good' tree and dry ground out of the wind, keeping everything in separate bags, never ever unwrapping a sleeping bag or mat outside a dry tent, etc.
Having great waterproofs and really good wicking baselayers is a must.
I take two lots of clothes: a dry set of merino baselayers for sleeping bag, a 'day' set which gets damp but wicks superbly. I take more than two pairs of socks and shreddies.
That would do me a week easily.
Other than that, a very few weeks are just wet and you suck it up. I've only had a couple of longer walks that have been miserably wet - and I think I've done in excess of 30 4-day DofE or week long person's expeds.
I'm really fortunate to have done a lot of really long multi week walks over the years and on those sort of trips, wet weather is unavoidable really. My learned advice is to have a mult layered approach to keeping kit dry.
First, all spare clothing goes in ultralight dry bags. Plastic bags are not good enough. Sleeping bag in dry bag. Every thing then goes inside a waterproof rucsac liner. That goes in the rucsac, which i suggest has a small drain hole at the bottom to let out anything that managed to get in, and it will so better it doesn't just fill up. Over the top goes a rucsac cover, it doesn't need to be heavy, my current is very light
Pack the tent inner and outer in separate ultralight dry bags. This means you can keep inner dry as the outer will be drenched and you don't want packing together.
Fett will get wet, ibut dry socks and thermals on in the evening. Take footbeds out overnight, drying them helps
Take an umbrella, incredibly useful, fully waterproof and fully breathable. Lightweight ones available
If the forecast was dreadful for a 3 day trip I would switch to plan b in a better weather area, or plan c , postpone
Edit concur completely with Matt oab. Although I do have an outer last tent but that had other attributes
If the forecast is solid rain for multiple days -don't go.
If you have a wet day or 2 in the middle of a longer trip - spend a day in the tent. Walking for full days in the rain isn't much fun.
If you know there's going to be a wet day consider booking into a campsite with a drying room / tumble driers.
Say, for example, you are going on a three-night expedition in a remote place, and its pouring rain the whole time, what do you pack?
All the advice about wet and dry clothing sets, dry bags etc is good, but multi-day walks in relentless rain are generally a bit depressing. The whole thing of getting dressed every morning in clothing and boots that are still damp from the day before is a bit grim. I'm not saying there aren't moments of wonder and there's also something oddly, smugly comfortable about being tucked up warm and dry in a tent while rain beats down on the fly-sheet, but faced with a forecast of multi-day rain, I'd give it a swerve and do something more pleasant instead.
I would particularly not trek for three days across remote, high altitude Andean marsh/bog to climb a tottering pike of choss masquerading as a mountain before reversing the outward trek.. don't ask how I know etc. Camping in a bog is miserable.
If you think the weather is going to be bad work out whether it's possible to stop in a hostel or bothy for a night, if only to have a bit of space to unpack and eat out of the rain.
Youth Hostel camping is quite good for this as you can use the kitchen, drying room, etc. but sleep in your own tent away from the snorers.
Often possible to at least rest out of the rain in a bothy when further North in Scotland.
Also it doesn't often rain for more than a couple of days straight so just hope for weather clearing through.
If your camping away from civilisation it’s tough. I don’t think I’ve ever done lots of rain days and wild camping. In the end I think you have to accept putting on wet clothes as it’s so important to have a dry set for in the tent. Obviously water proof trousers are essential.
If your near civilisation wearing wet gear to the pub can be a life saver as it can mean drying a set of clothes on your body
Is harder than dry cold
In my early - mid 20s I was a tree surgeon. The heating in the house packed in and I couldn't afford to fix it. I had a miserable winter cycling to work. Putting on wet cold clothes working outside then cycling home to a cold house and a (by then) loveless relationship.
That put me off multi day walks in the rain.
In my early – mid 20s I was a tree surgeon. The heating in the house packed in and I couldn’t afford to fix it. I had a miserable winter cycling to work. Putting on wet cold clothes working outside then cycling home to a cold house and a (by then) loveless relationship.
Pretty sure I heard this sad tale on Simon Bates Our Tune
Didn't it end with Justin Haywood Forever Autumn?
Mine ended with the house sale and moving on to warmer relationships.
I'm off to Google Justin Haywood
You need a dry set of clothes for tent time!
Seperate the inner and outer tent if you can - or try and dry off the tent during the day.
Try and avoid 3 days rain in a row when planning your trip!!
I have done quite a few multiday camping trips including the GR20, coast to Coast, and most of Offas Dyke.
Don't get to hung up on ultralight gear, as is, the lighter the tent, the smaller it is and the less space you have for sorting and drying gear.
Don’t get to hung up on ultralight gear, as is, the lighter the tent, the smaller it is and the less space you have for sorting and drying gear.
I'm going to agree with this.
I've had a 900g tent.. It's lovely to carry. It's tiny and not that weatherproof.
My current tent is twice the weight, apparently dreadfully heavy, but super weather resistant, well vented and really spacious compared to the last one.
There are a few things in still go ultralight on - Speedster Stove and titanium mug/pot, lightweight sleeping bag etc. But weather facing things like boots, waterproof, tent etc I look for weather resistance....
Edit: I forgot to say that food is vital for a happy and comfy multi day trip. I never skimp on it. I'm well fed and hot brews when I want them.
Ti's Justin Hayward, one of the surviving members of The Moodies
One set of dry clothes for evening. Dry sleeping bag. Protect These. Keep them in separate bags to everything else and separate from each other so you have at least one dry even in a accident. As soon as you pitch up take off boots to air feet.
Outer pitch tent. Take a sponge dish cloth in the tent for wiping down minimise water that is now inside after you had to break camp in the morning when it was pissing it down. Choose a good site out of strong wind if possible but mainly as dry under as possible as you don't want water to sleep in and get sleeping bag wet.
Wear wool for day time, topped off with waterproofs that even if they end up soaked keep the wind off. Putting it on wet in the morning isn't pleasant but you soon warm up.
Drink tea with sugar to warm up quick. The process of making tea also acts to focus.
Drink tea with sugar to warm up quick. The process of making tea also acts to focus.
How splendidly British. If all else fails, make tea. It will warm the soul and dry your boots out simultaneously, erm... 🙂
I disagree about lightweight tents. I have a 1 kilo 2 /3 person tent. The beauty of it is that you can get into the outer tent and get your waterproofs off before getting into the inner and you have enough room to hang waterproofs up to dry in the tent. Its a small tent that is the issue.
Key for me is to keep wet stuff out of the inner in the tent. Have good full waterproofs. Have kit double dry bagged and keep warm.
3rd day of rain? **** off to the pub. You are never more than a days walk from a pub with rooms. Don't be purist
I've always had a plan B for wet weather, which is do something else ie single days or at the very most one night out only.