# Lost Tent on the Lower Owyhee



## m.r.h.

The Owyhee River is flowing! 

Last week I was camped at Greeley Hot Springs when a lightning and hail storm rolled in and tore my tent (with my paco pad inside) out of the ground and sent it down stream. The paco pad was floating in an eddy the next day but we didn't see the tent. So if anyone is down there and comes across an orange Big Agnes Flying Diamond tent let me know! I will buy you a beer, or ice cream cone or something cool.


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## 6FEETandRISING

I'm headed down in a couple weeks. I'll look for it.


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## lhowemt

I'll be there in a week and will keep an eye out.


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## mania

m.r.h. said:


> Big Agnes Flying Diamond


guess it was named appropriately.


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## boicatr

Must. Swim. For. Tent....Fuck.


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## VandyIn541

*Good news, bad news*

Is Greeley the camp about 5 miles above the Birch Creek take-out? If so, we camped there on the evening of 3/12. The good news is we found a Flying Diamond 4 footprint floating along the shore near camp. Bad news is there was no tent attached to it.

I feel your pain though. The night we camped there the wind was howling and my 20'x20' tarp ripped right in half. My bad for setting in up in hurricane force winds. 

PM me if you want to discuss further. I'll be out of town for a week, but I'll get back to you when I return.

Casey






m.r.h. said:


> The Owyhee River is flowing!
> 
> Last week I was camped at Greeley Hot Springs when a lightning and hail storm rolled in and tore my tent (with my paco pad inside) out of the ground and sent it down stream. The paco pad was floating in an eddy the next day but we didn't see the tent. So if anyone is down there and comes across an orange Big Agnes Flying Diamond tent let me know! I will buy you a beer, or ice cream cone or something cool.


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## shappattack

we had one of our group several years ago spend an entertaining night inside a smashed tent at Greely, the wind demolished it in the middle of the night. 

I had the wind tear out all the stock stake loops on a Sierra designs origami 4 tarp several years ago.

Been down that river many times and always had at least one super gnarly wind storm on each trip.

We camped just outside Green Dragon Canyon one year and couldn't put up a tent at all in the wind. Though tarp kitting was possible:


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## m.r.h.

Yeah it was a great lightning storm that turned into an intense hail storm in about 10 seconds. I even jumped in a boat and tried to chase it down but called it after not being able to see through all the hail that was coming down.

Such a great place, just have to be prepared to battle the elements.


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## lhowemt

You guys are making me rethink my tent choice for next week...


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## m.r.h.

My tent disaster was my error. It was staked down, but the second it started getting windy I would have put some rocks inside and tied it off to the trees around. Just know that winds can get up to tent destruction speeds, and quick.


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## shappattack

lhowemt said:


> You guys are making me rethink my tent choice for next week...


This is a serious concern this time of year in that area. I recommend a good solid tent, nice 3 season or 4 season with extra guy lines. Not only stake the floor/bottom but also use your accessory guy out lines on the sides/front.

Not a joke or over estimate of the situation, be prepared for literally every kind of weather to occur in a single day, I have been on the Owyhee in March and had sun, snow, dime sized hail, rain, 50 mph wind, and back to sun (almost shirt sleeve weather) in a single day.

The wind can be so sever on the water that progress downstream is near impossible. Also the wind can be so bad you can't hardly maneuver side to side to get through obstacles/Rapids. Best advice is to pull over and wait till latter. When it is launch time at Rome, if there is strong upstream wind before you set out, wait till latter Best to leave from Rome directly in the morning, not late morning or mid day.


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## lhowemt

Dang, OK, well then I will bring my better designed/built (and bigger) tent. Thanks


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## 2tomcat2

On a Deso trip, a steel framed shelter, tied to a very heavy ice chest, was dragged 50 yards by strong winds.

I now place a "line of safety" over tents and shelters.

Use a sturdy piece of rope, long enough to go over the tent, loop once over the top intersection of poles and reaches the ground; make loops at the end of each end for stakes or a deadman. Tips: run the line of safety opposite of your door(s) and do this before attaching rain fly.


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## lhowemt

Didn't see your tent, but didn't get much chance to stop either. We fought some pretty bad winds so either we were rowing in the wind, or rowing in the calm to avoid the wind, and didn't stop to look around. Sorry!


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## Learch

I've only done that trip once, I'm hoping to God it will be running late May this year. I was 14 the last time, we camped at Rome. By morning, every tent but my little one man dome was busted and flat. 
We put in too many miles the first day and found a very small box canyon with a water hole in it to camp at. The wind howled again, but the canyon protected us. The next two days we camped at a really nice spot on a flat, and got to watch a really cool thunderstorm come right over the top of us. It was violent and beautiful. We learned our lesson about wind on that trip, haven't forgotten it yet.


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