If you’re pitched in a low spot and it rains hard enough, groundwater will flow into your tent. Old-timers controlled water flow by digging a trench around their tent—a procedure that causes serious soil erosion and, consequently, has become illegal everywhere. Instead, place an over-size plastic ground cloth inside your tent. Make the ground cloth large enough to flow about a foot up the sidewalls of your tent.
Any groundwater that gets into your tent will be trapped beneath the plastic sheet, and you’ll stay dry. And unless you want to throw a sponge party, don’t place another ground cloth under the tent floor to protect it from punctures. Groundwater that becomes trapped between the floor and groundsheet below will be pressure-wicked by body weight into your tent.
Tip: Old ideas die hard. You might think it’s crazy to put the ground cloth inside your tent, but try it and you’ll never get wet.
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COVER YOUR SLEEPING PAD
On summer nights, you might want to forego the sleeping bag and lay directly on your air mattress or foam pad—except the plastic/nylon covering on these pads becomes too hot and sticky. The solution: Make a fitted-cotton flannel cover for your pad. The cotton wicks away sweat, guards against punctures, and prevents the pad from sliding around on the slick plastic groundsheet below.
Tip: Place your spare clothes along the sides of your mattress so that your arms won’t chill if they fall off the pad.
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