Backpacking in the rain can be a real downer for your mood and well-being. Having appropriate waterproof gear is the first important step to enjoying yourself. Having warm clothing as backup once you arrive at camp and having the potential to make a fire can make all the difference in the world. Most importantly, your attitude can make or break your trip. Remind yourself why you were so excited to accomplish the backpacking trip. It might have been a new destination, scenery, challenging yourself to go longer distances or looking forward to quality time with your family or partner. Remember that the sky will clear up eventually and the sun will shine again. Endure the rain and the slog, like when you’re backpacking the West Coast Trail and make a memorable trip! With these tips, stay positive while backpacking in the rain and make the best of your trip!
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Wearing Appropriate Waterproof Gear
It can start pouring at a moment’s notice, changing your surroundings and visibility. When it does, you’ll want to have your appropriate waterproof gear available to put on quickly.
The Beta LT Jacket is what I use to protect myself from the elements, such as wind and rain. It features Velcro around the wrists to help keep the rain out of the jacket and your arms dry. If the hood is too big, you can tighten it up at the back and in the front to allow your face to be positioned towards the front of the hood. This allows you to see everything around you, instead of feeling like your head is floating inside the hood. Air vents under both arms allow air to circulate in and out of the coat to reduce the humidity and discomfort while backpacking.
If it starts raining like crazy, you can get wet quickly, making you uncomfortable for the remainder of the backpacking trip. If this happens, you might not warm up until you arrive at camp.
Tip: Have your appropriate waterproof gear available in an exterior pouch or just on the top of your main backpack compartment. That way, when it starts raining, you can put it on quickly and avoid being miserable and wet for the rest of the day. Being proactive will help you to stay positive while backpacking in the rain.
Wear a Baseball Cap to Stay Positive Backpacking in the Rain
Wearing a baseball cap allows your hood to be a bit further back on your head while protecting your eyes from the rain. Water in the eyes could consequently obscure your view. With a baseball cap on your head, you’ll be able to maintain a wide view of your surroundings and see what’s ahead of you or lurking in the trees.
It’s easier to stay positive backpacking in the rain when you can see everything around you.
Singing to Stay Positive: Backpacking in the Rain
I love to sing! It can be fun to see how many words you can recall and if you’ll remember the tune correctly while backpacking on a trail, especially when you don’t have the radio tunes to accompany you. Other backpackers are generally far away from you; it’s a good time to sing your heart out! Even if you can’t sing or you sing off-key, who cares? It’s a perfect time to practice! Remind your partner or family members that it’s a good idea to make noise while backpacking to keep the animals aware that you are around; singing is the perfect way to do it. You can also encourage your group to sing together.
Tip #1: Singing is awesome for the soul! It makes you happy! It’s a great way to stay positive, backpacking in the rain.
Tip #2 : If it’s raining, other backpackers can’t hear you sing…that’s another reason to do it and not care what your audience thinks!
Be Thankful to Experience the Trail
If you’re still struggling to stay positive backpacking in the rain, be thankful to experience the trail. Remind yourself what brought you here, why you wanted to backpack this particular trail. Look around you. Do you get to experience this every day? Did you travel far to get here? Did it take many hours of driving or maybe even flying to reach the trailhead? Most backpacking trails are absolutely gorgeous, even though they can be extremely challenging.
Sometimes, it’s important to look at the big picture instead of focusing on suffering in the moment. Take the situation and look at it through a timeline while backpacking. What it took to get here, experiencing the trail, what is yet to come and how you’ll feel at the end! It can help you focus on something else, change your attitude towards the situation and help you figure out the meaning behind booking the trip. It can also help pass the time for many hours by constructively doing a breakdown analysis.
Drowning in your own misery isn’t helpful, nor will it make you feel great either. The power of the mind is HUGE, and you need to decide if the weather is worth giving in in exchange for your happiness. Once you identify how you’ll react to a situation, you’ll realize you have a lot more power than you might have initially thought.
New Adventure
A new adventure can help you get excited about what is yet to come on your backpacking trip. Even after a rainstorm, there can still be so much to see. You can wonder what you’ll experience the further you go. What will the campsites look like? What views will present themselves on top of the next ridge? Be excited that you got on the trip, and you were able to book the adventure! When you’re in the mountains, know that the weather changes drastically and quickly; rain, snow or sometimes hail can be expected. If you don’t end up in a storm, bonus! A storm can roll in just as quickly as it can depart. Remind yourself that it’s a new adventure to experience, so make the best of it to staying positive, backpacking in the rain.
Determination can go a long way. Knowing you want to complete the trip, you’ll be way happier if you stay positive throughout its entirety. There’s no point in dwelling on the intermittent pouring rain that keeps occurring while you’re backpacking.
Refresh at Camp
What always provides me with comfort is reminding myself that even though I’m soaking wet, once I arrive at camp, I’ll be able to change into something dry! It’s quite possible that even though it was raining while backpacking, the storm might not have hit your campsite, and everything is dry there. It might seem odd, but it does happen quite frequently as rain is localized. If you’ve packed a tarp to cover a picnic table, at least you’ll be able to eat supper with some protection from the elements.
Warming up with Fresh Clothing and Making Fires
I was happy to change into warm clothing after the rain. Even if it’s not fresh, clean clothing, at least it’s dry! If you’re allowed to make fires where you’re backpacking, that can be a nice addition. It can allow you to warm yourself up and even hang up your wet raincoat and pants if the weather clears up. In Alberta and British Columbia, it’s unfortunately less common these days to be able to have a fire at your campsite due to wildfires. If the campsite is fairly dry, you can change out of your soaking wet boots and put on sandals to allow your feet to air out. I wore a tubular headwear to keep my head warm.
Hot beverages such as hot chocolate, tea, coffee, or cup-a-soup can be helpful to drink upon arrival at your campsite to help warm yourself up.
Protected at Camp
The spacious cooking area was protected by Scott’s tarp in case it started raining on us again. With the dense fog in the background, there was potential for more rain. We also had our butt pads to help keep our seats warm by creating insulation versus sitting directly on the wet wooden benches. They kept our butts dry. I would highly recommend bringing one on backpacking trips. I find it to be a lifesaver for sitting on rocks at lunch time or when the surroundings are all wet and you just want a comfortable place to sit.
The bear cache to the right of our picnic table, with the food bags hanging up on the pole, prevented the bears from eating our food. Sometimes, metal food lockers are provided. Both are wonderful options to protect food from bears. Make sure that your bags are waterproof to prevent your food from getting soaked! We’ve seen flying squirrels attack our food bags before; ensure your food bags are durable!
Goal to Complete the Trail
The goal is ultimately to finish the trail. Even though it can rain hard and for quite some time, know that the weather changes, and it will be nice again! Power through those sombre hours in the rain that can be non-stop, and push yourself to keep going to make it to the finish line! Once the rain subsides, you’ll find yourself happy that you were able to stay positive backpacking in the rain!
It Will Clear Up
Here is a picture of the next morning, once the clouds blew over the valley. Sometimes it’s important to be patient, as the gorgeous picture shows; the views can be breathtaking. The sun appeared to create new, even better views!
My brother and I soaked it all in on the moss once the sun came out! It was fantastic to feel the warmth again, to take off our outer layers and sun tan for a quick duration.
Animals
When the sun starts shining, you might get a chance to see a marmot sunbathing on rocks. Marmots are so cute and love to partake in photo shoots. We saw many marmots together, taking turns getting their pictures taken.
The pika, with a mouthful of leaves, also turned its head shyly to allow us to take its picture. We enjoyed watching these animals in their environment, keeping a safe distance from them, of course, not to encroach on their territory. My mom, Scott and I spent at least thirty minutes taking pictures while observing them.
Just know that after the rain comes fun opportunities for seeing wildlife.
Outside with People You Love
The best part, even when it’s raining, is to remember that you are outside with people you love! You’ll embrace the sunshine again and be able to take awesome group shots showcasing nature and your travels on your backpacking adventure!
Final Thoughts
Even though backpacking in the rain can be difficult, singing in the rain, having the right waterproof gear and keeping your attitude in check will make all the difference! Look forward to things that are yet to come on your backpacking trip. Remind yourself what it took to get yourself there and what views you might see, as well as animals you might encounter as they come out to sunbathe on rocks.
Challenging trips aren’t meant to be easy, they are meant for you to push through your fears and your doubts and prove to yourself that you can achieve great things. The trip will provide you with gratitude and thankfulness to push yourself past your boundaries and find success! Go out there and find ways to stay positive backpacking in the rain!
Additional Links
- Ultimate WCT Packing List
- West Coast Trail: Exciting Food
- Backpacking Poboktan Trail Successfully
- Hiking to Laughing Falls
- Review: Keen Newport Sandals
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