Keeping Your Campsite Dry in the Rain
One the worst things that can happen when you go camping is dealing with bad weather, especially rain. However, if you are prepared to deal with the rain, your camping trip will not suffer. The weather forecasts are never 100% accurate, so I would always be prepared for some bad weather - cold temperatures, rain, heat, etc. Scattered rain showers happen, but they should not deter you from a camping trip. Here is how you can deal with the rain.
Always keep a couple of extra tarps and rope in your camping supplies. They do not cost very much, and have an assortment of uses. Attach a length of rope (at least 25 ft.) to each of the corners of the tarp and locate some trees. Toss the rope from one corner over a tree branch. If the rope is too light and hard to control when you are throwing it, try tying the end to a short but heavy branch or rock. This will make it easier to control. You are looking for a branch that is at least eight to ten feet off the ground to give yourself headroom. Once you get the rope over the branch, pull on the rope and raise the corner of the tarp to the desired height. Wrap the rope around the tree a few times, and tie it to the tree. Do the same thing with the other corners of the tarp, until you have all four corners tied to trees. You will have enough room under the tarp for a table, chairs and even a small fire.
Try to keep the tarp at an angle so the water can run off the tarp. Put the low side of the tarp toward the low side of the campsite so that water running off the tarp runs away from the covered area, not through it. If you get caught in a downpour of rain, another useful trick is to dig small trenches to funnel the water away your tent. Using a shovel or the claw of a hammer, dig a small trench, again toward the low side of your campsite. This will allow the water to funnel through the trench and hopefully away from your tent.
For your comfort, if you do get wet, change into dry clothes as soon as you can. The cold damp clothes will drain the heat from your body. Hang your wet clothes, near a fire if possible, to dry them. Keep your dirty and wet shoes outside your tent if possible. Bringing them inside will get mud everywhere.
Always keep a couple of extra tarps and rope in your camping supplies. They do not cost very much, and have an assortment of uses. Attach a length of rope (at least 25 ft.) to each of the corners of the tarp and locate some trees. Toss the rope from one corner over a tree branch. If the rope is too light and hard to control when you are throwing it, try tying the end to a short but heavy branch or rock. This will make it easier to control. You are looking for a branch that is at least eight to ten feet off the ground to give yourself headroom. Once you get the rope over the branch, pull on the rope and raise the corner of the tarp to the desired height. Wrap the rope around the tree a few times, and tie it to the tree. Do the same thing with the other corners of the tarp, until you have all four corners tied to trees. You will have enough room under the tarp for a table, chairs and even a small fire.
Try to keep the tarp at an angle so the water can run off the tarp. Put the low side of the tarp toward the low side of the campsite so that water running off the tarp runs away from the covered area, not through it. If you get caught in a downpour of rain, another useful trick is to dig small trenches to funnel the water away your tent. Using a shovel or the claw of a hammer, dig a small trench, again toward the low side of your campsite. This will allow the water to funnel through the trench and hopefully away from your tent.
For your comfort, if you do get wet, change into dry clothes as soon as you can. The cold damp clothes will drain the heat from your body. Hang your wet clothes, near a fire if possible, to dry them. Keep your dirty and wet shoes outside your tent if possible. Bringing them inside will get mud everywhere.
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