View Full Version : Tenting vs. Shelters
To those who are regular AT users- all things being equal (available space, weather, no restrictions, etc.), do you prefer sleeping in shelters or tenting?
SCRUB HIKER
04-02-2013, 23:54
Shelters, with the assumption that there's no one who really annoys me in there and the bugs aren't terrible. Less time breaking camp in the morning if you don't have to pack up a tent/tarp/hammock, more convenient platform for fixing food, almost always water in the vicinity--shelters are really really nice if you take crowding out of the equation. There's no feeling like showing up to a shelter at dusk to find that you, or maybe you and a friend, have the whole place to yourself for the night.
Tenting. Within a quarter mile of a shelter to take advantage of the comaraderie, water source, picnic table, privy. But for sleeping, shelters generally aren't my friend.
To those who are regular AT users- all things being equal (available space, weather, no restrictions, etc.), do you prefer sleeping in shelters or tenting?
Some thoughts from doing 785 miles SOBO in 2010. I prefer tents and I'll go through several reasons that work for me but not for everyone. Shelters: mice will run right over your face in the night. If you have a beard (I stayed clean shaven) they will eat the crumbs out of it. If you are late getting to the shelter and are used to sleeping in a quiet place, forget it. The first person asleep begins to snore and you will be up an extra hour. I was once in a shelter with just one other person, he at the opposite end. He rolled over every 30 minutes making a big clunk on the shelter floor, waking me up. Other people smell (not me, of course). If they use the original Neoairs it sounds like a bag of potato chips being crushed every time they move. I used the shelters a few times but nearly always had a poor night sleeping unless I had it to myself. Even then, if it is raining hard you will hear it on a metal roof. Unless you can hang netting the mosquitoes will get you. I have a new tent from Light Heart Gear that I am eager to use on my next leg that is two pounds with two doors, room for me and all my gear (the Solong 6 even though I am below average height). Tents have a couple advantages over tarps. The bug netting is continuous with the fabric so you have a secure shelter. If you are not on flat ground (as I wasn't on the night before the Notch in Maine) you may slide a bit but the worst is you end up at one end of the tent, not out in the mud. One fellow from Australia had no problem in the shelters. He said it was from his mandatory military service. You learn to sleep anywhere. He had a small pack. Rolled out a thin pad, sleeping bag and he was out. If you are blessed with that ability you can go light without a tent. Another advantage of a tent is that you can skip past a crowded shelter and camp pretty much anywhere there is suitable ground. The northern half of the Long Trail in Vermont, I am told, has no flat ground so a hammock shelter is recommended there. The AT shelters are great for camaraderie and there is often a good place to cook and share food and stories. You can set up a tent 30 ft away and get the rest needed for a long hike. I hope this addresses the issues you had in mind.
Joker4ink
04-03-2013, 01:33
I love the camaraderie and social interaction of being at a shelter but prefer sleeping in my tent. In my tent I can stay up and journal, play solitaire, make a phone call, or move around and not have to worry about bothering others. When the shelters are busy, some hikers are loud, have different sleep schedules, etc. Sometimes I'll use a shelter if it's unoccupied or if I hike with someone and we hit it off.
To those who are regular AT users- all things being equal (available space, weather, no restrictions, etc.), do you prefer sleeping in shelters or tenting?
I prefer quiet/solitude for sleeping. My tent/tarp/hammock has no other inhabitants. Shelters are good for a break on a rainy day.
Lone Wolf
04-03-2013, 05:16
To those who are regular AT users- all things being equal (available space, weather, no restrictions, etc.), do you prefer sleeping in shelters or tenting?
tenting. no brainer
Tent.. I don't particularly like mice running over me while I sleep and shelters are commonly nasty.
The biggest reason is that I start before dawn and I hate to creep around trying not to wake people up.
Chaco Taco
04-03-2013, 06:44
Tenting, especially if it is raining. Bought a tent to seek shelter, not carry it around in my pack :)
HikerMom58
04-03-2013, 09:28
I love the camaraderie and social interaction of being at a shelter but prefer sleeping in my tent. In my tent I can stay up and journal, play solitaire, make a phone call, or move around and not have to worry about bothering others. When the shelters are busy, some hikers are loud, have different sleep schedules, etc. Sometimes I'll use a shelter if it's unoccupied or if I hike with someone and we hit it off.
That's exactly how i feel...
I've only tried sleeping in a shelter once during a rain storm. We had the shelter all to ourselves but I still didn't sleep well at all. There was an animal making noise on the roof most of the night .... I couldn't sleep.
Hammock near water...shelters suck...
garlic08
04-03-2013, 09:37
Nobody's mentioned my two strongest reasons for tenting so far. Cold floor and hard floor. I can carry a thin foam pad and sleep comfortably on the thick leaf duff found along most of the AT. Can't do that so well on the shelters' plank floors, especially when it's cold. Shelters are fun for a picnic lunch or dinner with others, fill up the water bottle, use the privy, then move on. I especially enjoy the relief I sometimes see when people find out you're not going to try to cram into the shelter.
So far on this thread, the responses are about split. Interesting.
Tenting for me! Softer, quieter, cleaner. Only takes about 2 minutes to break down and pack my tent so that is not an issue.
FarmerChef
04-03-2013, 10:08
I have to say that I honestly prefer shelters for many of the reasons shelter users have listed above. But, that said, I mainly prefer them in the fall, winter and spring when there's hardly, if anyone, there. At that point, the shelters are typically clean with the lower traffic helping maintainers and volunteers clean up the sites. For whatever reason, I've also had less issues with the mice at this time though they're definitely still around. Still, when a loud, really loud snorer moves in for the night I can hardly get a wink in and wish I was tenting. Crowded shelters don't really bother me. Oh and I forgot to mention that rarely have I had to sleep on rocks or roots in a shelter...rarely... ;)
During the summer, we typically tent up for the better protection from bugs and the higher likelihood of a full shelter. Though if it's raining we'll probably try to beat it to the shelter so we won't have to pack up a wet tarp and groundcover.
HikerMom58
04-03-2013, 10:12
Nobody's mentioned my two strongest reasons for tenting so far. Cold floor and hard floor. I can carry a thin foam pad and sleep comfortably on the thick leaf duff found along most of the AT. Can't do that so well on the shelters' plank floors, especially when it's cold. Shelters are fun for a picnic lunch or dinner with others, fill up the water bottle, use the privy, then move on. I especially enjoy the relief I sometimes see when people find out you're not going to try to cram into the shelter.
So far on this thread, the responses are about split. Interesting.
garlic08... how do you see the responses are about split? I only see SCRUB HIKER going for the shelters. Looks like everyone else, so far, likes having the shelters on the trail but, when it comes to sleeping... it's tents or hammocks all the way! :)
Spoke to soon... FarmerChef prefers shelters. :p
daddytwosticks
04-03-2013, 10:51
Bottom line...I think it's great that AT hikers have a CHOICE as to where to sleep at night. :)
RedBeerd
04-03-2013, 11:19
I like shelters when its raining for sure. Easier to cook and kick back and watch the rain knowing you don't have to pack up on hike down the trail a little ways. Also ya don't have to set up in the rain and pack up a drenched tent. But my ideal situation is when you can tent within a close proximity of the shelter. So it depends on the situation for me personally.
Some of the newer shelters are pretty awesome to stay at. Some on the LT were like that but some were super leaky and mouse infested. Yikes.
Slo-go'en
04-03-2013, 11:47
In my experiance, thru hikers much perfer staying in shelters when ever possible. It saves time and effort. I go both ways, depending on the situation at the time.
bigcranky
04-03-2013, 11:51
I'll stay in the shelters in the winter, though I do notice the cold hard floor.... But they are usually empty and the mice aren't out in force. Otherwise I'll camp or hang nearby for the water, table, and social interaction.
MDSection12
04-03-2013, 11:58
Occasionally (always in winter) I'll pretty much plan on hanging at a shelter for a night (usually Rocky Run here in MD because it's so damn nice) but that's usually more to hike in some good grub and hang out with whoever happens to show up... When I'm actually out hiking I don't stay in shelters at all... I'd just rather do my own thing and not worry about all the other variables on my high mileage trips.
max patch
04-03-2013, 12:06
When I did my thru I kinda assumed I'd stay in the shelters for the most part. After I got thru the GSMNP I pretty much tented the rest of the way. Plenty of reasons - snorers, mice, people who arrive at midnite, people who set their alarm clocks while its still dark outside, sleeping like sardines in a can, etc etc etc.
And while most people here on WB state that they prefer tenting/hammocking that is a disconnect from what I see actually going on here in GA.
flemdawg1
04-03-2013, 12:19
Shelters for company, comaraderie. Hammock for sleeping.
Depends on the weather and the crowds. And the relative state of repair of the shelter. If I'm with some friends and there's no one else around, a shelter can give us a nice space to hang out together. If the shelter is crowded, mousy, buggy, or otherwise undesirable, I prefer the tent.
Tent, I like a little privacy and i don't care to hear others snoring or having mice as my bedmates.
ChinMusic
04-03-2013, 12:57
I prefer tenting. I had to stay in shelters in the Smokies and it took much longer to break camp in the morning compared to tenting. I mean how long does it take to pull a few stakes and stupid a tent in a pocket?
MDSection12
04-03-2013, 13:12
I prefer tenting. I had to stay in shelters in the Smokies and it took much longer to break camp in the morning compared to tenting. I mean how long does it take to pull a few stakes and stupid a tent in a pocket?
How could it possibly take more time to put away a sleeping bag and ground pad than to put away a tent, sleeping bag, and ground pad, regardless of how easy the tent is to take down? :confused:
Bivy in Shelter ... poncho/tarp if needed. And I use EAR PLUGS for the noise and can fall asleep on concrete with a rock band playing next to me. :)
MDSection12
04-03-2013, 16:22
Those are qualities I'm envious of that I'm told come with military service; the ability to eat and sleep anywhere, anytime. From what I've heard you don't have a choice in the military; when you get a chance to do one or the other you take it. That's a great skill to have. I tend to be a bit more picky.
During my thru Ispent exactly the same amount of nights in a shelter as in my tent. In the begining it was more tent and later I used more shelters. I was suprised, when I found this out after my hike.
MuddyWaters
04-03-2013, 18:24
Shelters are more fun.
Tents are better for actually sleeping.
Shelters that arent crowded, say less than half full, arent really that bad. Youve got room to move, room to put stuff next to you, dont have to disturb others much to get up down. Still need to use earplugs though.
Some will pitch their tent inner on the shelter platform when theres room, avoiding the mice issues. Or possibly just causing holes to be chewed in their tent.
Experienced hikers will eat at a shelter, and hang around talking, but not unpack their pack until they have sized up the evenings company and decided to stay or not.
The other thing about shelter hopping is that you have to stop at a shelter when there could be plenty of daylight left because you don't have time to get to the next one.
That would drive me crazy right there.
coach lou
04-03-2013, 19:40
Depends on the weather and the crowds. And the relative state of repair of the shelter. If I'm with some friends and there's no one else around, a shelter can give us a nice space to hang out together. If the shelter is crowded, mousy, buggy, or otherwise undesirable, I prefer the tent.
This just about covers it for me.........except I tarp!
Cookerhiker
04-03-2013, 21:22
How could it possibly take more time to put away a sleeping bag and ground pad than to put away a tent, sleeping bag, and ground pad, regardless of how easy the tent is to take down? :confused:
If the shelter is packed wall-to-wall and you're the first one up and not wanting to disturb anyone, I can see where it would take longer than if you're off by yourself in your tent.
evyck da fleet
04-03-2013, 21:22
Tenting near shelters. All the benefits of shelters without the mice or the inconvenience of other loud or snoring hikers. Plus I won't disturb others when I get up early. You can also use the shelter to wait for a break in the rain or to set up your tent inside and carry it out to where you'll pitch it. I'll use shelters if it already raining and I can't find a place where water won't pool under my tent.
Another vote for tenting. On my last 500 mile hike in VA we would aim for a shelter just to fill up water (2 l each), then hike up to the next ridge and camp by ourselves (2 people, 2 tents). So we would be checking in at shelters and see who was there, but moving on generally less than a half hour. This worked out very well. Some of the shelters can only be described as "pandemonium". Look it up.
I remember staying in shelters back in the 60's and 70's when the AT was not so popular, mostly alone or maybe with a few others. I would have to say that the shelters were in much poorer condition then; generally the roofs leaked on rainy days. Now they have good roofs, but other problems...
There are a very few large newer shelters that are so cool that I just had to stay in them, but those are pretty rare. Mostly shelters are increasingly crowded and invariably noisy with snoring, cell phones and other digital gadgets that beep, squak, or play music so loud even in others earphones that it disturbs the quiet of the woods.
I like to eat and socialize at shelters, then roll out and tent a mile or two away. Sometimes if it is not crowded or there is someone there I enjoy, or if there is already lots rain I will shelter.
Caveat for Overmountain Shelter, the view when you wake you to the sun rising across the valley there is totally worth the minor shelter downsides.
Stalking Tortoise
04-04-2013, 06:20
Shelters, with the assumption that there's no one who really annoys me in there and the bugs aren't terrible. Less time breaking camp in the morning if you don't have to pack up a tent/tarp/hammock, more convenient platform for fixing food, almost always water in the vicinity--shelters are really really nice if you take crowding out of the equation. There's no feeling like showing up to a shelter at dusk to find that you, or maybe you and a friend, have the whole place to yourself for the night.
This pretty much sums it up for me.
brian039
04-04-2013, 15:17
I like tenting close to the shelters if there is a cool crowd, otherwise I keep hiking until close to dark and tent somewhere.
Looks like it's tenting by a 4-1 margin when it comes to actually sleeping.
Meriadoc
04-08-2013, 21:50
In nice weather I prefer to sleep under the stars with no shelter.
If it is windy, I prefer a shelter - I've had too many close calls with branches and trees nearly falling on me. So far they've hit my hammock twice - fortunately when I was not in it.
All other times, it depends on my mood. If I'm feeling social I'll stay in the shelter. If I want some solitude I'll sleep in my tent.
wcgornto
04-08-2013, 23:22
For my 2009 thru hike, I spent about 100 nights in a shelter and about 20 nights in my tent. Going SOBO after passing the NOBO wave, I had many shelters to myself.
Wise Old Owl
04-08-2013, 23:53
Shelters, with the assumption that there's no one who really annoys me in there and the bugs aren't terrible. Less time breaking camp in the morning if you don't have to pack up a tent/tarp/hammock, more convenient platform for fixing food, almost always water in the vicinity--shelters are really really nice if you take crowding out of the equation. There's no feeling like showing up to a shelter at dusk to find that you, or maybe you and a friend, have the whole place to yourself for the night.
Serious? Snoring, skunks, vermin, and stealing you shoe laces? Folks leaving something to remember them by?
SCRUB HIKER
04-09-2013, 03:53
Serious? Snoring, skunks, vermin, and stealing you shoe laces? Folks leaving something to remember them by?
Yep, serious.
Snoring: bring earplugs. Not a problem that's limited to shelters, either ... tenting within 20 yards of some people it's the exact same volume. Or hostels. Or shared motel rooms.
Skunks: never seen one in a shelter, only by the trail while hiking.
Vermin: seen them, heard them in shelters, never once had one crawl on me, poop on me, bite me, infect me with hantavirus, or chew through my stuff. I'd guess I spent 50 to 75 nights in shelters on the AT in 2011. If seeing a mouse in a shelter disturbs you so much that you can't sleep, I don't know how you sleep in your tent, either, because small animals rustle around all night anywhere and it's LOUD if you're someplace with leaf litter on the ground. The one friend I know who really got his stuff pillaged by a rodent on the AT had it happen to him in his tent, stealth camping far from any shelter. My not-so-rigorously examined hypothesis is that odds are about the same of rodent-caused damage in shelters or in tents.
Stealing me shoe laces: ??
Folks leaving something to remember them by: also don't know what this means. If it means people taking a steaming dump in the middle of the shelter, well I'm sorry, I've yet to come across this.
I'm not ridiculing people for wanting to sleep in their tents, by any means. Sometimes it's the case for me as well; I didn't sleep in a shelter until 2 weeks after starting the AT, but after I tried them I started to appreciate their value and used them whenever they worked out mileage-wise. I do think it's funny, though, that the responses on WB are so skewed toward tenting ... my guess would be that if you stood on the trail in Virginia somewhere and polled every hiker who walked past, the responses would be 50-50 or maybe even a majority favoring shelters.
I prefer SLEEPING in a tent.
I prefer the ease of packing up in the morning and not having to carry a wet tent that a shelter offers.
Usually, if there is room, the latter wins out unless I'm doing a real lazy day the next day.
fredmugs
04-09-2013, 13:00
Tent.. I don't particularly like mice running over me while I sleep and shelters are commonly nasty.
The biggest reason is that I start before dawn and I hate to creep around trying not to wake people up.
Pretty much the same whether I have a tent or a hammock. Since I hike primarily SOBO I tend to setup near shelters so I can hit up other hikers for water intel.
If it was four people or less, I liked most shelters.
Otherwise, I was all about the tent.
I prefer tenting, less hassle and no shelter mice.
Another Kevin
04-09-2013, 20:18
I like sheltering if it's not too crowded, the people are congenial, and it's warm.
But it doesn't take much in the way of crowding, obnoxiousness, or cold to drive me into my tent, which is private, peaceful and warm (or at least warmer than a three-walled shelter).
coach lou
04-09-2013, 20:25
I tarp 66% of the time. I might recall very few sits in a shelter that were 'unpleasant'. One time even in a spot where I was so looking forward to the return.
There are one or two that i will not be returning........but, on the January Cafe' Outing, setting up my tarp in the dark, in the sleet.......well....a shelter was 3 miles back:o
shelterbuilder
04-09-2013, 20:58
Mice in the shelters?? REALLY, NOW - that's why you bring the noisy, obnoxious dog with you: to keep chasing the mice out all night long.... Seriously, though, even though I've been building shelters for over 25 years, I don't use them exclusively. If the weather is bad (rain or wind - snow is okay, though), or if the shelter isn't too crowded, then a shelter is great (I enjoy studying the architecture, too, but that's a different thread). But a crowded shelter is a big turn-off for me - I go out on the trail to get away from crowds, not to get re-immersed in one. A tarp and a hammock pitch just about anywhere....
Blissful
04-09-2013, 21:08
Tents are great. Shelters are so noisy and rodent infested.
MuddyWaters
04-09-2013, 22:46
Ive tented "near" (about 25 yds away) a shelter where the noises from the occupants (old guys) still kept me awake. Coughing, hacking, snoring, getting up to pee.
Earplugs, no matter what, no matter where you are.
daddytwosticks
04-10-2013, 07:18
Ive tented "near" (about 25 yds away) a shelter where the noises from the occupants (old guys) still kept me awake. Coughing, hacking, snoring, getting up to pee.
Earplugs, no matter what, no matter where you are....someday you will be old with a troubled prostate...:)
Stogie88
04-10-2013, 11:16
I have to go with the tent. Only slept in a shelter once and it will never happen again, had several rodents chew through my pack although it was hanging up. they also decided to leave some presents behind while eating the contents of my pack (ie sleeping bag, food, socks, shirt, even had a bite on my headlamp strap)... also, spoke with a family friend who started at Springer for a thru hike this year and she already had to quit due to ALL of her gear being eaten up by rodents in the shelters, she said it was the worst she had ever seen it in shelters. probably due to the mild winter we had in the South..
JaxHiker
04-10-2013, 11:20
Hammock. The only way to go.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
bigcranky
04-10-2013, 13:12
Coughing, hacking, snoring, getting up to pee.
Earplugs, no matter what, no matter where you are.
That was probably me. Sorry, buddy. :)
Never understood appeal for shelters. No one would want to share a hotel room with 20 strangers. Why would you want to share a cold hard shelter? Eat dinner and BS at shelter, sure, but tent 100% of the time, IMO.
coach lou
04-10-2013, 15:40
1967 on the Little Rock Pond Island Shelter, I was 10. First time I was ever in one, seen one even. To me they were part of the Rustic, pioneering spirit of going on a big hike in the wilderness.
Ive tented "near" (about 25 yds away) a shelter where the noises from the occupants (old guys) still kept me awake. Coughing, hacking, snoring, getting up to pee.
Earplugs, no matter what, no matter where you are.
I would have to be drugged or stinking drunk to be able to sleep with things in my ears. I am comforted by my hearing. Being comfortable helps me sleep. I do not want to be asleep if an animal is after me or my stuff. My hearing gives me valuable information about what is going on around me. Stuffing things in my ears is something I'll only do for a short while at the firing range. SYOS. Tent, tarp, or hammock for me, far, far from a shelter.:sun
shelterbuilder
04-10-2013, 16:54
Never understood appeal for shelters. No one would want to share a hotel room with 20 strangers. Why would you want to share a cold hard shelter? Eat dinner and BS at shelter, sure, but tent 100% of the time, IMO. You need to understand the history behind the concept of shelters. It used to be that all tents were made of canvas, and when canvas gets wet, it gets very heavy. So having someplace (rustic) to get in out of the elements was - back then - a godsend. Fast forward to 2013, and lightweight equipment is everywhere, making shelters a bit of a throwback...UNTIL the weather turns REALLY, really foul, and THEN "there's always room for one more"! HYOH.
Two Speed
04-10-2013, 17:00
I prefer tenting. I had to stay in shelters in the Smokies and it took much longer to break camp in the morning compared to tenting. I mean how long does it take to pull a few stakes and stupid a tent in a pocket?
How could it possibly take more time to put away a sleeping bag and ground pad than to put away a tent, sleeping bag, and ground pad, regardless of how easy the tent is to take down? :confused:My experience is it's pretty much a wash. The time I might save by not having to deal with my tent or tarp at a shelter was used up "mouse proofing" my gear against the shelter mice.
YMMV
You need to understand the history behind the concept of shelters. It used to be that all tents were made of canvas, and when canvas gets wet, it gets very heavy. So having someplace (rustic) to get in out of the elements was - back then - a godsend. Fast forward to 2013, and lightweight equipment is everywhere, making shelters a bit of a throwback...UNTIL the weather turns REALLY, really foul, and THEN "there's always room for one more"! HYOH.
Oh I agree, HYOH. I've never said anything to anyone on the trail about shelters or tents. I just don't see how people can prefer a shelter. And yea, having a shelter in bad weather is a godsend, no doubt.
coach lou
04-11-2013, 15:15
You need to understand the history behind the concept of shelters. It used to be that all tents were made of canvas, and when canvas gets wet, it gets very heavy. So having someplace (rustic) to get in out of the elements was - back then - a godsend. Fast forward to 2013, and lightweight equipment is everywhere, making shelters a bit of a throwback...UNTIL the weather turns REALLY, really foul, and THEN "there's always room for one more"! HYOH.
We squeezed 18 cold wet souls into 'The perch' on Mt. Adams, one drizzley freezing labor day
MuddyWaters
04-12-2013, 00:43
I would have to be drugged or stinking drunk to be able to sleep with things in my ears. I am comforted by my hearing. Being comfortable helps me sleep. I do not want to be asleep if an animal is after me or my stuff. My hearing gives me valuable information about what is going on around me. Stuffing things in my ears is something I'll only do for a short while at the firing range. SYOS. Tent, tarp, or hammock for me, far, far from a shelter.:sun
I couldnt have made it thru college without earplugs.
When I occassionally work nights , they are a necessity also. Cant sleep when wife and kids are getting up and ready to go to work/school.
Absolute necessity on overseas flights for me to sleep too.
I sleep better with them in the woods, tunes out the distracting rustling of leaves from wind, mice, bears, cougars, lions, tigers, etc.