In short: I should have listened to the forecast, but I did not, and we got caught in the rain. This is a South Georgia river trip where the storm beat us to camp. We found a sandbar on a curve, raced two hammocks under one tarp, and got it up just as the big drops started falling. Then we cooked a hot supper under cover while it poured. Rain and all, it turned into a good night.
We were looking for a spot when the sky made the decision for us. Some leaning trees, a sandbar on the curve, and a pine tree, and I called it. We had to get in fast because it looked like it was about to let go. I told Tina we would run two hammocks under one tarp between that tree and that tree, and the wind was already coming in. I did not even record us setting up because the rain came in before we found the good sandbar. We just got the tarp up quick.
That is the lesson right there. When the weather turns on you, shelter comes first. You do not fool with anything else until you are under cover. We got that one tarp strung and both hammocks under it, and by the time it was really coming down we were dry and watching it. Not hot, either. Tina said she was loving the rain, and I told her I think she was lying, but it did feel good.
Come suppertime I was going to do it over an open fire, but that meant standing out in the rain to tend it, and I was not going to be standing in the rain. So we pulled out the little portable jet burner and cooked right there under the tarp. Trusty cast iron frying pan, some teriyaki chicken, broccoli, and a cup of rice. A South Georgia cup, I told her. A little salt, some Larry's, because you have got to have Larry's on everything, and a little pepper.
The chicken was pre-seasoned so all I had to do was warm it back up. A little oil in the cast iron so it would not stick, dump it in, and let it go. We said grace and thanked the Lord for the day and the food, and it was good. Real good. Teriyaki, broccoli, rice, and a skillet on the river. You cannot beat it.
Once we were set up under the tarps the rain was not bad at all. Good breeze coming through, natural rain sounds all night, no Alexa needed. The only thing it cost us was a little catfishing that evening, and there will be another night for that. We had an awesome supper, stayed dry, and turned in early listening to it come down. That is the whole point. Rain does not ruin a trip. Being unready for it does.
Fast tarp setups, cooking under cover, and a system that makes a rainy night comfortable instead of miserable. It is all in the All-Weather Expedition guide.
Read the All-Weather Expedition guideGet the tarp up first. Find two good trees, string the tarp between them, and get everything under cover before you worry about anything else. On this trip we ran two hammocks under one tarp and got it up just as the drops started.
Yes. A small portable stove under a tarp keeps you out of the weather and off an open fire you would have to stand in the rain to tend. We warmed teriyaki chicken and broccoli in a cast iron pan and cooked rice, all dry under the tarp.
Not if you are set up for it. Rain is not the enemy, being unprepared is. A good tarp, a stove, and the sense to make camp before the storm hits turns a rainy night into a comfortable one.
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