Got caught in a downpour at Big Bend and learned why dry bags matter

Last month I was hiking the South Rim trail in Big Bend when a storm rolled in out of nowhere. My sleeping bag was in a regular backpack liner and it got soaked in about 20 minutes. Had to hike back 4 miles in the rain and set up camp with everything wet. That night I swore I'd never skimp on waterproof storage again. Anyone else learn a gear lesson the hard way on a specific trail?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin6284d ago

@quinna89 you nailed it. I spent the whole night curled up like a shrimp trying to find one dry patch of bag to breathe on. Not a single minute of sleep, just counting sheep that were also shivering. The next morning I learned that wet down smells like a wet dog that rolled in a swamp. My buddy laughed and tossed me a dry bag from his pack and said "rookie move". He wasn't wrong. Now I carry two dry bags for anything that touches my skin at night. Dry bags are cheap compared to a night of misery. I don't care if I look like a dork with a bright orange bag strapped to my pack. Worth every penny to skip that lesson again.

susanb345d ago

You hiked back 4 miles in the rain and set up wet... did your sleeping bag ever actually dry out that night or were you just stuck shivering till dawn?

quinna895d ago

Man that sounds rough. I've been there before on a backpacking trip where my bag got soaked and I just had to deal with it. No way that thing dries out in a few hours especially in the rain. You probably just laid there counting down the minutes till sunrise shivering the whole time. Really feel for you on that one, wet sleeping bags are the worst.