Can a camping tent survive Hurricane Cheddarwurst? Here's a funny story for you... Last year, my friends and I found ourselves at Sunset State Beach in California. The campground is called Sunset because it arguably has the best sunsets over the pacific ocean, in all of California.
We arrive at around noon and immediately set up shop. This involved unpacking the car, assembling our tents, and immediately having a beer. All of our tents were pretty standard with the dome shape, poles, and water proof covers. Well, almost all of them. One of our friends lacked the basic tent, and decided to design a makeshift tent with a giant blue tarp and some bungee cords. It actually looked pretty decent.
When we checked in, the Park Ranger gave us a weather report with a slight chance of rain and his added opinion that there wouldn't be any. We enjoyed most of the day with a few beers, a walk down to the beach, a few beers, roasting hot dogs, a few beers, eating Cheddarwurst (which our new tent architect decided to bring), chatting by the fireside, and a few more beers. As the sun went down so did our eyes and we retired to our tents shortly thereafter.
It must have been about five hours later that I awoke in a puddle of water from a hurricane that had decided to blow in. Okay, so it wasn't really a hurricane, but it sure seemed like on at the time. As I unzipped my tent and peered out in the pitch black, all I could make out a giant blue tarp flapping in the wind like a sail that lost its wind. Not wanting to bear the cold and more wet, I attempted to get some more sleep but simply ended up laying there until dawn.
When everyone rose in the morning, we noticed that our tent designer fled the scene of the storm, leaving only a drenched blue tarp. Their car was gone and we all laughed and gave them an A for effort.
The moral to the story is to be prepared with a decent tent. Even though our friend didn't have a tent to begin with, my tent failed the test too. It's best to do your research on what tent will work for you.
P.S. My personal opinion is to invest in a good water proof tent.
