View Full Version : Tent pitching at all shelters?
vaporjourney
02-03-2007, 15:45
I've started to look more closely at the Thru-Hikers Companion, to try to throw in some small resupplies (mainly protein shake powder) for the areas I'll pass right thru up to NC. I'm not sure where I will be able to pitch a tent however. I dont really like using shelters, but would prefer being able to pitch around them to hang out with friends, and then sleep alone. I've noticed that in the companion, on some shelters they list a 'C' for 'Camping', but most don't. Does this mean that there isn't enough flat space to pitch a tent in the area surrounding the shelter? I know that in some spots in the smokies I've been, there really isn't any space for tents. Should I mainly be relying on designated campsites and shelters marked as such in the Companion to count on?
Dances with Mice
02-03-2007, 15:57
You may pitch a tent near any shelter location in GA.
It varies. Some shelters have ample camping, some have almost none. I would say typically, yes, there will be some useful tent sites, next to most shelters.
Thru-hikers can only tent at shelters within GSMNP if the shelter is already full (in the sense of "completely reserved"--i.e., if there's a space when you arrive, but someone else comes along later with a reservation, you must move out.) See here:
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parkmgmt/upload/2006Compendium2.pdf
on real page 8 or PDF page 14, lower right hand corner.
The Weasel
02-03-2007, 18:58
This is one of the advantages of a hammock; it can be used on the ground, if there are no trees, but there almost always are trees by a shelter.
The Weasel
Jack Tarlin
02-04-2007, 16:16
Vapor:
There are usually great campsites immediately adjacent to shelters. There are very few exceptions to this.
One other tip is that there are very often excellent small campsites on either side of the Trail just South of, and more frequently just North of Trail shelters. So if you want to enjoy people's company, have access to good water, use a picnic table for cooking, hang out with other hikers for awhile at the shelter or fire ring, you can do this, and then at bedtime, retire to your own, private, quieter campsite just a few yards down the Trail. This way you get all the benefits of a shelter or large campsite, without the drawbacks.