The day the rain hit during week three on the JMT

Honestly, I thought I had it dialed in after two weeks of perfect weather on the John Muir Trail near Tuolumne Meadows. Then last July, a storm rolled in around 2 PM and didn't stop for 36 hours straight. Everything I owned got soaked including my sleeping bag inside two dry bags cause I packed wrong. How do you guys handle unexpected multi day downpours without just hiding in a tent?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarwilliams5d ago

Last August on the Sierra High Route I got hit with three straight days of cold rain near Bear Creek. Two dry bags sound fine but if they're both in the same pack compartment water finds a way in through the seams. I switched to keeping my sleeping bag in a dedicated waterproof stuff sack and then that goes inside a pack liner tied off tight. For the tent part I started carrying a small silnylon tarp to cook under or just sit outside without getting pounded by drops. It's low weight and saves your sanity.

alicebarnes5d ago

I mean, is a 36 hour storm really that big of a deal? I've been caught in multiday rains in the Sierra and yeah it's annoying but your sleeping bag being wet inside two dry bags sounds like you just didn't seal them right or left air in them. I've used a single trash compactor bag as a pack liner for years and never had a wet bag. Tarp cooking is nice but also, the JMT has bear boxes and trees to huddle under in a pinch. People act like a little rain is a survival situation, just wring out your socks and deal with it.