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kybasshead
01-11-2012, 22:07
planning a thru hike beginning in march 2012. hoping to utilize the shelters as much as possible, what should i bring for times when established shelters are unavailable? tent, bivy, other?

RWheeler
01-11-2012, 22:13
Depends what you feel comfortable carrying, setting up (potentially in heavy rain), and sleeping in.

ekeverette
01-11-2012, 22:21
don,t think you can go wrong by carrying a 1 man tent.

Wil
01-11-2012, 22:54
Depends what you feel comfortable carrying, setting up (potentially in heavy rain), and sleeping in.And available dollars, and what you perceive to be value.

I have a hard time seeing anything more useful in this particular application than a cuben fiber tarp like the zpacks. Lightest weight, most compact; weakness is torrential sustained windy (horizontal) rain. What are the odds, given he's using mostly shelters?

One assumption I'm making is that the OP already plans on some kind of bug netting. I've been in shelters, hot weather, where people were suffering noisily; I think everybody ought to take some kind of bug netting. Zpacks makes a nice one to fit inside their tarp, and I see 5-7 oz. net body bags these days, with a sllnylon or cuben floor so it doubles as your ground sheet; Mountain Laurel Designs has a great such bug bivi. Or Gossamer gear makes a nice head/shoulders net at about 3 oz.

RWheeler
01-11-2012, 23:05
What are the odds, given he's using mostly shelters?

You should never plan on using the shelters, because they may be filled up for whatever reason.

Wil
01-11-2012, 23:10
You should never plan on using the shelters, because they may be filled up for whatever reason.OK, everybody who's NOT planning on using shelters, raise your hands. OK, you, you, you, yeah, OK. That's 34 out of several hundred.

RWheeler
01-11-2012, 23:14
What I meant is that you should always plan that you're going to have to have another arrangement. If you can sleep in the shelter when you get there, then good, but it's not the best approach to just assume that you're going to be mostly using them.

Wil
01-11-2012, 23:22
OK, 33, oops 32.

Slo-go'en
01-11-2012, 23:32
Early March start, depends on how many start on or about when you do. Usually it's a lot. To ensure shelter space, be the first to leave in the morning and only go to the next shelter - which means stopping early. Then later in the season, its the camp groups, section hikers and weekenders all vying for shelter space. You may end up spending a lot more time outside a shelter then you think, so bring something you can be comfortable in. For most that means a tent, for some a Hammock and for a few some kind of trap and/or bivy sack.

Last year I started at Springer in early April, I didn't get to sleep in a shelter until the Smokies. YMMV

TOMP
01-11-2012, 23:33
OK, everybody who's NOT planning on using shelters, raise your hands. OK, you, you, you, yeah, OK. That's 34 out of several hundred.

Guess Im number 35.

Wil
01-11-2012, 23:46
Guess Im number 35.No, got you; oh, the guy's over there had second thoughts, down to 30.

Thinking long haul. Rare to see the shelters (what I would call) really full once the pack stretches out any. Admittedly I'm more often than not seeing them a couple of hours before sunset, because I rarely use them myself.

bigcranky
01-12-2012, 12:42
A single wall solo tent, like the Tarptent Contrail or the Zpacks Hexamid. Something light enough that you won't want to ditch it at the first town, but with enough space and protection that you'll be able to use it when needed.

Don't underestimate the wonders of privacy in your own shelter.

BobTheBuilder
01-12-2012, 12:58
+1 on the single person, single-wall tent. It gives you the freedom to camp near the shelters but not sleep in the shelters if you decide that is what you like, it gives you the choice to push on a few extra miles in the afternoon and not worry about needing to reach a shelter, and it keeps the bugs off so you can sleep. It also gives you that emergency backup plan if you get hurt or caught out in bad weather and can't get to a shelter.

I am currently using a hammock, but for me that means never sleeping in shelters because I use an underquilt instead of a pad and would never get to sleep on a hard floor. I still like to hang near a shelter for company or if it has decent water and cook surface.

Nitrojoe
01-12-2012, 13:33
Remember the three little pigs. One lived in a tarp and one lived in a tarp tent and the outher lived in a double walled tent. Now a big bad storm came along and it huffed and it huffed and spit rain in all directions. The little pig in the tarp ran over to his brother in the tarp tent but the big bad storm lasted two days without relief. Now the two little hypothermic pigs ran over to the there third brother who was dry and comfortable and let them in. You know I actually saw this happen in real and of course with homo sapiens during a bad storm in the Mt Jefferson wilderness during my PCT thru hike. TAKE YOUR CHANCES !

George
01-12-2012, 14:05
if you plan on using the shelters, the bivy is the natural adjunct, takes up no extra space so it is not rude to use in the shelters for bugs, wind driven rain, extra warmth, the spot where the roof drips etc. If the shelter is over full use it on the ground under the canopy, it still works for when you are not at the shelter and is the only system that allows a full view of the sky/stars while keeping the dew off your sleeping bag for the nicest nights.

I also use my bivy for a pack liner, so no need for a rain cover

a DURABLE 1 lb shelter that requires no poles, stakes, lines, hardware, trees etc. to set up/use; IMO one of the most overlooked items of gear

Wil
01-12-2012, 14:09
Remember the three little pigs.That third pig tried to get started backpacking again after the second knee replacement and the back operation, but it was a disaster. I visit him now and then; he's getting around the house real well; needs a little help to the bathroom but he's put the refrigerator right in the living room so getting meals isn't too bad. He likes to talk about the old days and that storm in aught 7 when he was warm and comfy all night.

Tinker
01-13-2012, 00:49
You could put this: http://www.bearpawwd.com/shelters_floors/bug_bivy.html under a small tarp or poncho if the shelters are full, or use it by itself if the shelters are buggy (might keep the mice off, too).