To have a rain proof camping trip you must prepare and be ready ahead of time

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Enjoying rain proof camping is easy

My family recently learned rain proof camping is priceless, we thought we were ready for rain and soon realized that thunder storms are much more powerful in the mountains.

The first point to be made here is tarps are just not enough,you need to have rope,extra stakes,tarp clips and a good shovel handy to even start to be ready.

We spent four out of seven days of our camping trip dealing with rain, this really could have ruined our vacation had we not been somewhat prepared. One real concern to also make note of is not having the right materials means having to buy them and this will hurt your budget.

The first area to rain proof is your tent,place a tarp under the floor of the tent.Once you have installed the rain fly you can choose one of two options to help keep mother nature out:

First option

is to suspend a tarp over the top of your tent (please note do not let it rest on the tent)angling the corner's down to the ground away from your tent.Allowing the tarp to rest on your ten could allow to much weight on the roof of your tent.You can help this along by digging trench's away from your tent to help channel the rain away.

Rain proofing your tent

Second option

is to use a portable shelter (seen at most BBQ's) this creates a shield over the tent the deflects the rain. These products range in price from around $60 to over $200Which ever option you choose you can always enhance it with the use of inexpensive painters tarps (on the roll is best).

The picture above is my tent set up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire July 2007, most people laugh when they see this picture however we did not get wet!

You can see we have taken some extreme steps to stay dry, this is what you need to consider because you want to have the supplies on hand to adapt on the fly.

Over the years we have had to adapt how we deal with foul weather the only thing that hasn't changed is our positive attitude, When you tent camp with younger children they really take their lead from the people in charge you!

We had so much rain on our last trip my wife came up with a simple but real affective way to dry our shoes. Thinking back on it now it was not real funny at the time, how ever how much more ridiculous can you get then having to almost cook your shoes to get them to dry! This is where your attitude either Positive or Negative will set the tone of the camping trip.

My sneakers drying by the campfire on poles

Preparing for rain starts with having the camping checklist this way you do not forget any of the items you may need if the sky's open up, trust me I have been caught in a down pour trying to secure bikes,totes ect. and it really is not fun at all.

We are organized and prepared so my wife and I were able to make short work of it and you can to, just prepare,organize and make sure you are consistent to ensure you do not have to guess where a stake or length of rope is in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Equipment

Camping Shelters

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