Had a grand time in Death Valley. Titus Canyon, to Ubehebe Crater, to roadside camp on Racetrack Playa a couple of miles south of the crater. Next day, we drove to Tea Kettle Junction, Racetrack Playa, and got to Homestake Dry Camp early for snacks, siesta and a relaxed evening.
I slept on ground as usual. Late at night strong gusts of wind woke me up, but no worries. Then more gusts and it started to drizzle. As I walked toward my friend's Jeep to sleep under his awning, he called me from his Front Runner RTT.
The wind
* had blown the floor overhang and folded it up. The ladder swung against the RTT cover that is left draped from the roof rack and got caught in its folds. In that configuration, my friend could not reach and free the ladder! He could have exited through the zippered window, but since I was already down below, I just helped him free the ladder and bring the floor back to horizontal.
One potential preventive would be to tie a guy-line from ladder hinge to rock slider.
HOMESTAKE DRY CAMP AT SUNSET
IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, TO ANY ROOF-TOP TENT
* Note that
winds in that area are strong enough to move rocks! ARTICLE HERE
The awning held because I guyed it out.