Hi everyone,
I had not been able to get out over the last months, so we spent this weekend snowshoeing up Glacier Point Road.
The weather was awful, storming all night with rain, hail, and snow. Because of the the rain, there was not much accumulation of snow, maybe 3-6 inches at the most. The lowest temperature in the solo tent was 32 F.
The problem was condensation in the tent. This was actually the first time I used a tent; normally I use a bivy sack and a tarp, but I became afraid of the storm and thought a tent would be better. I recreated every problem Ray Jardine describes in his book-setting up in the rain got everything wet, no place to cook in the tent, condensation like mad, etc.
Overall, survived the weekend with beautiful hiking during the days, but had to cut the trip short when could not dry out everything during the day.
We had to camp on soft, wet snow, maybe 5 feet deep or more. I used an exped 9 which kept me warm and off the ground, but I had to wipe off the walls of the tent to keep the bag dry.
I’m new at winter camping. What shelter would heve been better? Would the tarp/bivy actually been better and kept me drier? Would a true winter tent have had less condensation than my 3 season?
I’m not sure what the best balance between shelter/protection and moisture management was, but I know I missed it a bit. Now, I need to learn!
Thanks, steve
