WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 112
  1. #1
    Registered User Graywolf's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-29-2009
    Location
    Dallas, Texas
    Age
    55
    Posts
    1,250

    Default Tents inside shelters

    I have read in more than just a few journals of hikers, especially thru-hikers that set their tents up inside a shelter..What does this accomplish except for taking up space for other hikers who may need the shelter..

    I really think it is inconsiderate, but the I guess thats me...But don't you think it would be wise to set the tent up out side so those who need the shelter have space...

    Graywolf
    "So what if theres a mountain, get over it!!!" - Graywolf, 2010

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    11-20-2002
    Location
    Damascus, Virginia
    Age
    65
    Posts
    31,349

    Default

    i don't use shelters so i don't care what folks do in them, on them or around them

  3. #3
    Hiker Trash - Safety Squad! JokerJersey's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-06-2009
    Location
    The Road, USA
    Age
    43
    Posts
    210
    Images
    8

    Default

    I can easily imagine a situation where I'd ask the people in a shelter if I could set up my tent inside it and then MOVE it outside once it was set-up, like in a torrential rainstorm to keep the inside dry. I really can't see the reason for setting up and then leaving the tent INSIDE the shelter the whole night.
    Pyro - Bringin' the heat! '11 Safety Tribe firestarter


    2011 - Springer to Pearisburg

  4. #4
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-03-2002
    Location
    Maryville, TN
    Age
    57
    Posts
    14,861
    Images
    248

    Default

    I've seen it more than once. If you choose to stay at shelters, it is one of the things you will have to deal with.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  5. #5
    Registered User Hyway's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-19-2004
    Location
    Wilmington, NC
    Age
    62
    Posts
    185

    Default

    My buddy set up his tent inside the shelter on Blood Mountain because the rain was blowing in through teh window. We were the only two people there so it didn't matter.

    On another occasion I saw an inconsiderate moron set up his tent inside Muskrat Creek shelter during a snowstorm. The inside of the shelter was soaking wet everywhere, so I understand why he did it. Still, people were packing in all around his tent the later the day grew. I hope he either let some people sleep inside with him or that he took it down. I had only stopped to make an early dinner and hot chocolate, then hiked on.

  6. #6
    Garlic
    Join Date
    10-15-2008
    Location
    Golden CO
    Age
    66
    Posts
    5,615
    Images
    2

    Default

    It's pretty ridiculous, but fairly normal behavior along the AT. Read Bill Bryson's book for other examples. There are a LOT of people with easy access to the AT, and not every single one of them is kind and considerate. You see just about everything along the way. But it is easy enough to at least camp away from the crowds.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  7. #7
    Registered User wcgornto's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-01-2008
    Location
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Posts
    611
    Images
    1

    Default

    I only came across a couple of people who set up their tent in a shelter as a regular way of doing things. In each case, there was plenty of room in the shelter, so they didn't take space from anybody.

    I came across several people, including me, who set up their tent in a shelter a time or two because of mosquitoes. In my case, when I did this, I was already set up n the shelter with my gear spread out, and then I set up the tent because the mosquitoes were bothering me. In each case, there were few or no other people in the shelter.

  8. #8
    Registered User sasquatch2014's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-19-2007
    Location
    Pawling NY
    Age
    55
    Posts
    1,986
    Images
    785

    Default

    The few times I have seen this done in my area it has been during the early or late season and never when there are others who need shelter space. As I am not a tenter can't really tell you why they would do it other than to block some wind or maybe let the tent dry out. I know some of the shelters I have been at can get a pretty good breeze blowing into them.

    I was at one of the shelters in the very south of SNP in a fall and we had a very windy drizzel/mist that was blwoing in and made you feel like you were still getting rained on. I arrived as it was getting dark and had the place to myself so I set up my tarp in one corner to give me some extra protection. About 8:30 or 9:00 a father and two sons rolled into camp. I asked if they minded the tarp and they said no there was still plenty of room so I just left it up. They were all pretty damp by daybreak but I was dry.
    Often Accused, Often Guilty but Seldom Guilty of What I am Accused.

  9. #9

    Default

    It can add up to 5 degrees of extra warmth by being inside a tent. Combine that with the wind and water barriers that a shelter affords. If it is a cold rainy night and you don't want to get your tent sloppy but could use the extra warmth then it works out nice.

    It is a dick move if there are other people that might want to use it, but if by the time to go to sleep no one taking up that space then it hurts no one.

    Personally I have a flat cooking tarp that I sometimes put up on the exposed side of a shelter. Best of both worlds.

  10. #10
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-03-2002
    Location
    Maryville, TN
    Age
    57
    Posts
    14,861
    Images
    248

    Default

    The thing some folks don't factor in when they do that though is heat loss out the bottom. Raised platforms are like bridges - the help with heat loss. So while you might add 5F to your inside the shelter temp, you could be loosing 5F from what you get if you just set up your tent on the ground.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  11. #11

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SGT Rock View Post
    The thing some folks don't factor in when they do that though is heat loss out the bottom. Raised platforms are like bridges - the help with heat loss. So while you might add 5F to your inside the shelter temp, you could be loosing 5F from what you get if you just set up your tent on the ground.
    If your pad is worth a damn that doesn't matter.

  12. #12
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-03-2002
    Location
    Maryville, TN
    Age
    57
    Posts
    14,861
    Images
    248

    Default

    Actually it still does because your pad doesn't cover the entire bottom of the tent. But whatever.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  13. #13
    Registered User bigmac_in's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-10-2005
    Location
    Bloomington, Indiana
    Age
    65
    Posts
    1,067
    Images
    41

    Default

    I never stay in shelters, but did one night last fall on a section hike. It had been raining all day, and showed no signs of letting up, so my friend and I didn't want to set our tents up in the driving rain. Shelters are filthy, and rodent infested, so we set our tents up in the shelter to combat those two things. We hadn't seen a sole in 2 days because of the rain, so we were not robbing space from anyone else.
    It's a great day to be alive !

  14. #14

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Graywolf View Post
    I have read in more than just a few journals of hikers, especially thru-hikers that set their tents up inside a shelter..What does this accomplish except for taking up space for other hikers who may need the shelter..

    I really think it is inconsiderate, but the I guess thats me...But don't you think it would be wise to set the tent up out side so those who need the shelter have space...

    Graywolf
    Hiking in Feb. I shared a shelter with two others and we filled the shelter with 3 tents set .... the wind was very very cold ......
    We were prepared to move if anyone else showed up at the shelter but until then we were staying warm.

    In the spring I saw people set tents up in the shelter because of mosquitos ....many tents don't have a footprint larger than a pad and sleeping bag.

    In the Smokies I shared a shelter with 17 people when those who did not have a reservation showed up ....many hikers are unprepared to stay anywhere except the shelters. They just assume there will be space when they get there.

    The shelters are shared space and as new people show up and circumstances change those already there will usually adjust to accomodate the new hikers...

    If someone has a tent in a shelter and it takes up space that you need to use then simply ask them to move, (most will have already suggested it before you have to ask )

    I would hate to see the rules for shelters become so defined that the spaces on the floor are marked out (thru hiker space, section hiker space, one dog space per shelter, spaces next to walls saved for snorers ) and signs posted like the handicapped parking spaces at the local Walmart.

    My question is when will the snakes and bees that took over shelters I wanted to stay in last year be a little more considerate?

    O.M. River
    "the legs feed the wolf gentlemen, the legs feed the wolf" from the movie "Miracle"

  15. #15
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-15-2003
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    3,949

    Default

    Most hikers I saw doing this were trying to get away from bugs.

    Tents inside shelters is an antithetical concept.

  16. #16
    Registered User Toolshed's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-13-2003
    Location
    Along the AT
    Posts
    3,419
    Images
    52

    Default

    Not being sexist, but Factual. I have seen this on 3 separate ocassions and each time it was 2 women that set them up in shelters. I find it annoying for those that might use shelters and aren't agressive enough to tell them to move the damn tent out of the shelter, but since I don't stay in them, I just shake my head at the foolishness and keep moving along....
    .....Someday, like many others who joined WB in the early years, I may dry up and dissapear....

  17. #17
    Hug a Trail volunteer StarLyte's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-22-2002
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Posts
    2,109
    Images
    1089

    Default

    I did this years ago at Hawk Mountain Shelter. The mice were so bad that I was losing sleep. I set up my tent real quick and went fast asleep.

    Only my friend was in the shelter with me that night.

    There were so many mice, you could hear them scurrying up and down the walls even - it was awful. That was my worse mouse night.

  18. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-15-2003
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    3,949

    Default Yikes!!!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by StarLyte View Post
    I did this years ago at Hawk Mountain Shelter. The mice were so bad that I was losing sleep. I set up my tent real quick and went fast asleep.

    Only my friend was in the shelter with me that night.

    There were so many mice, you could hear them scurrying up and down the walls even - it was awful. That was my worse mouse night.

    You're lucky one of little varmints didn't chew a hole through your tent. I'd have to re-access that strategy.

  19. #19
    Registered User iTrod's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-02-2009
    Location
    Lewisburg,PA
    Posts
    25
    Images
    22

    Default

    The footprint of a MSR Hubba tent is not much larger than a sleeping bag/pad combination (perhaps a foot longer). When there was adequate space in a shelter, I have set up my tent in a shelter for warmth and or mosquito protection. I usually do this when alone in a shelter during the "off-season" so space is not an issue. However, I did set it up in the Alec Kennedyshelter in PA this past September (where there are no flat sites for tenting). One elderly hiker seemed concerned about space issues, so I moved it another foot away from his sleeping bag (easily done with a self-standing tent). As it turned out, everybody had plenty of space. I would not hesitate to ditch the tent, however, if the shelter appeared to be getting anywhere close to snug. As in all things in life, good judgement applies.
    Take it easy, but take it...iTrod

  20. #20
    •Completed A.T. Section Hike GA to ME 1996 thru 2003 •Donating Member Skyline's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-08-2003
    Location
    Luray, Virginia
    Posts
    4,844
    Images
    3

    Default

    If you use a bivy, you probably aren't taking up much more shelter space than a sleeping bag and pad. No foul.

    If you're taking up much more space than that by using a tent in a shelter, you're taking space others may potentially need. Hikers arrive at all hours so I would not assume that just because it was my bedtime, the coast was clear.

    I don't use shelters for sleeping anyway, but I can see it from the POV of those who do.

Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 ... LastLast
++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •