Tip for how to keep cool at night when tent camping in Aug/Sep (without A/C)...

ZJ5/9D47

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 24, 2018
Tent camping last August at the Fort was so cold that I needed to sleep in a winter hat!

My secret to staying cool while my neighbors were running A/C units in their tents? I left the rain fly off when it wasn't raining and took advantage of the breeze and chilly night air (it feels a lot colder when one's body has been sleeping and hasn't moved for hours).

As you can see in the photos below, I kept my rainfly staked out but had it rolled up so that it only took about 90 seconds to completely seal up as is seen in the second photo. I had rain alerts set on my phone and only had to get up one night to spread the rainfly.

I walked by so many tents at night that were completely sealed up despite there being no threat of rain. I can't imagine trying to sleep in those saunas.

Another perk of sleeping with the fly rolled up is watching the sunrise and early-rising critters scurrying about. If I wasn't headed to EMH I would usually just eat in my tent away from the mosquitos.

Last year was my first year camping at the Fort and I loved it so much I'm coming back again this August. Thanks to everyone who has posted such wonderful and helpful info here on this forum!


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Glad to hear it went well and good luck going back soon.

A three season tent such as yours is perfect for warm weather camping (hence the "three season" label). And as you say, when the weather is nice you can take the fly off the top because as you state, the key to staying cool is to keep air moving (either naturally or fan-assisted). So the mesh breathes easily with no fly to constrain the direct gentle breeze. Of course the way mother nature works, the temps continue to cool during the night during the dark hours and it is coolest right before the dawn.

When there's a chance of rain overnight, you either put the fly over the top and sleep in a warmer environment or risk going to the sleep with no fly on and having to hop out if the rain comes in the middle of the night and deploy the fly and interrupt that REM sleep.

Since you've done this trip (and I'm pointing this out for others reading) make sure you secure any food/smellables in the tent in an airtight container or at least one that is varmint-proof. A thin piece of nylon won't stop a squirrel whose nose is sending him SOS signals (the cookie saying, "RESCUE ME").

Have fun!

Bama Ed

PS - great pix.
 
No way I would sleep in a campground with my rain fly like yours. No one needs to be able to see who and how many people are in my tent while fast asleep...
 


I won’t tent camp in high humidity. Managing condensation is a big problem. If I have to camp in high humidity, I’d opt for a hammock. But I don’t think you can use those at the Fort.

Have you thought about getting one of those tiny RVs or renting one?
 
Glad to hear it went well and good luck going back soon.

A three season tent such as yours is perfect for warm weather camping (hence the "three season" label). And as you say, when the weather is nice you can take the fly off the top because as you state, the key to staying cool is to keep air moving (either naturally or fan-assisted). So the mesh breathes easily with no fly to constrain the direct gentle breeze. Of course the way mother nature works, the temps continue to cool during the night during the dark hours and it is coolest right before the dawn.

When there's a chance of rain overnight, you either put the fly over the top and sleep in a warmer environment or risk going to the sleep with no fly on and having to hop out if the rain comes in the middle of the night and deploy the fly and interrupt that REM sleep.

Since you've done this trip (and I'm pointing this out for others reading) make sure you secure any food/smellables in the tent in an airtight container or at least one that is varmint-proof. A thin piece of nylon won't stop a squirrel whose nose is sending him SOS signals (the cookie saying, "RESCUE ME").

Have fun!

Bama Ed

PS - great pix.

I joined the forum about a year ago to get tips and ask questions about camping at the Fort since it was my first time. I saw someone's advice about smell-proofing food and went out and bought some smell-proof bags that worked well. I'm really grateful for all the advice I've read here.

My REM might have been disrupted the one night it rained, but I see that as a small sacrifice and almost insignificant compared to being woken up every time my neighbors' A/C or whatever it was turned on during the night plus the rock music they were listening to all night every night would sometimes have very loud and annoying songs that would wake me up despite wearing earplugs.

No way I would sleep in a campground with my rain fly like yours. No one needs to be able to see who and how many people are in my tent while fast asleep...

I mean, it is dark and the tent far back from the road so who is going to be looking inside at night undetected? People can also see who and how many are at a site during the day.

I won’t tent camp in high humidity. Managing condensation is a big problem. If I have to camp in high humidity, I’d opt for a hammock. But I don’t think you can use those at the Fort.

Have you thought about getting one of those tiny RVs or renting one?

I've only camped once at the Fort so I don't know all the regulations, but I thought hammock camping was allowed as long as it not hung between trees or anything else of theirs (free-standing structure you brought is ok). I have a hammock set-up but it is not plane-friendly.

I've read where one can rent an RV and have it delivered (I don't drive) but that's a huge expense for one person. I used to camp, mostly in the backcountry, over a hundred nights per year and have also spent many nights in hostels around the world so I'm a bit more comfortable than many sleeping somewhat exposed (although I wouldn't call this exposed since I was way back in my site in the dark with a partial tent wall).
 


I won’t tent camp in high humidity. Managing condensation is a big problem. If I have to camp in high humidity, I’d opt for a hammock. But I don’t think you can use those at the Fort.

Have you thought about getting one of those tiny RVs or renting one?

You can use hammocks at the Fort. Tree attachments such as clotheslines to dry towels are permitted and in common use.

Bama Ed
 
You can use hammocks at the Fort. Tree attachments such as clotheslines to dry towels are permitted and in common use.

Bama Ed
We were at fort in march/april this year and saw 5er with 4 hammocks in 800 loop that back to main road. No cast crew said anything for the 8 days they were there. All the hammock were tied to trees not 25 feet from the road.
 

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