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View Full Version : What to do with my pack while sleeping in my tent?



smokeybones
01-06-2013, 22:24
This may be a dumb question, but what do i do with my pack when i retire to my tent at night? I've been car camping all my life but im pretty new to hiking and have only stayed in shelters so far. Im preparing for a SOBO thru hike in June and im trying to plan it out to a tee. My tent is a eureka solitaire so there's no space for my pack inside. Do i just put the pack cover on it and lean it against a tree? Hang it from a tree like a bear bag? I'm worried that it i just lean it against a tree it will get excessively wet and muddy if it rains and it might get holes chewed in it by little critters.

Thanks,
Wes

T.S.Kobzol
01-06-2013, 22:25
Use it a pillow

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

MuddyWaters
01-06-2013, 22:33
hang it from a tree
hang if from a bush
hang it on your bearline
put it under your legs
leave it in your vestibule

Odd Man Out
01-06-2013, 22:40
If you have packed light enough, the pack will be empty (or nearly so) at night, so under your legs or head, or leaning against the tent pole are all reasonable options.

Cookerhiker
01-06-2013, 22:46
...leave it in your vestibule

This.......

Wombat Farm
01-06-2013, 22:52
I'd have to say that Odd Man Out has it right on the nose. And what's left inside can be used as a pillow (or for the nights that your feet are throbbing a foot elevator!). Enjoy!

Papa D
01-06-2013, 22:55
I'm usually in a Hubba Carbon Reflex or a Six Moons Lunar Solo which are both pretty small solo tents and I have plenty of room for my backpack - - I usually stash it by my feet or put my feet on it. It's also handy in a not so perfect tent site for shimming.

canoe
01-06-2013, 23:04
hang it from a tree
hang if from a bush
hang it on your bearline
put it under your legs
leave it in your vestibule

OK Dr Zuess. LOL

swjohnsey
01-06-2013, 23:25
Like he said, if you packed right it should be empty. Put it under your feet.

TJ aka Teej
01-07-2013, 00:07
Pillow.
But hang your food bag.

Astro
01-07-2013, 00:12
And if you pack is still too full to fit in your tent, either get a bigger tent or bring less with you.

SCRUB HIKER
01-07-2013, 00:31
If you've got a closed-cell sleeping pad, cut it short (like to the knees or higher) and use the empty pack as the pad for your lower legs and feet.

Northern Lights
01-07-2013, 01:23
I bunch it up and stick it under my feet. A little elevation after hiking all day is kind of nice.

ChuckBrown
01-07-2013, 03:38
I used my pack as support under my pad, I side sleep. I needed to get my pillow high enough to rest my head on. I do not do this anymore. By the time I got to nh, my tent stank inside from all sweat grime that transferred from my pack to the tent floor, had to wash my tent and reseal when I was in Hanover.

My current tent has vestibule for the pack.

Don H
01-07-2013, 07:44
Always kept mine inside the tent.

Papa D
01-07-2013, 08:59
Like he said, if you packed right it should be empty. Put it under your feet.

My bag is usually not completely empty at night - - it would still typically contain a a zip lock with first aid items, probably my camera, my rain gear, pack cover, etc. - but yes, more or less empty at night.

Grampie
01-07-2013, 10:59
I have the same tent. On my thru-hike i slept in it about 80 times. I would just lean it up against a near by tree, put the rain cover over it and wedge my hiking poles in the grounf in front of it. I had no problems doing this. It's a nice small tent that is light and costs little.

Omaha_Ace
01-07-2013, 11:03
I'm really glad all of you are suggesting keeping it in your tent. I've been doing this my whole life and when I saw the question on the board my first reaction was "Uh-oh..."

Food in a tree, bag in the tent (or vestibule obviously if you have one...)

daddytwosticks
01-07-2013, 12:23
If your pack is as big as some I've seen on the trail, use it as a bivy! :)

max patch
01-07-2013, 12:35
I left mine outside propped up against a tree with the pack cover on. I somehow left fresh cinnamon rolls in it one nite and a mouse helped himself to it. That was the only issue I had.

Camel2012
01-07-2013, 13:19
I use a hammock, but i hang my pack from one of the trees I'm hanging from. I use a liner, and i hang the pack against the tree like it sits on my back, and throw the pack cover on.

I have done this many nights in storms and never had my gear get wet, but that's just what works for me. Also, it's normally empty except for my stove, personal hygiene items, and empty stuff sacks. I keep my extra clothes(In stuff sack used as a pillow), electronics, book and other misc items in my hammock with me.

Just to clarify though, when i tented, I always kept my pack inside with me like the others have said.

Sevsa
01-07-2013, 17:46
I've done all of the above, slept with it, left it in the vestibule and left it leaning against a tree with a pack cover over it.

Another Kevin
01-07-2013, 22:27
Same answer as Sevsa. Hang it, stand it against a tree with the cover on, leave it in the vestibule, or bring it in.

Once I'm in camp, what's left in the pack? Any extra clothing is likely hanging from the ridgeline of the tent, trying to get it dry, or else stuffed in a stuff sack serving as a pillow (along with the toilet paper, and my nylon bucket, any extra stuff sacks, and anything else that might be soft enough). Headlamp, map, notebook, pencil, camera, phone, and whatever I've brought to read are coming in the tent with me anyway, and the compass travels with the map. Food, cook gear, and toiletries are hanging in the bear bag. All that's left is my hand sanitizer, my first aid/repair kit, my knife, my Personal Preference Items (about a pound, and none of your business), my fuel bottle and maybe an extra water bottle or two. Easiest just to bring the whole caboodle in the tent (perhaps in an itty-bitty stuff sack or a big ziploc), and leave pack and boots in the vestibule. But sometimes I want the pack as a backrest (propped up with a collapsed trekking pole) or footrest, in which case it comes inside, too.

If I were an ultralighter, I'd probably hoist the pack with the bear bag inside. But I'm a clueless weekender.

rusty bumper
01-08-2013, 10:19
My shortened Z-Lite sleeping pad goes from shoulders to hips. My almost empty pack goes under my legs and feet.

ChinMusic
01-08-2013, 10:45
Always in my tent, above my head to help hold my stuff sack (pillow) in place.

MyName1sMud
01-08-2013, 13:43
If your pack is as big as some I've seen on the trail, use it as a bivy! :)
Now that would be a sight to see!

konradchen
01-08-2013, 17:12
Either use it under your legs to supplement your sleeping pad, keep it in the vestibule or keep it outside with a large trashbag over it. IMO hanging it a few feet off the ground is pointless since critters and bears will still easily access it. If you're going to hang, make it worthwhile and hang it like a real bear bag using a true method like the PCT bear bag method.

hauptman
02-02-2013, 12:53
I use my pack as my bear bag. Just tie cord and toss. Why carry an extra sack when your food is already in one?

Chaco Taco
02-02-2013, 13:09
Vestibule inside my pack liner (compactor grade trash bag). Have my platy-tube in the door in case I get thirsty in the night. I used to hang my pack, but I dont want my pack out of reach. If its raining, I usually just put it under my feet under my pad. Just play around little. Dont stick to the attitude of "to a tee" because what works one night, may not work as well 2 weeks later. Just go with the flow and dont try to know exactly what is going to happen each day. Plans change, blue blazin happens, Weather dictates more than you think. Have fun and let go :cool:

Dogwood
02-02-2013, 15:34
What to do with my pack while sleeping in my tent?Let the bears hold it safely for you until morning.

Tipi Walter
02-02-2013, 15:42
What to do with my pack while sleeping in my tent?

Let the bears hold it safely for you until morning.


This reminds me of something from my trail journal on my last trip into the Big Frog and after 9 days straight of rain---

BEARS?
Are the bears a problem in the Big Frog? In this crap the bears are worried about me. They are genuinely concerned I may get washed away or worse, lose my interest in being out, so have come by earlier to claw out a trench around the tent to help in drainage. One sits with his back to my tent door blocking the wind. Another walks around the tent licking off as much water as he can as it falls. Another is digging out a small pit in the ground in case I have an emergency turtlehead. A 4th is on his hind legs slapping at the sky to kill the rain. These are my friends.

A kid bear is doing backstrokes in the pond. Another kid bear is doing backflips in the lower campsite. They know what a long uninterrupted rain can do to a mammal and are here to help. I sent one over to Hootyhoo's parked car to eat anyone approaching.

aficion
02-02-2013, 15:58
[QUOTE=Tipi Walter;1407917]This reminds me of something from my trail journal on my last trip into the Big Frog and after 9 days straight of rain---

BEARS?
Are the bears a problem in the Big Frog? In this crap the bears are worried about me. They are genuinely concerned I may get washed away or worse, lose my interest in being out, so have come by earlier to claw out a trench around the tent to help in drainage. One sits with his back to my tent door blocking the wind. Another walks around the tent licking off as much water as he can as it falls. Another is digging out a small pit in the ground in case I have an emergency turtlehead. A 4th is on his hind legs slapping at the sky to kill the rain. These are my friends.

A kid bear is doing backstrokes in the pond. Another kid bear is doing backflips in the lower campsite. They know what a long uninterrupted rain can do to a mammal and are here to help. I sent one over to Hootyhoo's parked car to eat anyone approaching.[/QUOT

Either you've been out in the rain too long, or you've uncovered a magic still. If the latter, please pm me. I need some hooch.

Stepinwolfe
02-02-2013, 20:22
If your tent is near a shelter, I suggest you hang it on one of the nails provided in the shelter. This will assure it stays dry and will save space in your tent. If you are not near a shelter, I suggest you hang it from a tree or sleep with it in your tent.

Just Jack
02-02-2013, 20:51
As was mentioned earlier, if your pack still will not fit in your tent, then slip a heavy duty trash bag over the pack
and prop it up against a tree. If you are camping close to a shelter, make sure that all food and stuff that smells
like food(chap stick, etc) is in your bear bag or your pack will probably be visited by critters--mice! If you fix supper
at a shelter and then go up the trail a mile or two, then you will not be bothered and there will be much less noise.

Dogwood
02-03-2013, 01:08
I like reading your trail journal Tipi. Your comments are often very insightful and introspective showing how you connect with the outdoors, nature and yourself. Your account of all those bears is colorful and imaginative to say the least. It makes me think you might also imagine some other things like tambourines and elephants outside your tent door. :banana

Doo doo doo lookin' out my back(tent) door.
There's a giant doing cartwheels a statue wearin' high heels.
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn.
A dinosaur Victrola list'ning to Buck Owens.

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won't you take a ride on the flyin' spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Wond'rous apparition provided by magician.

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won't you take a ride on the flyin' spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Bother me tomorrow, today, I'll buy no sorrows.

gumball
02-03-2013, 07:37
I like to put my feet up after a long hike and will sometimes use it that way. Otherwise its either at our feet or in the vestibule.

atbackpacker
02-03-2013, 09:34
i use a eureka solitaire tent and the vestibule is too small to accommodate my pack. my boots, water bottle and crocs are in the vestibule. my pack is covered with a large garbage bag and propped against a tree at night. it may not be the preferred way but, it works for me.

bobp
02-03-2013, 10:28
It isn't a dumb question at all. I have a Gossamer (the aluminum pole version of the Solitaire), and the tent poses some problems. It really has no vestibule worth mentioning, so keeping the pack in the vestibule is not an option. The tent is very narrow and short at the foot end, so you won't be able to dump the pack under your feet. Using it as a pillow might be an option. I'm 6'0", and I can use the pack as a pillow as long as it is my Granite Gear Vapor Trail Latitude - anything larger poses a problem. Otherwise, you are going to have to keep it outside the tent (hang it to keep critters from gnawing on it).
If you do keep the pack in the tent, consider a nylon pack cover. Put the cover over the grimy part of the pack to keep the tent clean(ish).

Tipi Walter
02-03-2013, 16:07
I like reading your trail journal Tipi. Your comments are often very insightful and introspective showing how you connect with the outdoors, nature and yourself. Your account of all those bears is colorful and imaginative to say the least. It makes me think you might also imagine some other things like tambourines and elephants outside your tent door. :banana

Doo doo doo lookin' out my back(tent) door.
There's a giant doing cartwheels a statue wearin' high heels.
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn.
A dinosaur Victrola list'ning to Buck Owens.

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won't you take a ride on the flyin' spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Wond'rous apparition provided by magician.

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won't you take a ride on the flyin' spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Bother me tomorrow, today, I'll buy no sorrows.




Thanks for the lyrics and the sentiment---we all love Fogerty and his songs. But my mood was more like this---(and I've been drug-free for the last 35 years which is scary)---


http://youtu.be/KkGKmkyNWdU

Dogwood
02-03-2013, 16:18
.....and I've been drug-free for the last 35 years which is scary.

Hmm? Illicit street drugs? How bout pharmaceuticals? Over the counter? Adding trail side shrooms to the Ramen? Just sayin, that's a lot of bears in one place doing some strange things you're seeing. How many times did you see Fantasia? LOL.

handlebar
02-03-2013, 17:02
Doo doo doo lookin' out my back(tent) door.
There's a giant doing cartwheels a statue wearin' high heels.
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn.
A dinosaur Victrola list'ning to Buck Owens.

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won't you take a ride on the flyin' spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Wond'rous apparition provided by magician.

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won't you take a ride on the flyin' spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Bother me tomorrow, today, I'll buy no sorrows.




One of my favorite songs on the MP3 player!

mountainman
02-03-2013, 21:09
I put it under my feet as i only carry a 3/4 sleeping pad

Tree Nerd
02-03-2013, 21:13
If you have back problem put the pack in your tent under your legs. This helps take the pressure off your lower back and it works wonders.

wornoutboots
02-03-2013, 21:44
I have the same tent & mine pack is nearly empty when I retire for the night so I always put it in my vestibule, if it's windy I'll lean it up against my head area & use it as an extra wind block. You're gonna want it near you so on those rainy mornings you won't have to go retrieve your pack, you'll just pack everything up & be ready to go except for the tent itself.

2NewKnees
02-03-2013, 21:52
I usually put my pack in the vestibule. I like the idea of using it as a pillow though. May try that the next trip. So I guess everybody hangs their cookset and stove with their food bag? Never done that. I actually don't hang my food all that often. Never had a problem except when I hung it in the shelter and mice were trying to jump on the bag from the rafters! That was fun.

BradMT
02-04-2013, 02:59
When tenting I've always left my pack outside, covered with a rain cover.