[pct-l] Tarp-tent feasibility

[Paul Hoffman]

You will have some challenges in southern CA at lower elevations finding
sticks to support your tarp.  In some areas the sticks you will find will
be from Manzanita - kind of gnarly and twisty.

Bugs should be of little concern in these areas...

On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 10:47 AM, Timothy DenHerder-Thomas <
timothydht at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I've been listening in to this list for a few months, but here's my first
> post.
>
> I just finished section-hiking the Appalachian Trail over 8 years this last
> September and am getting ready to start section hiking the PCT over the
> next ~8 years in 350-400 mile chunks. I'm not really familiar with
> West-Coast landscapes/ecosystems, so I'm trying to get a
> good understanding of that. As a section-hiker, I'm choosing different
> sections based on what seems to be the best season for water and avoiding
> heavy snow, as well as my availability and scheduling. I've been getting
> most of the info I needed about challenges I'm not as familiar with on the
> AT (water, snow, bear-canisters etc.) from others posts but one thing came
> up:
>
> I've been hiking with a tarp-tent that rigs with rope and tent stakes (no
> poles). I prefer not to hike with poles (has worked fine for me on all the
> super rugged stuff at the north end of the AT, so I assume it will be fine
> for what seems like a generally gentler PCT), so I usually rig the tarp
> tent between two trees or use one tree and a stick for the second pole. It
> is possible to use two sticks if there are no trees, but it's more work and
> requires finding two pretty strong sticks at least 3-feet long. My question
> is if there are any sections of the trail (I'm imagining particularly the
> desert-like sections in the south and the alpine areas in the High Sierra)
> where this strategy would not work either because there are no trees/easily
> available strong sticks or the ground is two rocky/sandy to hold tent
> stakes? If so, which areas will this approach be a problem?
>
> I've seen a few people posting about using hammocks on the PCT, which
> struck me as surprising since I would expect there would be areas without
> adequate load-bearing trees. If one can hammock all the way along the PCT,
> I'm pretty sure one could tarp tent as I am used to all the way along the
> PCT, unless those who hammock are relying on spots with lots of shrubs and
> other ground-cover between the trees.
>
> I'm also pretty happy cowboy camping when the weather is good, but I'd
> prefer to have some way of rigging shelter if there's a storm or at least a
> mosquito net if there are lots of bugs.
>
> I'm most likely starting late this August/ early September in a section
> most likely from Castella CA to Willamette Pass OR (I have friends in OR),
> so I assume this will not be a problem for this section, but I'd love
> confirmation that it should be fine in this area as well as info on whether
> I need to adjust my gear strategy for other sections (again, I assume
> mainly the desert and high Sierra, but maybe there are other areas I'm
> unaware of where this may be a problem).
>
> Thanks all! It has been great being a fly on the wall.
>
> Raven
> (Timothy)
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