I recently finished my AT thru hike and now I'm back home thinking about going hiking.

In another thread I asked about shelter options on the PCT. Now I'm curious about what ground spots are like between the two trails.

Honestly, as a primary hammock hanger from the Northeast, I thought good tent spots on the AT were hard to come by.

I was able to setup on some nice flat duff every so often but the majority of the time I felt the terrain wasn't conducive to good camp spots.

Lots of rocks, roots, dirt, angles, trees, brush, water, and even glass (hello New York), etc to deal with. Sometimes when I did find a great spot, all you had to do was look up to deter one instantly from sleeping under those death sentences.

My best spots were typically away from shelters and designated tent sites, but as a thru hiker, I didn't feel like I had all afternoon to look for prime real estate.

My experience with tent spots (ground dwelling in general) is more negative than positive for the AT. Wish I brought my hammock to be honest. Didn't want to sleep in shelters or on platforms either all too much.

Some areas of the trail, there was pretty much nowhere to setup unless around a shelter due to the rugged terrain or forest growth. Typically, the spots around shelter areas were heavily used and not what I would consider ideal (packed dirt and depressions). I avoided those like the plague.

On the PCT, is the terrain better suited for ground camping? What can one expect to be different between the two trails?

Like I said, I did have some great comfortable areas to tent on the AT. The majority of the time, I think a hammock would of been the ideal choice.

Is the PCT full of cushy, flat, scenic, ground sites like I'm dreaming about?



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