“But who wants to be foretold the weather? It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand” (Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat)
I thought it would be useful to talk about the weather and the effect the tropical climate has, particularly on those not acclimatised to it, for the simple reason that this is often the element of jungle trekking that newcomers find most difficult. However, once you know what to expect, you can both mentally adjust to the new environment and adjust your camp routine/gear/clothing accordingly.
Perhaps the first step in adapting to this hot and humid environment is to understand your own limitations – it is more difficult to exert yourself physically here than it is in a cool dry climate and you need to make allowances. These can be as simple as conserving energy whenever possible, slowing your pace down slightly, carrying the lightest load you can get away with and, most importantly of all, not planning a trip that is too ambitious until you have at least tested yourself on a shorter/easier trip first.
It also means that you allow for the heat and humidity and dress accordingly. I wear well worn, cotton clothes that are baggy and airy, wool socks and cycling shorts in place of underpants. The cycling shorts (usually the only synthetic clothing I use) are because cotton can rub against your skin when wet and cause soreness. Wool socks may seem a strange choice, but cotton will rub your feet sore when wet and synthetics will make you feet sweat (I even avoid the wool/synthetic mixes if I can). Synthetic ‘wicking’ type shirts are quickly overcome by the amount of sweating you’re doing and, combined with the overall humidity (which effectively stops the sweat from evaporating from your skin), you end up with a film of sweat between your skin and the shirt (and unpleasant and clammy feeling for me at least).
All the sweating you’ll be doing also means you need to drink more and replenish mineral salts that you are losing.
At the equator, the sun beats down brutally during cloudless days and the jungle trekker does well to stay in the shade of the forest….I would go out of my way to avoid a trek over open countryside in the middle of the day here if it meant I could stay in the shade of the forest.
The equatorial location also has an impact on the way you camp as darkness falls quickly, rains usually come in the early evening and you will want to go to sleep early so that you can wake early and take advantage of the relative coolness of the mornings.
A number of you have written in asking about my camping routine and that’s what I want to cover in this article and the video below. None of it is rocket science but hopefully there are some useful tips for those not used to camping in the jungle.
In terms of priorities once a camp site has been chosen; usually the first thing I do is set up the hammock and tarp (although not necessarily removing the tarp from its snake skin), after that fire and water are the next two priorities: setting up a gravity fed water filtering system and collecting wood for a fire. If the insects are being pesky then getting a fire going takes priority simply because the smoke will drive them away (throw some green leaves on the fire once it’s going and that will produce lots of smoke) but usually fire and water are done simultaneously.
I alway trys to get my food cooked and the dishes cleaned and put away before the light falls simply because it’s easier to do during daylight. And after that the hammock beckons and often by about 9pm I am away in the land of nod.
Finally the other factor that often confuses the newcomer to the tropics is the weather, which can change quickly and dramatically and is very location specific. In the northern and southern hemispheres the weather forecasts are more reliable than they are at the equator and, although there may be defined rainy and dry seasons at the equator there can also be a lot of variation within these seasons (indeed within the same day!) and the weather can be completely different in two locations no more than a few miles apart. Of course the main weather factor that affects the jungle trekker is the rain (as temperatures remain fairly constant throughout the year) – the good news is that getting wet during the day in not something you need to worry about – just something you need to mentally get used to, accept and ignore – but staying warm and dry through the night is important.
Rather than rely on long range forecasts (which are often wrong) I try to anticipate changes in the weather from the signs around me (the most obvious being cloud formations and thunder) as these usually give you an hour or so warning of an approaching storm.
Hi Paul,
Great video as always.
Personally I prefer cotton only as as you said synthetics stinks, from my experience after few hours.
How are your civet cats, still living with you?
HI Jakub,
Thanks for the comment and gad you like the video- a lot of my friends use synthetics in the jungle but I really can’t comfortable in them (and they really do stink after a bit!)
The civet cats are still with us – we tried releasing them a week or so back but I think it’s still a bit early and we’ll give it another couple of weeks before trying again. I’ll try to remember to video their release from the cage when it happens.
Cheers!
Paul
Hello Paul,
Thanks a lot for that video!
Sharing camping routine with fellow jungle trekkers always interesting.
Now there’s a lot less stuff on your camp than you previously had. I also took out most of my gear: I prefer simply being out and relax, not having to deal with the stuff I take in.
Glad to see we both use a tiny tarp even under heavy tropical rains!
The early wake up is also a big one for me as I enjoy cool temperatures for physical activity, do you put an alarm or automatically wakes up with the first rays of sun? I use to get up at 6 on open spaces due to the sun, but in the forest I still need an alarm.
Thanks again, that’s a great video!
Hi Wawa,
Thanks as always form the comment and I agree that some of the tarps people take in are larger than necessary (which means they are carrying more weight than needed) – I know it’s nice to have a large tarp that can cover the cooking area as well but I’m not going carry something so heavy if I can help it.
I don’t use an alarm clock as I wake up early anyway (usually I’m up by 7am even at home and in the jungle I tend to wake a bit earlier).
…and ‘yes’, my gear has changed over time and reduced in both size and weight – I think it’s a natural progression as you fine tune what you really need. No doubt there will be more changes to come!
Cheers!
Paul
Really like your videos. Your comments about staying dry seem misleading to me. People with Northern genetics often have a predisposition to skin ailments once they reach the tropics. I know I have to stay scrupulously dry at all times, or I begin to hatch all kinds of yeast, fungus and other skin creatures that almost immediately result in redness, swelling, pain, irritation, itchin… you name it. This is why Northern mothers teach us to stay dry.
Hi Scott,
Many thanks for the comment and support – much appreciated. I understand exactly what you mean about the problem to the skin if you stay constantly wet. I think the point is that, for me at least, being wet during the day isn’t a problem as long as when I reach camp I get nice and dry and put on my (very) dry clothes….in other words between, say, 8am and 4pm (i.e. 8 hours) while trekking I’m a bit damp and my clothes are wet but between 4pm and 8am the next day (i.e. 16 hours) I am completely dry and changed into completely dry clothes (which gives my skin time to recover)
The other thing that I have found is that it is almost impossible to stay dry while trekking in the jungle either because of sweat or rain…the trick is to get super dry (and stay dry) once you reach camp.
Saying all that I have met people who are more prone to skin problems than I am so this may be more of an issue for others than it is for me.
Thanks again,
Cheers!
Paul
It sems the more north your genetics are from, the more you have to look out for this…
Hi Scott,
I think you may be right there. I seem to remember watching a documentary about a tribe in the Amazon somewhere who sweat far less than people from cooler climates. This make complete sense as sweating is a fairly useless cooling mechanism in the tropics as the humidity means that the sweat doesn’t evaporate and cool you as it would in a less humid climate.
Cheers!
Paul
Some level of damp is to be expected in the jungle, but in a survival situation, being constantly drenched day and night can be fatal. Case in point is that guy that was lost for 10 days during cyclonic conditions.
His skin was ineffectual at fending off bacteria and fungi, and minor abrasions on waterlogged skin ended in severe blood poisoning, that nearly killed him.
He was hypothermic as well, which seems impossible in a jungle scenario, something I never thought was possible.
Damp OK, waterlogged not so OK.
Hi Matt.
Many thanks for the comment and I know exactly what you mean – I had a week long trip in the jungle where it seemed to rain non stop (and hard!) – again, the important thing is to keep your dry stuff dry and change into that in the evening (and then keep it dry!). But you’re right, skin does not like being permanently wet for prolonged periods.
Cheers!
Paul