Tent necessary for thru?

[Gambit]

Plain and simple me and my lab ward are thruing in march, is a tent necessary. My plan is to take advantage of the shelters and hostels along the way. How many nights could I be shelterless if I were to not bring a tent.

If "yes you need a tent" then wha tent would be good for me and my 80 pnd lab.

[Big Dawg]

Yes. You may show up to a full shelter/hostel. If it's raining, you'll be glad to have a backup. Bring a simple lightweight tarp. If you want bug protection, but a tarptent.

[Berry Belle]

My husband and I used a tarp when we hiked the northern half of the AT. Unless the weather was totally miserable, we preferred it to the shelters. We found various ways to rig it for cold rainy weather or hot humid nights. Our walking sticks often served as tent poles. With a little ingenuity, it always did the job.

[darkage]

Not all hostels are pet friendly, and lots of times people dislike smelling and sleeping with dogs specially wet ones in shelters ... if you're hiking with your dog "which i do" cept for when i thru hike in march, i tent ... that being said, save yourself the hassle and get a nice 2 person ultralight under 3 pounds ... lots of options. If you really wanna go tentless and spend money from hostel to hostel or make full use of the shelter's ... leave the dog home.

[jesse]

Bring a tent, leave the dog.

[Lone Wolf]

Plain and simple me and my lab ward are thruing in march, is a tent necessary. My plan is to take advantage of the shelters and hostels along the way. How many nights could I be shelterless if I were to not bring a tent.

If "yes you need a tent" then wha tent would be good for me and my 80 pnd lab.

no dogs in shelters.

[Ender]

Plain and simple me and my lab ward are thruing in march, is a tent necessary. My plan is to take advantage of the shelters and hostels along the way. How many nights could I be shelterless if I were to not bring a tent.

If "yes you need a tent" then wha tent would be good for me and my 80 pnd lab.

You will 100% need a tent (or tarp or hammock or whatever). I was at a full shelter one rainy night when a tentless hiker arrived and demanded to be let into the shelter, only to be told no, and he had to move on. It's your responsibility to take care of yourself out there, not other people's.

As far as what tent. Tarptents are good, tarps alone are good (though I'd bring bug netting). Also, the old standby of the Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight will never treat you wrong, though it's a bit heavier.

[Ender]

Plain and simple me and my lab ward are thruing in march, is a tent necessary. My plan is to take advantage of the shelters and hostels along the way. How many nights could I be shelterless if I were to not bring a tent.

If "yes you need a tent" then wha tent would be good for me and my 80 pnd lab.

You will 100% need a tent (or tarp or hammock or whatever). I was at a full shelter one rainy night when a tentless hiker arrived and demanded to be let into the shelter, only to be told no, and he had to move on. It's your responsibility to take care of yourself out there, not other people's.

As far as what tent. Tarptents are good, tarps alone are good (though I'd bring bug netting). Also, the old standby of the Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight will never treat you wrong, though it's a bit heavier.

[sixhusbands]

Bring a tent , unless you really like all the noise, crowding and critters. If you plan on taking the dog with you, it is the only fair way to go. Most folks will tolerate your pet , but some will get down right hostile! You can easily find a tent for the both of you in the under 5 lb range. I have a Big Agnes seadhouse 1 and it could hold both of you (if you are spooning). have fun and enjoy the adventure. I am heading SOBO in jsut over a month!

[Tipi Walter]

Bring a tent, leave the dog.

Bring a tent and forget the shelters. They are rat boxes. If I wanted to stay in a shelter I would've stayed home and slept in the carport. There are a million campsites on the AT, and here's the thing: You can most-of-the-time find level campsites a half-mile before or after any shelter, so I recommend getting your water at the shelter and then humping it to a nice solitary campsite beyond (or backtrack). On my last AT trip it amused me to see daypack ultralighter types who carried no tents or hammocks or tarps and instead depended solely on the shelter system. Why? Just to go light? And then of course they had to sleep with rank strangers in an overused and foul box. Be a man and carry a tent.

[Tennessee Viking]

On my first overnight trip on Roan, I had no tent yet and planned on sleeping in the Barn. When I got there, I found out it was slam full of school kids. I was glad I carried a simple tarp just in case.

[garlic08]

I'll join the overwhelming chorus and highly recommend that you bring your own shelter. Look at a large tarptent. I'll reiterate all the good reasons above and add this--what happens if you can't make it to the next shelter? Shelters really suck, by the way, even without other people's dogs (mine's just fine, by they way).

[Wobegon]

If you're bringing a damn dog, especially one that is nearly as big as some of the women on the trail, you'd better bring a tent.

[Slo-go'en]

Bring a tent, leave the dog.

The above is the best advice. You will need a tent, you will not need the dog.

[doritotex]

If you have ever gone out for a few nights you would know the answer to this. You might get stuck between shelters because of injuries, foot problems or over estimating your mileage because of rough terrain. The shelters are always over crowded during the "thru season". How much backpacking experience do you have.? It always amazes me that people plan a thru hike and never spent a night on the trail.

[BobTheBuilder]

Wet dogs with muddy paws walking and laying down on other hikers' $300 down sleeping bags in the shelter will make you the least popular jackass out there, and deservedly so.

[jersey joe]

On my 111 day thru hike I used shelters whenever possible and wound up spending 15 nights in my tent.


"How many nights could I be shelterless if I were to not bring a tent." I'm guessing out of those 15 I may have been able to find other shelter 5 times, so I would have been shelterless 10 times... I'd bring SOMETHING, tent, tarp, hammock, bivy, big black garbage bag, etc.

Number of nights in a Shelter 85
Number of nights in a Tent 15
Number of nights in a Hammock 0
Number of nights Under the Stars 0
Number of nights in a Hotel 4
Number of nights in a Hostel 3
Number of nights in a House 4

[Texico]

As much as I love dogs I would not want to share a shelter with one. Granted, I haven't slept in a shelter since Philmont. The only reason I would use a shelter is if rain were to deter me from setting up my tent. In that case I would definitely NOT want to share a shelter with a wet dog throwing water all over everything.

Another thing to consider, though, is your dog used to long distance hiking? It is very tough on dogs to hike that far day after day and you really need to be on top of the care of its pads and overall health. A thru hike is quite a bit different than a day hike or even short backpacking trips for a dog.

[The Cleaner]

Bring a tent and forget the shelters. They are rat boxes. If I wanted to stay in a shelter I would've stayed home and slept in the carport. There are a million campsites on the AT, and here's the thing: You can most-of-the-time find level campsites a half-mile before or after any shelter, so I recommend getting your water at the shelter and then humping it to a nice solitary campsite beyond (or backtrack). On my last AT trip it amused me to see daypack ultralighter types who carried no tents or hammocks or tarps and instead depended solely on the shelter system. Why? Just to go light? And then of course they had to sleep with rank strangers in an overused and foul box. Be a man and carry a tent.

IMO some hikers should "man-up" and carry a little more gear just in case of one of many unplanned events happen.The list is long and the forest is "wilderness".You should'nt depend on others for some things--You might find yourself alone every now&then.....

[Sir-Packs-Alot]

I believe that going without a tent or at least a tarp or Hennessy Hammock is a bad idea. BUT - Tarps are iffy (when it's buggy ... OW CHIGGERS! ... above treeline ... I'M DROWNING, etc.) - AND - there are is not always a great place to hang a hammock when the lodgeploe pines sutrrounding you have nothing but small dead stumps of sticks on their trunks until about 35 feet up). With fully enclosed tents being so lightweight now (that use trekking poles) it seems foolhardy to not get one if you can afford it. My Six Moon Designs "Luna Solo" one man tent is fully enclosed (not a tarp) and guys out from where my trekking pole holds it up. It's only 23 ounces and I have used / beat it up for a few years now. GREAT TENT. If I were to get another today - I'd check out the ones that "Lightheart" is designing - same concept - more room - same lightweight.