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That week in July my tent flooded in Olympic National Park
I set up my REI Half Dome 2 in what I thought was a perfect spot near the Hoh River trail. Woke up at 3 AM to find 2 inches of standing water inside because I didn't check the ground slope. Has anyone else dealt with unexpected puddling and found a good solution for leveling out a tent site?
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noah_black3d ago
The sleeping pad trick @sandra146 mentioned is actually genius because it taps into a bigger thing I've noticed: we're constantly tricked by our eyes versus our body. Same thing happens when I'm buying a used car and it looks clean under fluorescent lights, but sitting in the driver's seat you feel every squeak and wobble. Or when you're hanging a picture frame and it looks straight from across the room, but your level says otherwise. We trust what we see way too much when the ground or a chair or a parking spot is just waiting to prove us wrong with a wet butt or a crooked frame. Bob's method is basically a primitive level for humans, and it's probably saved him from a few more soggy mornings.
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My friend Bob had the exact same thing happen to him up in the Adirondacks a few years back. He woke up floating in his tent and was so mad at himself because he thought he found a nice flat spot. What he does now is before he even unpacks his tent, he lays his sleeping pad down on the ground and lies on it for a minute. You can feel any slope or lump through the pad way easier than just looking at the ground. It sounds silly but it really works for him and he never had a puddling problem again. Also, he always digs a small trench around the uphill side of his tent if there's any chance of rain, just to redirect the water away.
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the_richard3d ago
ngl I thought that sleeping pad thing sounded ridiculous when I first heard it, but after spending one too many nights sliding downhill in my bag I'm starting to think Bob might be onto something.
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