Rehearsal

Whilst it's not confirmed, should I cycle in Europe later this year I will need to camp.  There may be some nights where I'll use a hostel or hotel.  However the cost will preclude me from doing it every night.

I bought a small tent in 2022 and took it on my first Taiwan trip.  It never got used as accommodation was well within my budget.  Today seemed a good opportunity to check the tent as I've only erected it once.  Rain in Europe at some stage is a distinct possibility, which means I need to know how to pitch the tent swiftly to avoid wet bedding.

The tent comes in its own bag and I noticed it felt heavier than I had anticipated.

Inside is the tent inner, the fly, a bag of tent poles with a smaller bag containing steel pegs.

   

Thinking logically about the erection sequence suggested assembling the poles should be the first step.  This avoids leaving the tent inner out in the rain whilst assembling the poles.  It would also be logical to carry the poles and pegs separate from the tent.

The next step is to peg out the inner and insert the poles.

 

The tent has an entrance on one side only.  I need to know which side opens when pegging out the collapsed base.  To achieve this I marked the corner peg straps on the door side with yellow marker pen.

 

This needed to be repeated with the fly which also only opens on one side only.  Obviously I want to avoid erecting the tent with the inner opening on one side and the fly opening on the other.  Especially if it's raining!

There is a small ventilation opening at ether end of the fly.

The biggest issue with nylon tents is condensation.  We humans pump out a significant amount of humidity which can be trapped on the inside of the fly.  The vents will allow some of it to escape.  Hopefully most of the remainder will run down the inside of the fly and drip onto the ground.  There is a gap between the base of the inner and the fly to prevent any condensation entering the inner.

My idea of using the bike pump to inflate the air mattress is a failure.  The output from the pump is so small it would take 12 months to inflate the mattress   I reverted to the old method of lying on my back with the deflated mattress on top of me and blowing it up using my mouth.  In this position I limit the amount of saliva entering the mattress.

 

Previously I've rolled up some clothes to use as a pillow.  This time I've treated myself to a $4 inflatable pillow.  The sleeping bag is from Aldi and very lightweight (thin) I'm hoping I'll be warm enough.  However I will also take a long-sleeved thermal vest, thermal long johns and some possum merino socks should the lightweight bag be insufficient.  I can always don a fleece if it becomes necessary. 

More rehearsals are now required.