Date: 2007-03-25
To: Prep2
Miles today: 0.0

Thoughts on personal shelters:Unlike most other trails, the AT has a nice system of shelters spaced every 10 miles or so along the way. Personally, I'm a shelter person. Shelters are where the water is (most of the time), gives you a place to sit and get out of the rain. Shelters are also where most of the social interaction with other hikers takes place. However, one can't always count of shelter space. This is especially true for the first couple 100 miles of the trail in March/Aprial when everyone is starting out. It takes awhile for people to start to spread out or to drop out, thining the herd. There's nothing like a full shelter with half a dozen people snoring like chain saws!Therefore, it is important one has some sort of personal shelter available. There are a number of options avaiable. Ideally, your personal shelter must be as light and as compact as possable. Your shelter will likely be the single heavyist, bulkyist item in the pack and the thing you might use the least often. So, you really don't want a 5 pound tent which takes up 1/3d of the space in your pack!Pros and cons of various shelters:Simple Tarps:This can be the lightest system. I would recommend a 10 by 10 foot tarp, though the standard size seems to be 8 x 10. You need to get the sides low enough to the ground rain doesn't blow in, yet keep the apex high enough you can sit up under it. I noticed some pryamid shaped tarps in the online catalogs which look interesting. In addition to the tarp, you will also need a ground cloth. The only major down side to a tarp is there is no bug protection. Hammocks: At first glance, a modern, high-tech hammock such as the Hennessy is an ideal solution. It's reasonably light and compact. With a hammock, you can camp pretty much anywhere. All you need is two trees about 8-9 feet apart. It is the ulitmate low impact system, as you don't have to clear a spot in the woods to lay down and you don't impact the soil much or at all. You can camp over rocks, tree limbs or mud. The down side of a hammock is they are only really suitable in hot weather. This is because there is pretty much no insulation on your bottom side. When you lay on your sleeping bag, your weight crushes the insulation. Since your hanging in the air, any time the wind blows, it cools you down. The Hennessy hammock is neat in that it is bottom entery. This makes it easy to get into and out of, but makes it nearly impossable to aline a sleeping mat with the sleeping bag and have it stay that way when you get into it. Once you get in, your weight on the mat and bag makes it impossable to move them around. Finally, I find it difficult to get comfterable in a hammock. This varies from person to person. If your short, light and don't mind sleeping on your back, a hammock might work out great for you. Bivy sacks:This is the option I've used on my last couple of long AT section hikes. A bivy sack can be as simple as a water proof sack you put over the sleeping bag. More elaberate systems include poles for lifting the front of the sack off your face and include bug netting. An example of this type is the Outdoor Research Advanced bivy. This weighs in at just under 2 pounds. A bug bivy is similer, but replaces the water proof top with just bug netting. This reduces both the weight and bulk of the bivy sack. The nice thing about a bivy sack is you can use it in a shelter for additional warmth or bug protection. The additional warmth saved my butt more than once! If your hiking in New England during Black fly season, a bug bivy can save your sanity!The only significant down side of a bivy is you need to use a tarp with it, even the fully water proof type. If its raining out, there is no way you can get in or out of a bivy without getting wet if there is no tarp over it. Adding the tarp to the system increases the overall weight and bulk of the system to the point that a real tent starts to make sense.Tents:Most people use tents and there are pleanty to choose from. Since a tent will likely be one of the most expensive items you buy, choose wisely. Not too long ago, 5 pounds was considered a light weight tent. Thankfully, today there are much lighter options. Three pounds is typcial and not too bad. Since most everyone is using hiking poles theses days, designs which use your hiking poles as supports are a great inovation, since this eliminates the weight of tent poles and the problem of how to pack them. For this years hike, I decided to buy a new ulta-light tent. I settled on the "Lunar solo", which is just 24 oz. I found it at "Only the lightest camping equipment" from a link on the Trail Journals link page. The fact they take paypal settled the matter. It should be here in a few days and can't wait to check it out. Hope you found this little toturial on personal shelters helpful and interesting. Happy hiking, Slo-go'en"take the path least traveled - blue blaze!"