Make sure you known how to put your tent up!
The amount of people we see struggling to put up new tents that
they obviously have never put up before and it always seems to
be raining or blowing a gale! Have a practice pitch in the back
garden before you go to familiarise yourself with how it goes
together. Some geodesic tents have poles that are different
lengths, put a bit of coloured tape on them so that it is easier
to distinguish them.
Look for signs that the ground might be
potentially wet or not well drained, e.g. bottom of slopes
against stone walls or near to streams. Get to know the types of
plants that like damp wet conditions such as the rushes of the
Juncus genus and avoid pitching on ground that contains them.
Check the surface that you are pitching on
to see that there are no sharp objects or stones hidden in the
grass that might puncture your ground sheet or make for an
uncomfortable surface to sleep on. We actually use a ground
sheet protector, which is designed to take the wear & tear that
could so easily damage a ground sheet. There are some people who
probably might think this is extra weight, but after our
experiences in West Papua we wouldn't be without one. Have a
look
here to see what happened!
Avoid pitching on steep sloping ground, as
at night you'll end up slipping downhill and end up on top of
each other! Having said that a very slight slope can help with
drainage and it's advisable not to sleep with your head down
hill as you may end up with a head ache due to the increased
blood flow.
Pitching under trees can give you good shade
from the sun, but can be a pain when it rains, as after the rain
has stopped the trees will continue to drip.
Keep a eye on the weather and if its looks
like a storm is brewing, then pitching in the lee of a wall or
hedge will give you some shelter from the prevailing winds.
Obviously if the winds are very strong don't pitch too close to
trees!
Depending on the shape of your tent, try and
pitch your tent with it's narrow end into the wind, as the shape
should produce less resistance to the wind.
If it is very windy while you are pitching,
make sure that someone is holding on to the tent or hold it down
with some pegs so that it doesn't blow away. I had some D&E kids
once who had erected the inner of a geodesic tent, but had not
pegged it down. As they were picking up the outer to put it on,
a large gust of wind picked up the inner and it went up like a
kite. We eventually found it 3 miles down the valley snagged on
a barbed wire fence!
Tent stuff sacks can also easily blow away,
make sure they are weighed down with something or put them in
your pocket while you are pitching.
A well pitched tent with a good tight outer
will shed the rain better and not flap so much in the wind.
Remember that modern synthetic fabrics stretch slightly when wet
and damp, so the tent that was nice and tight in the sun will go
slack in the wet. The opposite principle applies to canvas tents
whose outers shrink when they get wet.
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