[pct-l] Tarptent in heavy rain

[BrianBowlsby at ieice.com (Brian Bowlsby)]

Actually, the netting does stick out the sides a little I noticed, but the
rain would just wick down the netting until it touched the ground and then
would absorb into the ground. The groundsheet was always at least a couple
inches from where the netting touched the ground... Maybe your groundsheet
is a little too wide?


-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Setzer [mailto:Steven.Setzer@Colorado.EDU] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 10:54 AM
To: Brian Bowlsby
Cc: 'pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net'
Subject: RE: [pct-l] Tarptent in heavy rain



You just reminded me that I also had to stake out the sides of the tarp
tent.  I didn't have the two extra stakes so I had to use some spare bear
bag rope and some rocks.  In the future I would attach guy lines to the
sides loops of the tarptent and maybe carry two extra stakes.

Also, I don't have the sewn-in floor so I'm sure the netting works
differently on our two Virgas.  It sounds like you don't have the problem of
the netting sticking out the side of the tarptent.

Thanks for the info,
Steve

On Tue, 9 Sep 2003, Brian Bowlsby wrote:

> Steve,
>
> I just returned from completing the John Muir Trail and used the Virga 
> Tarptent with no problems.  I had one night of heavy rain during a 
> thunderstorm at Lake Virginia and stayed completely dry as well as all 
> my gear. (my two friends however both got wet in their bivy sack and 
> Sierra designs tent respectively!) I have the sewn-in flooring in my 
> tarptent. I did notice a bit of water wicking down the sides of the 
> bug netting but it never came close to getting on the ground sheet.  
> The condensation can be a bit annoying on the inside of the tarp when 
> getting dressed, but can be greatly reduced if you sleep with the 
> front door open, (there's no bugs in a rainstorm!). With the "beak" 
> down and doors open I was even able to cook dinner in the midst of 
> another rainstorm near Mather pass. I'm only 5'-8" so I can just 
> barely sit up without hitting my head at the front of the tarp. Also, 
> I keep my sleeping bag directly in the center of the tarp so that it 
> doesn't touch either side of the netting or top. You also want to make 
> sure to guy out the two sides of the tarp using the provided loops, 
> just not too tight or it will pull the ridgeline down a bit. Another 
> trick I learned during the rainstorm is that when the tarp begins to 
> sag due to the weight of water and condensation, I just adjusted my
trekking pole,(used for front
> pole) so that it was longer, which tightened up the ridgeline enough to
take
> the sag out!
>
> It sounds to me like you may be just too tall for the Virga? Your only 
> option may be to get the Squall instead. It would be much roomier for 
> one person and possibly a little taller so you could sit up in it?
>
> Good luck,
>
> Brian Bowlsby
> PCT 2004
>