Just completed my yearly fall trip of a section of the AT
This year was a 94 mile north bound from mt rogers visitor center to woods hole hostel
the weather was very warm first two days, raining/storms for two days, then cooler (50's)
and windy final two days
I have been using a hennesy backpacker ul for quite a while now so this was my first trip going to ground.
Ordered the tent from SMD.
I seam sealed it and it weighed 26 oz.
I ordered and cut a polycro groundsheet for it which weighed 1.5 oz with tiny grommets and some minimal reflective tie outs.
I set the tent up in the yard probably 5 times, added 7-8 foot 2 mm relective shock chord to the
tie outs
I used ul hook stakes from lawsons equip, and one msr groundhog for the main line.
The tent functioned well for the trip
After finding/clearing an appropriate spot, i laid out the poly, staked out the four corners, with
the straps let all the way out, made sure the beak zipper was zipped, placed the pole(extended to 51), staked the front, the back(again with strap all the way out), then went around and
tightened all tie outs, usually tightening them again in 15-20 mins
The wall shock chord tie outs were usually tied to a tree nearby, only had to stake them a time or
two
I watched many vids on the tent and similar before my trip and learned many tips..
5 days isnt long i know but i did learn a few things about the solo which i thought
may benefit others....
-let the straps out all the way before pitching
-the wall tie outs add significant foot,head room to the shelter and the reflective shock
worked well for this. Tie them out as at waist level or higher if possible, both lines parrallel to
the back corner stake straps
-Zip the front zip pre pitching as it is easy to apply the stake too far out then u cant zip up the door
-The key to getting the "bathtub floor" effect is to have the corners/back straps out as much as possible, and also, if you can, attaching the straps to the stakes 1-2 inches off the ground

I appreciate the community and info I've gotten from this site.
Maybe this will help a hiker or two...