Tried setting up my tent in a windstorm at Big Sur last weekend

I got to my campsite near Pfeiffer Beach around 5 PM and the gusts were easily 40 mph. My tent pole snapped before I even got the rainfly on, and I spent 20 minutes chasing my sleeping pad across the parking lot. Has anyone else just given up and slept in their car instead of fighting the wind?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenix_campbell8824d agoTop Commenter

That "chasing my sleeping pad across the parking lot" hit way too close to home. Last year at a windy spot near Yosemite, I watched my brand new camp stove roll down a hill and disappear into some bushes like it had a personal vendetta against me. I ended up eating cold beans out of the can in my backseat, which was somehow more dignified than the alternative.

olivers2824d agoMost Upvoted

Hold up, @phoenix_campbell88, you ate cold beans out of the can in your backseat? I gotta say, that's a level of commitment I respect but would never personally sign up for. I once lost a lighter in the dark on a rocky beach and ate my dinner raw out of spite, so I get the logic. But beans straight from the tin with no heat sounds like a test of character I'm not ready for. Hope you at least got the stove back eventually, or gave that bush a proper piece of your mind.