Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => General Chat => Topic started by: seanbranagh on March 20, 2018
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As part of my long term plan to camp on, or as close as I can to all of the Mourne 500's (https://branagh.ie/2018/03/14/mourne-500s-camps/) I camped on the summit of Carn Mountain on Friday night.
I hiked up after dark in thick cloud but otherwise it wasn't a bad evening. It was mild but I knew the temperature was going to plummet overnight to well below freezing though.
Thank's to the number of rocks the only spot I could get close to the summit on the sheltered west side of the wall was right beside the wooden steps.
I was concerned about the potential for someone to trip on my tent overnight or if anyone came up really early in the morning so I didn't bother pegging down the front guy line that holds the little flap over the vent (circled in red). I figured it wouldn't be an issue.
Through sheer bad luck and whatever way the wind was gusting it definitely became an issue through the night. In the early parts of the night before the temperature dropped (but after I was sleeping) the flap must have been blown back and rain managed to blow into the vent. Enough to create a pool of water in the bottom of the tent. Around 5am I stretched out in my sleeping bag and was very rudely awakened by putting my feet into a block of solid ice. It was not at all pleasant. Down sleeping bags and water or ice do not work well together lol.
I used my woolly hat to try and remove as much of the water as possible from the tent that had not completely frozen and I pegged the guy lines down that attach to the flap but the damage was already done so I just curled up and slept in a little ball at the top of the sleeping bag until daylight when I packed up.
The next morning it was easy to see the ice on the sleeping bag and in the tent even after I had removed as much water as I could.
Definitely a lesson learned; I will never again not peg down the front guy lines!
(http://media.seanbranagh.ie/ni_wild/carn_mountain_160318_1.jpg)
(http://media.seanbranagh.ie/ni_wild/carn_mountain_160318_2.jpg)
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That's a bit of bad luck. Suppose the same could have happened if your guy had come loose, odd that so much water got in. Still like you say, lesson learned.
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Hate them types of lessons Sean (when you only learn after its too late) I suppose you where lucky it froze or you might have been swimming home. :o :o
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That's a bit of bad luck. Suppose the same could have happened if your guy had come loose, odd that so much water got in. Still like you say, lesson learned.
I was very surprised by how much water got in. I checked my Camelbak and Nalgene bottle thinking that there had to be a leak in one of those but it was definitely from outside.
Just really bad luck with the direction of the heavy rain.
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