Rain + Camping + Music festivals. Would you? There’s a fine line between the cathartic and chaotic qualities of rain. It can be about more than a couple of inches filling the rain gauge. It’s a feeling. Rain’s gently soothing ways, versus the ominous blackness of approaching clouds. The introspection of our greater place in it all, against the unnerving shrill of a weather alert blaring from your smartphone.
Though we may find pleasure in rain, sometimes, like dogs and other animals, you just know a storm is out there and shit’s about to go sideways. It’s instinctual, from back when early homo sapiens would scramble into their caves as the clouds loomed and the gods boomed in discontent. As those winds suddenly changed direction and the air turned cool, they just knew the heavens were angry. Today, campers among us head to the safety of the RV or the tent or the car. But the gut reaction is the same. Must. Seek. Shelter.
When camping in the woods or a music festival, are you prepared to weather any storm?
Do dire forecasts change your plans. Do you alter your itinerary – or cancel altogether – if the forecast turns bleak? And if you commit, come hell or high water, how prepared are you for either?
To some, the philosophy is, “hope for the best; plan for the worst.” Or as Boy Scouts say, “Be prepared.” Are you?
Mother Nature Bein’ Mother Nature
First, let’s not blame Mother Nature. She’s doing what she does, even if we’re nudging her in a direction certain to change the Earth (and, of course, camping) as we know it. Yet, there’s something far more soulful to foul weather than the fear of it tearing your site or plans asunder.
It can be cathartic. It’s magical, even mystical.
Listen to The Doors’ Riders on the Storm. The rain track is calming, if only as a lead in to the much darker tale behind the lyrics (ironically, this hit was Jim Morrison’s last recorded song released).
Henry David Thoreau, as he’s wont to do, saw weather as an opportunity. “Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary.” OK, maybe not the cold and hungry and weary part, but you get his drift. Be One with Mother Nature’s climactic offering.
The same can be said for sitting in the tent or camper, or under the awning or Kelty tarp. The drops speak to you. Especially, when the rain’s falling lightly from the sky or off the trees overhead. Unlike a deluge, droplets are discernibly different from one another. They’re unique. Their staccato patter atop the camper roof or the rainfly sing a sweet song.
Let a slight breeze blow through and their call swells like waves crashing to shore.
Here in Florida, set at the tip of the Caribbean Basin, rain has a meaning all its own. Conch islanders of the Florida Keys find the sound of rain hitting the metal roofs of island homes soothing.
The sound of rain on an RV or tent is much the same. It’s calming. If the rain’s light, we’ll hang outside, smoke a cigar, pour an IPA or glass of wine, and just… Be. If it’s warm, pouring, and muggy, we’ll stay inside watching movies, pour an IPA or glass of wine, and just… Be.
OK, so rain can be beautiful. But what if it arrives in a torrent? Are you prepared?
There’s An App For That
Much goes into pre-trip planning. You buy festival tickets, book campgrounds, plan your route. Then, about 10 days out, you launch the weather app.
It’s become a rite of our culture. Weather has always layered a certain practicality atop the rising anticipation for a coming event. Apps feed our need for immediacy, as opposed to hoping you catch The Weather Channel just as they’re rolling through your region in the national forecast.
This isn’t Farmer’s Almanac stuff. In the age of climate change and digital tech, is the once-trusted guide as relevant or effective any longer? Besides, there’s an app for that.
So we launch the app – NOAAWeather.gov, Weather.com, Windy, FloridaStorms, even a little desktop National Hurricane Center “app” I cobbled together for that time of year.
Bliss is seeing little orange-yellow dots on each day of the long-range forecast. We know these are mere suggestions. But they’re powerful at how a long-range forecast can alter your mood, even possibly make you consider changing your plans?
We recently had planned a quick getaway to Fisheating Creek Campground, a cozy, wooded, creek-front escape along US 27 in the Central Florida town of Palmdale. Less than two hours from our driveway to their gates this is as quick and remote as they come.
A week out, I checked the apps; they warned of rain. It wasn’t four days of gully washers. First two were clear, the third day – Sunday – suggested rain all day, and we’d possibly break camp Monday in a drizzle.
We debated canceling, but decided to go.
The first hint of tornadoes came on Sunday around 9pm. Stuck inside as the consistent rain continued to come down, a crawler on the Weather.com app warned of a Tornado Advisory from the Keys to nearby Hendry County. We brought everything in, threw the folding chairs into the truck bed, pulled the “weighs a ton” picnic table on the outdoor carpet, and retracted the awning.
Ultimately, the storm missed us, but I slept well.
We weren’t about to take any chances. We had a right nasty blow at #LocknFestival last summer – and a couple years before that. Awnings were torn off campers. Pop-up shades went flying. Those who saw it coming, like us, prepared fast. Others didn’t or couldn’t. It was not pretty.
A few years before, the festival was shut down one night as a storm blew through. Officials instructed festival goers to return to their campsites and seek shelter, preferably in their cars (tents aren’t really “shelter” in a tornado). Once it passed, music resumed.
Use Spotify? Queue up her friend Wild Bill’s playlist to stay entertained as you witness the devastation. And always bring the right attitude. You are camping, after all.
You can choose to not take a trip, but once you’re on the road, are you prepared? We permanently store foul weather gear on board: light jackets and parkas in case of cold, ponchos and rain jackets, even mud boots, for rain. I also keep several extra pairs of socks in the camper and pickup. We also have a couple of blue tarps and plenty of durable IKEA bags stashed away. Living in a hurricane zone, blue tarps can be currency of the realm in dire times.
Camping means “just in case.”
We asked our readers for tales and tips to share about prep – or survival? Joe wrote how storms that blow in at night are the worst. He’s leaning toward getting a weather radio with alerts, and looking at the weather before he goes to sleep. “More than once have I jumped out of bed, scrambling for clothes and chasing tapestries,” the festival veteran said.
Emily wrote how she secures everything to make sure it doesn’t blow down, off, or away; picks up any trash around the site; and stakes anything that might be too light. When a 60mph gust dusts up, it’s unsettling – even in their 15,000-pound camper. “To feel that shake is sometimes nerve racking,” she said. “Thankfully we’ve never had any serious big problems with weather but we usually prepare for it.”
Kristin has the simplest approach. “Earplugs and sleep through it is always my favorite method.”
KOA offered these bad-weather camping tips: Plan for the worst; weather can change quickly. You generally know given the time of year and the region you’re in how the weather should be. But they call it “unseasonable” for a reason. If you suspect bad weather, choose your campsite wisely – like higher ground to avoid flooding or limited tree covered to escape falling limbs.
If stuff gets soaked, take time to dry it out. We’ll throw waterlogged belongings – chairs, carpets, towels – in the bed of the pickup to spread / air / dry them out when we get home.
REI suggested repeated the common wisdom of layering clothes for warmth in cold weather and wicking when wet. If stuff does get wet, hang it to dry – don’t shove it in the corner of your tent or camper. A Pro Tip for tenters in cold weather: Pre-Heat tomorrow’s duds by putting them in your sleeping bag tonight.
With climate change (believe, don’t believe, you do you) means the seasons are changing. In the US, fall temps and conditions are lasting longer and spring’s coming sooner. Summer’s just hotter than ever and bleeding into April / May and September / October.
Changing weather patterns mean what you get weather-wise might be worse than what you expected. Storms are more powerful and hitting regions and seasons they might not have before. Reserve America suggested you check camping weather forecasts online. No cell service? Like Joe said, Weather radios are reliable backups.
Don’t forget, heat can be brutal. Dress lightly in light-colored, polyester or nylon fabrics to reflect the sun’s rays and vent perspiration. Remember your hat – and hydrate. Notwithstanding what we wrote above about avoiding tree limbs, shade is critical for your tent or RV on hot summer days. Leave the rain fly off if no rain is forecast.
Rain + Camping or Music festivals. There’s a fine line between the cathartic and chaotic qualities of rain. Being prepared – knowing what you may encounter and packing right – can help weather any storm. But if your gut says “Must. Seek. Shelter,” heed the warning from the caveman inside you. You might even enjoy the sounds from the heavens above.