My few rain-enhanced camping adventures boiled down to waiting it out hunkered in my tent or shelter. Cooking was a pain. coping with wet raingear was worse. Got boring fast, though I am much better equipped and inclined now to enjoy extended "survival naps."

So you wily rain-camping mavens, share some of your best strategies!

Thanks.

I like to think of it as rain management - rain happens, you get wet, its a matter of degree. If you live where it rains and is cold, you could be miserable and maybe even die, so its best to keep the wetness to a minimum. Some ideas I've used:

- hike with an umbrella. Don't knock it, if there's room on the trail you can stay bone dry.
- invest in really good raingear. I love my Teva eVent jacket, it goes almost everywhere I do. I also have an Eddie Bauer hard shell BC-200 which is a really impressive jacket that I use more for snow than rain climates, but I was exposed out in 45 minutes of soaking rain the other day and it kept me dry.
- layers. Good wool underwear will save body heat even when wet. Carry spares of all layers when hiking, and change into them when you stop for the night.
- rain tarp. This seems to me to be a must for PNW camp sites. Learn to pitch tarps over your cooking area, it gives you some room to move around, converse and do camp stuff without standing in the rain. 10x10 or even larger - ultralighters swear by silnylon for weight, I actually like the Kelty tarps, they are heavier, less expensive, and every bit as bomber.
- a good tent. Goes without saying. You don't want it to leak or you can have a miserable night. Don't forget, don't pitch it in low lying areas where the rain may puddle, you'll wake up in a stream.
- wear a hat with a brim. I wear glasses and I really don't like wet or foggy lenses. Some folks swear by Seattle Sombreros, I think they are akin to the Urban Sombrero but whatever keeps you dry. I like a basic boonie hat given the water treatment.

Have some wine with you.

Worthwhile accessories are a good book or an interesting companion.

Especially the latter!

Food that doesn't need cooking can be very helpful if you don't want to cook in the rain.

A tent with a vestibule for your wet gear is very nice to have.

Staking out your rain fly appropriately can have a big impact on how wet the inside of your tent becomes.

Dry clothes, especially socks.

Other than a good rain gear and a tent with fly and and vestibule, The 3 T's have have all of our rainy camping trip bareable, even enjoyable: Trenching, Tarps and Tea. Trenching isn't great for the earth so try to choose your sites with a downpour in mind. Keep you fire, cooking and eatings areas dry by roping tarps. Keep water boiling for hot drinks like tea, coffee and hot chocolate. These will go a long way to keeping morale up.

Not a fan of the Seattle Sombrero. Brim is too wide, hence floppy, hence moves with any wind ... thereby negating the "rain off the face and neck" that it was supposed to do.

Will stay with my boonie hat, even though it's not truly waterproof.

Fact is, if it's raining, you get wet. Goretex eventually stops venting faster than you sweat, so you baste in your own juices. Getting in/out of a tent brings in water. Your pack gets wet (unless you have a cover, and even then, it runs between your back and the straps).

I try to avoid rain when camping. Fine in regular life, sucks on the trail. I'd rather take snow.

Don't forget that with can come thunder and lightning:

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=231555&page=1

Don't forget that with can come thunder and lightning:

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=231555&page=1