Date: 2016-04-27
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Since I bought my hammock/tent system I've been struggling with staying dry in full on rain. Every time the water comes, I cross my fingers. That's pretty much the entire function of a shelter system, so it was imperative that I find a way to stay dry. Back around mile 100 or so I bought an ENO Profly. It was entirely functional as it provided tons of dry room to set my gear up under, and it saved me in that snow storm in the smokies. But unfortunately, it was heavy and bulky so it had to go. More room in the pack is more food in my pack.Now, since my hammock doesn't have an awning like most hammocks do I've had to work out a few kinks. My rain cover is a silnylon tarp that clips around the outside of the system similarly to a pack cover. The problem that I was having was that there was about a 2" gap on each side of the hammock that allowed rain to get in if it was windy outside.Because of all the rain we've been getting lately I decided it was time to really address the issue.What I've found are tiny little cloth tabs right before the spot where I clip the fly onto. Now you at home may be saying, "Well, what an idiot! If the tabs were there, why not use them?"Believe me, I'm right there with you on that one. This hasn't been the first time out here that I've had a full realization of my complete ignorance on an issue. I digress. Essentially, these tabs alter the way that the frame of the hammock sits underneath the rain tarp. It pulls the poles in tighter so that the rainfly can cover all of the hammock. So now, rather than laying in a hammock under a tarp, I'm fully engulfed in a complete cocoon. I wish I had known this in the cold weather because it's much warmer in here without the cold air rushing in. Maybe the condensation will be less of an issue in the morning as well. The downside to this huge victory, the airflow is more restricted. If I make it through the night to report back to you tomorrow, then we can chalk it up to a success.Last night, to avoid the rain completely, I slept in the shelter. I know as a hiker I'm supposed to be completely down with grungy situations and the stank as we call it, but there are just a few problems with shelters for me. The first is the rodents. Whether they are mice or big fat rats, they're the last thing you want crawling over your face at 3 in the morning. They will chew through your gear, nestle into your hair, poop all over your stuff and keep you up all nights with their scurrying about the wooden surfaces of the shelter.The second issue is sleeping on the hard wooden decking. I just can't get the rest I need when I'm sleeping so flat on such a hard surface. The surfaces are clean though. There's always a broom to clean the dirt off, but years of oils from greasy, sweaty hikers have added a distinct black varnish to every single board of every shelter.The third issue for me is all of the other people around you in a shelter. There's snoring all night, rustling of sleeping bags, scratching of body parts, readjusting of positions, people getting up to go to the bathroom etc. All personal privacy gets tossed right out the window. The shelters are wonderful to have in an emergency situation though. I'd rather be under a wooden structure in a nasty wind storm than in a nylon system any day.All day long I've kind of been in a funk over some of the dark side of AT history. I'll set a link aside to the article I read earlier while eating my sub at Trent's Grocery store. I wish I had paid a little more attention to the details though. As I read through the story once more before bed, I have no idea why, I realized that the site of a gruesome double homicide was in fact at the shelter I'm sleeping at tonight. Lightning doesn't strike twice right? Read the article and tell me that this isn't the last place you'd want to be in a thunderstorm. Poe couldn't have written a more terrifying scenario himself. Should've done my research before settling in...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070801657.html