Drying out (in the hammock, not afterwards)

[trust]

I motorcycle camp, not hiking, so please keep that in mind.

When I arrive at camp and it is raining, I do not take off my rain gear First order of business is to set up the tarp, then the hammock, now I have a dry place to take off my riding gear. All this assumes it is cold enough for me to have on rain gear.

This time of year when riding I usually just toss on a rain jacket and let my legs and hands get wet. It is too hot for me to care and I enjoy the rain more than the heat. Assuming I am wet and all my gear is wet I set up the same as above only I carry an extra tarp which I run a ridge line under (my hammock ridgeline is over my tarp). On the spare ridge line I have about 8 prussic knots from which I hang my wet gear and will even put my pack under it.

Sometimes I have to put on wet gear in the AM but in the summer, it will dry quickly on the bike.

Forgot to add: 2 years back I purchased a mesh backpack at the beach. In the AM all my wet gear that I don't need to wear, goes into the mesh bag and it is placed on the top of my luggage rack. It will either be dry or nicely rinsed when I arrive the next night

Makes sense on leaving the rain gear on...
Thanks for the mesh bag idea!

[trust]

I am curious about one thing though... Where would you dry out your clothes if you were tent camping? Certainly not hanging inside the tent, dripping on the floor?

At home
I think I'd be camping alone if it were the case that we were soaked for days and unable to dry out ... which is why I'd rather give the good experiences first and be prepared for the bad, rather than dive into the deep end right away. (Otherwise I would have gone out in the last six weeks of deluge we've had in NC.)

[Shug]

Having just come back from a two day rain trip backpacking I can say that nothing dries out there. Unless you get some long sun and a breeze. I never got that. http://youtu.be/A8htuk5mg-Y
You need to have dedicated camp clothes that are dry and in a bag in your pack. Once set in the rain and all is done...change out to dry stuff and maintain
discipline to stay as dry as possible.
Wet stuff goes back on for hiking the next day.
Shug

[rhjanes]

dedicated camp clothes (sleep clothes) in a dry-sack in the pack, which has a trash-compactor bag lining it. Set up tarp with a tyvek or similar ground cloth. Now you are keeping most/all the rain off you. Set up hammock. Fluff and toss in the TQ and UQ, they were also in compression sacks or dry-sacks. Change into dry clothes. Now the only items wet were your hiking clothes. you will put them back on wet. Only if the humidity dropped a LOT will they dry much overnight. You can hang them on the ridgeline. Or another option is to put under your TQ. I've got a double layer Warbonnent. I lay the shorts and shirt out between the layers of the hammock. then the quilts and me. they do dry out some from body heat.
Another option, just wear them! In the quilts. they will dry then also. Advantage is, one less set of clothes to wear. Downside is, it better be warm or you are in the rain, in wet clothes, all the time.
All your clothes should also be quick-dry, wicking stuff.

[BillyBob58]

Well, lots of good advice here from the very 1st answer by Fish! Not a lot to add.

Packas are liked by several. Keeps your pack and you dry, but I'd still use waterproof sacks for any down quilts and dry camp clothes. Then 1st thing hang your tarp. Once you have that secure, you can hang your hammock. About the only thing that should be very wet is that Packa. Take it off, and hang it from the end of your hammock. If you are really fancy, maybe you have rigged up a way at home to clip the Packa strategically on the ends of your tarp to use it as an additional wind and rain block.

That's about it. Your clothes should be pretty dry unless you have been sweating a ton. If not dry enough, hopefully you have some dry camp and sleep clothing in your pack. Just get it out of the pack and put it on and relax in your dry hammock and clothes under your tarp. Remember, you are a couple of feet above the soaked ground. And when you pack up the next day your tarp and your Packa should be the only things very wet, so just have a place available on your pack for these wet items, assuming you don't need to put the Packa ( or whatever poncho or rain gear you are using) back on because it is still raining.

Plus remember, if it is raining all day every day, you can also pitch that tarp at lunch time to take a nice break out of the rain.

[SilvrSurfr]

Polyester and fleece clothing dry out pretty quick just from body heat if you can keep it on you for a bit. Hanging it on the ridgeline doesn't really dry it out, in my experience, especially if the humidity is high and there's no wind. I'm a big fan of merino wool 'cause it retains its insulative properties even when wet.

[BillyBob58]

Polyester and fleece clothing dry out pretty quick just from body heat if you can keep it on you for a bit. Hanging it on the ridgeline doesn't really dry it out, in my experience, especially if the humidity is high and there's no wind. I'm a big fan of merino wool 'cause it retains its insulative properties even when wet.

Good points!

[nothermark]

I'm thinking about the time I pulled out a Coleman lantern and used it to heat the tent and dry my clothes on a canoe trip pre hammock days. Heat from somewhere is the only way to dry things out unless you want to get ridiculously cold. I would be inclined to close off the far end of my tarp then pitch one corner in porch mode and fire up the emberlit just to maintain an oasis of warmer dryer air. I think SilverSrfr has it pegged as a campfire substitute. You still want to keep in mind all the other advice. I just to not like cold wet clothes in the AM. ;-)

[trust]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

[Kyle]

An alternative to carrying an extra, dry pair of clothes for bedtime is to just NOT carry extra clothes. As long as you don't risk scarring anyone, just sleep in your birthday suit. ;p