My tent collapsed at 2am in a thunderstorm in Shenandoah

I was camping solo at Big Meadows last June and the weather looked fine when I set up. Around 1am the wind really picked up and then the rain started pounding. I woke up to my cheap dome tent bending sideways and one pole snapped clean in half. The whole thing came down on my face and I was drenched in like 30 seconds. I grabbed my headlamp and sleeping bag and ran to the bathhouse to wait it out. Spent the rest of the night huddled on a bench shivering and regretting that I bought the budget tent from Amazon for $60. Has anyone else had a tent fail in bad weather and what did you switch to for something that can actually handle wind?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrew77826d ago

Hold on one thing - Big Meadows doesn't have a bathhouse with benches. I've camped there a few times. They've got vault toilets, not a proper bathhouse with a place to sit inside. You might be thinking of another campground, or maybe you found a spot under the picnic shelter instead. That would make more sense, those have benches and keep you out of the rain but don't really block the wind.

adam_hernandez26d ago

Wait, are you sure about that @andrew778? I've been to Big Meadows a handful of times and I remember a small bathhouse near the loop B parking lot that has two benches inside by the sinks. It's not like a fancy shower house or anything, just a concrete floor and wooden benches for tying your boots. Were you thinking of the one near the main entrance maybe?