[pct-l] tents

[John Abela]

Hey Chuck (others),

How many nights do you think on all the times you have been on the PCT
have you encountered rain?

Other question is... I was reading your post that you included... I've
read it a few times over the last couple of years and always missed
(read over?) the part about you not putting your sleeping bag in a
stuff sack. The more I have been loosing the ounces from my setup the
more I have realized the same thing, ditch stuff sacks except for
where you really really need them. So, my question here is... do you
typically stuff your sleeping bag at the very top of your backpack?
Or, one layer down, below your daily access stuff like food/jacket, or
do you stuff it all the way down at the bottom? My thoughts/trials
here lately have been to put it at the very top when I break camp in
the morning, and than an hour or so later when I stop for first
meal/bathroom/dry-the-gear-stop, I end up putting it on the second
layer, just below my daily food/jacket, but above everything else.
Thus the only compression that takes place is maybe 2 pounds worth of
food, rather than 5+ pounds worth of the rest of my gear. It also
means I don't have to repack everything after my first stop. So, just
wondering what process you take. I suppose if you are somebody who
loves your external backpack pockets and stuff your daily meals in
them, you could get away with having your sleeping back 100% at the
top of the backpack, and only your pack adjustment straps would be
what could potentially compress your bag. But, I loath external
backpack pockets (and hip pockets) so I ditched them and went over to
shoulder strap pouches. But they cannot hold enough for lunch/dinner,
so they have to be at or near the top of my pack. Anyway, just
wondering what your logic/process is in all of this.

Thanks,
John




On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 10:11 AM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote:
> Good morning, Daniel,
>
> Many thousands of PCT miles have passed under my sneakers without a tent.  I
> sleep under the stars except in the fairly rare event that rain threatens.  My
> shelter is a 10-12 ounce tarp plus a 3.2 ounce ground cloth.  I find a
> normal tent “footprint” to be too heavy, and most tent flys require use of
> the normal tent pole set – also too heavy.  My two trekking poles are used
> to erect the tarp.  http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=264203
> http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=264203
>
> Mosquitoes?   I sleep wearing a head-net until about midnight when they quit
> prowling, at which point I remove it.
>
> Enjoy your hike,
>
> Steel-Eye
>
> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
>
> On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 1:50 AM, Daniel Hurt <danielhurt at ymail.com> wrote:
>
>> I was wondering if it is practical at all to use a footprint and fly setup
>> when
>> hiking the PCT rather than a tent to save weight? What are some weight
>> saving
>> tips, and good two person tents for the trip?
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