I found boatcrow posting fascinating. You mention of being wet in shelter and tent. Your tent probably didn't have an awning.
what type of tent and brand did you use?
What brand and type of sleeping bag did you use?
I always use synthetic mummy type bag rated at colder temperature for extra protection.
Watershoes aren't suitable for camping. They are strictly use for the beach. You should have worn sturdy leather hiking boots. I wear full grain leather boots. I use professional North Face 2 person mountaineering tent. I got it on sale for 300 bucks. The normal price was $500 canadian squid.
Whenever I select equipments, I don't skimp on critical items such as sleeping bag, tents, stove. I bought most of my gear from Mountain Equipment Coop in Canada. The coop makes the latest and best equipments at reasonable price compare to other US brand names.
I always laid out my stuff on the floor before packing. I pack critical items such as knifes, food, and stoves on toop of packpack.
A tent is essential item for wilderness outing. A hiker can reduce the threat of bear entering camp by cleaning his utensils & cookware, clothes before nightfall. I went on canoe trip once which everyone ate fish for dinner. We clean all utensils with bleach & soap throughly to ensure no fish odour sticking to cookware. all the clothes on our back were put in bag because they had fishy smell. We put 2 bags to seal out the odour. The camp fireground was cleansed of fish parts. We never had a bear wandering into the area. Bear can smell fish odour within 2-3miles of campground.