Drying wet or damp gear after rainy camping

[Phantom Grappler]

I usually hang all gear in house to dry out
Just got back from 16 mile backpacking trip with my son and granddaughters. Roan Mountain going north on AT at Tennessee North Carolina line. I’m not very organized, packing in rain and some of my gear is wet and down quilts are damp

I’m gonna put underquilts, pack, hammock, and a few other items in my car to drive out any moisture before packing for John Rock Hang

I think this will dry down quilts fast with no wear and tear that might happen in a clothes dryer

[jeff-oh]

That's about all I do. At the end of each trip I lay out the bags, rain or not to air for a few days. I hang the tarp and hammock loosely in the basement to air and dry them also. Take the cook kit to the kitchen and give it a good scrub. I use "Barkeepers Friend" on any sooty pots. The last trip I was on was wet and muddy. I hung the tarp outside to hose off and dry. Birds made me clean the tarp again and this time I brought it inside to dry.

[dkurfiss]

I do pretty much what jeff-oh does including hosing off my tarps which I then hang to dry in garage to avoid birds

[tsshaw78]

Like jeff-oh and Deb, I prefer to hang my gear out in a sunny breeze for a few hours to dry up any moisture that got on the gear and to solar sterilize it all before being packed into my closet. If the weather is poor, I have some lines in the garage that let me get my gear dry.
This habit was born from years of hanging gear after every camping trip when I was in Boy Scouts (it rained almost every trip).
It also gives me a chance to inspect for damage after the trip rather than finding out on the next trip.

[Ghostman74]

[QUOTE=Phantom Grappler;1978314]I’m gonna put underquilts, pack, hammock, and a few other items in my car to drive out any moisture before packing for John Rock Hang/QUOTE]

This has me thinking, so thanks for the idea.

I’ve seen these solar-powered window vents for cars. I’m wondering if that would help move the moist air out of the car and accelerate the process without stressing the fabric or the down.

I have a quick turn-around next Saturday/Sunday coming off a section hike of the PCT and heading back on the road for work. I’m looking for all sorts of ideas on how to get my gear dry.


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[peeeeetey]

PG baking in the car does wonders. I have a family sized tent and nowhere large enough to hang it. I loosely wadded it up in the back of the car for about a week rotating it periodically. With this heat that we are having there should be no problem.

[TallPaul]

So what did you end up doing with your food at night PG?

Did you go from Carvers Gap to 19E or some other route?

With the heat we are having I’m sure you stuff will dry in no time.

[Phantom Grappler]

Thanks Peeeeetey and TallPaul
At Roan Mountain, I went where my son Jesse lead us. I don’t remember routes and names.
We parked at a through hikers hostel and campground. The pleasant lady gave us a shuttle ride up mountain for $40 We hiked back on AT to hostel going North Bound. First night we camped at “The Barn”, Jesse and his two young daughters hung in “The Barn’s” porch. I camped up the hill and even though I was up the hill, someone had hung there before, as I found small bits of wrappers and a carabiner and some tarp string that had been cut off in a hasty packup—probably from their knot jamming
Met nice campers at The Barn—hi Tarheel Sue!
Second day hiked up “Big Hump” and camped at NC-TN state line in a beautiful campsite with water source. Hiked last few miles out third day.
Total around 16 miles, Jesse has done this route in two days several times. I was the slowpoke in our group.
Me and Jesse all the sudden promised each other to buy lighter weight gear for backpacking. Jesse had some of his youngest daughters gear in his pack. My pack weighed around 26 pounds total
I kept food in my pack inside a 55gallon trash bag tethered to hammock suspension. All I had was trail mix in a hard plastic container and some beef jerky packages along with instant coffee. Nothing bothered my food. A mouse or chipmunk tried to get in Jesse’s food under their tarp.
Morning after getting home I woke up with a bone in my leg—Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscles have always been tight—TallPaul it was a great trip!

[TallPaul]

Thanks Peeeeetey and TallPaul
At Roan Mountain, I went where my son Jesse lead us. I don’t remember routes and names.
We parked at a through hikers hostel and campground. The pleasant lady gave us a shuttle ride up mountain for $40 We hiked back on AT to hostel going North Bound. First night we camped at “The Barn”, Jesse and his two young daughters hung in “The Barn’s” porch. I camped up the hill and even though I was up the hill, someone had hung there before, as I found small bits of wrappers and a carabiner and some tarp string that had been cut off in a hasty packup—probably from their knot jamming
Met nice campers at The Barn—hi Tarheel Sue!
Second day hiked up “Big Hump” and camped at NC-TN state line in a beautiful campsite with water source. Hiked last few miles out third day.
Total around 16 miles, Jesse has done this route in two days several times. I was the slowpoke in our group.
Me and Jesse all the sudden promised each other to buy lighter weight gear for backpacking. Jesse had some of his youngest daughters gear in his pack. My pack weighed around 26 pounds total
I kept food in my pack inside a 55gallon trash bag tethered to hammock suspension. All I had was trail mix in a hard plastic container and some beef jerky packages along with instant coffee. Nothing bothered my food. A mouse or chipmunk tried to get in Jesse’s food under their tarp.
Morning after getting home I woke up with a bone in my leg—Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscles have always been tight—TallPaul it was a great trip!

Awesome.
That is a great section of trail. Glad you got to see it. And not any easy section. I’ve had my butt kicked going up some of those hills. And the downhill can be relentless too. I’ve camped near the barn before but not in it. Great views. Enjoyed a few meals there. The other place you stayed sounds like Doll Flats. I’ve not camped there before but saw there was a ton of spots.
One tip - if you want a shorter in and out, there is a road that leads near the barn and you can then walk up an old gravel road to get to it.
Did you have views on Hump mountain or rain?

[chknbone]

Hitting that trail myself next week with the wife. If would have been cool if we had accidentally planned for the same dates and shown up at the same time....oh well....I'll see you at Yates for the Time Change Hang.

I typically either take over the garage for a couple of days if it's cloudy outside or throw stuff over the clothesline if it's sunny to dry everything out but I think spreading things out in the car to dry is a great idea. I'm guessing you would leave the windows cracked to allow the moisture to escape as they dry?