Seeing the Stars...

[Megapixel]

As some of you know I've never been out west and I'm heading there in July to backpack the JMT. Most all of my trips prior have been under heavy tree cover... so I've never thought about this before: all those stars! It looks like many campsites will be available out in the open to gaze at the stars; I'm wondering if I should get a different tent where I can see through the ceiling. Thoughts?

[beakerman]

Well if it's a nice clear starry night then leave the rainfly off or set the tent up and cowboy camp beside it or even lighter would be to do what I do on canoe trips which is take one of those poly tarps--one large enough to lay on and wrap over me if it rains--it's so comfortable sleeping on the sand.

[beakerman]

or you could jsut bang yoru head real hard..i always see stars when I do that ;-)

[Megapixel]

Well if it's a nice clear starry night then leave the rainfly off or set the tent up and cowboy camp beside it or even lighter would be to do what I do on canoe trips which is take one of those poly tarps--one large enough to lay on and wrap over me if it rains--it's so comfortable sleeping on the sand.

Yeah my tent has only side views, no top mesh, so the rain fly option won't work for our current setup. Cowboy camping with the wife is not an option, but she could always sleep inside the tent!:D

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

just get out of the tent and take it all in for real. Those "skylight" moonroofs are too fuzzy to see anything for real anyway. On my single person tent, I unzipped the top of the door over my head last september completely, but even though I had a clear view through that, it was only a tiny patch of sky. Problem in mid summer are the bugs, although once you feel out how high they actually go, you can probably find a few sites that are high enough not to require a tent at all, and that's when you can check out the stars. Check your moon calendar, too, since when the moon is up, your star viewing is rather limited.

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=137&month=8&year=2010&obj=moon&afl=-11&day=1

Even though I like the star dotted skies, I actually prefer the full moon nights, especially those when the moon rises just around sunset - not for watching the sky, but for actual hiking. There's nothing like moving up to the top of a high point under the light of a bright full moon.

[Megapixel]

Great site reference Helmuth.Fishmonger! Thanks!

[Pacific Tortuga]

Single wall for the AT

Double wall or Adventure 16 bug bivy for the JMT/PCT

Not sure about CDT

is how I've done it, with good result's