The summer my tent flooded on night one in the Smokies

Back in 2019 I drove down to the Smokies for a weeklong trip. Set up my old REI tent near a creek because the guidebook said it was a good spot. That night it poured like crazy and I woke up floating in about two inches of water. The seam tape on the floor had completely peeled off somewhere over the years. Spent the next morning drying everything on a picnic table with a camp towel that smelled like mildew. Rented a crappy cabin for the rest of the week just to save the trip. Still use that tent for dry weather but I check every seam before I go now. Anyone else had a brand new trip ruined by old gear that seemed fine?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.grant19d ago

Is a flooded tent really the end of the world though? I mean yeah it sucks waking up wet but you just dry out your stuff and move on. You still had a whole week and ended up in a cabin which sounds like an upgrade to me. Old gear failing is just part of the deal when you buy used stuff you don't know the history of. I've slept in a damp sleeping bag for two nights because my tarp ripped and I didn't cry about it online.

price.alice19d ago

Oh man, I used to be totally that person. Thought a little water was no big deal, just part of camping. But then my old pad delaminated on a rainy trip in the Shenandoahs. Woke up on wet ground, everything soaked, couldn't get warm for two days straight. Changed my whole view on packing gear I wasn't sure about. Now I check everything like you do, even test it in the backyard first. Water is just way more miserable than people admit.