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Re: [pct-l] Rain
On Thu, 9 Apr 1998, Umstead, Tim (SD-EX) wrote:
> I have a question to ask the AT'ers and hikes in the Northwest. How do you
> handle days of continuous rain?
>
> My wife and I have always hike the southern California and the Sierras, and
> rain is not a big problem. When we hiked the PCT we were dumped on in
> Washington. The one thing we found out is, we don't know how to deal with a
> lot rain. The main thing I am looking for is advice on how to keep our gear
> dry.
I didn't have much rain experience until Washington gave me a crash
course. For starters, I was carrying a down bag that most people say
is a huge mistake in the rain. It was in a semi-water proof OR bag
which I lined with a garbage bag. This was pretty effective at keeping
it dry as long as I didn't take it out until my tent was up. The one
problem I had with it was that after about a week of rain, the bottom
got a little damp. I think this came from putting my water logged feet
in it each night rather than the garbage bag leaking.
I found that most of my clothes were getting at least somewhat damp
so I took to storing my polypropylene long underwear in with my
sleeping bag. I did this so even if I spent the entire day soaking wet
and miserable, I could look forward to having something dry to wear
while I slept. This did wonders to keep my moral up 'cus well, I hate
rain. :)
I used another garbage bag to store my tent. Invariably, you end up
packing the tent while it's still wet. The garbage bag was there to
keep it from soaking everything else. Also, I used a third garbage bag
to line the inside of my pack since they always seem to get wet even
with a cover.
I hope this helps.
-Karl 'birdman' Brandt PCT97
*********************************************************************
Karl Brandt (650) 725-3686
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~kbrandt/
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