What would you have done? - camping

[Ystranc]

I have a long open sided shed that is big enough to dry the largest of tents in so in all probability I would have gone. Currently I’m playing with a hammock and tarp fitted with snakeskins so it’s easy up and down and fast to dry. I’m still getting used to it but it’s taking about 3-5 minutes to set up once I’ve found a pair of suitable trees.
I’ve often camped out in heavy rain using a military bivvi that was around £20, a four season roll mat, arctic 90 bag and small DD tarp… it was fine, I was very comfortable and the kit was very easy to dry in a confined space. If you’re going to be somewhere where the ground is stubbly you may also wish to take a small protective ground sheet.
I also have one of the military 3/4 self inflating mats but I find it takes a while to fill itself and never really fills to capacity. The foam inside the mat never seems to be able to recover its original volume.

 

[Phil_R]

The spur of the moment thing going wrong is a fair point, but it doesn’t need to be totally from the hip. I don’t often get much warning of a chance to get out, so I have a list of places to go to for wild camps, walks I want to do, etc. some new, some old and just choose one - leaves a bit of bandwidth for packing, considering conditions, etc and makes it more likely I’ll go out. I also like doing the research on the camping spots in between times.

I have to say though that I hate drying wet tents

 

[Wayne]

If I let rain stop me I’d be bankrupt. Nothing like lying in a shelter listening to the rain.

I dry my wet parachutes at the local laundrette. Their industrial tumble dryer only takes 5-10 minutes to dry it enough to store loose without smelling of mushrooms. The other customers weren’t happy with the tsunami of leaves that escaped the dryer. But a quick pass with a broom sorted that.

 

[Wildgoose]

Nothing seedy but I’ve gone to the launderette last knockings with a small cash donation.

Dog beds, blankets, horse stuff and such generally banned but as long as I clean up after the chap running it isn’t bothered.

 

[haptalaon]

I always carry one of those bags for life that have a freezer compartment. One of my fave bits of kit. You can use it as a sit mat, for keeping the campsite tidy, for gathering wood, probably for water in an emergency, but my most common use for it is just slamming wet tents into and getting back to the car ASAP. Faster than folding it back into a rucksack correctly and it keeps the wet stuff away from the rest of my gear.

But I avoid getting my gear wet. It's a hassle, and it's a psychological pressure the whole time you're out. To me it's not a fun experience because I can feel the weight of future work bearing down on me. Plus, then the stuff is wet if a better day comes up.

I've had previous adventures where I strung up a drying line under my tarp to try and get my clothes into a better state to walk home in. I think I ended up using a top as a kind of loincloth because my trousers were so grim.

 

[Pattree]

I have a humongous bag in the car. At the end of a camp everything textile goes into it wet or dry for the trip home: tent, laundry, dishcloth, sleeping bag liner etc. Even on the driest last day when the tent has aired before I strike it, it goes into the big stuff sack rather than its carrier bag.
Hanging it up at home gives me the chance to inspect it as well as drying it and putting it away. The groundsheet gets inspected for mud, leeches and slugs before bundling but always needs a scrub when I get home.

Fire blackened cooking equipment gets a wash then shoved into the washing up bowl for transport. Folk laugh at my washing up bowl but it weighs little and takes up no appreciable space in the Bergen. It keeps stuff out of the mud while I cook and, upside down with a water carrier on top of it, it keeps stuff like the morning’s fire wood dry in torrential rain.

 

[Tengu]

I remember when I was in digs and camping on the weekends.

Getting everyone annoyed by draping a soggy Vango Force Ten on the settee...

But...I still have the same tent because I looked after it...