I went camping with some friends in cold weather a few years back. As I’m getting cozy in my sleeping bag, I hear what might as well of been a human sized Doritos bag being unpacked. Every time he moved it sounded like someone reaching into a bag of chips. I would expect a windy night would have the same effect on your Doritos tent.
yup
www.mentalfloss.com
We did 5 days backpacking in the Grand Canyon back in the late '80's, 16 people total. The trip organizer said the canyon is desert and there was no need to carry the extra weight of the tents, so we left them in the trailer on the South Rim. We started out and it was misting rain. About the time we go to Bright Angel campground half way in, the bottom fell out. We put up a tarp to eat under and a few folks slept under it. My wife and I put a ground tarp down, and then put a picnic table on it and another tarp over the top and slept under the table. The wind and rain howled down from the rim and sounded like a train. Poured all night. Went to bed as soon as it was dark, which is early in the canyon, and woke up later thinking it was morning. Found my flashlight and looked at my watch and it was only 11:00 pm. I think that was the longest night of my life. And it ended up raining every day we were in the canyon. Rained so much that the mule trains weren't taking people to Phantom Ranch in the bottom, so we were about to get beds in the bunk houses for a couple of nights, for like $7. Best money I ever spent and they had hot showers.
Say what? Closed? Who is there close'n em?
Gay
I do not know where you got your info but i just got back from a 47 mile stretch and slept in 4 different shelters they were all open. No tarps up due to covid and the ridge runners were all working and the thru hikers were on their way thru. They urged not to stay in the shelters but to camp by the shelter in a tent but can stay at your own risk.
Yes sir i have been up a few times now and was doing the learn as i go. I took my tent in the past and do not mind staying in the shelters some hate them but i like them. I have a northface -10 bag and have been in it down to 5 degrees and was comfortable i not only carry a lite emergency tent for in the event of a emergency where i get injured and can not make it to the shelter
Ya i see what you are saying i can sleep anywhere if you can sleep in a howitzer while running through the woods you can pretty much sleep anywhere lol, i tried a hammock but kept having problems with my arms falling asleep, not sure why but they just do i even run in to that problem sleeping on my sides as well from time to time
Well i just got back from being in 25 to 37 degree weather and while i was moving all i had on was spandex boxers to stop chafing which worked like a champ and thin base layer and my army PT shorts for the bottoms and a thin base layer long sleeve for my top and that was it, worked perfect to keep me from sweating bad. If i started yo get cold when i stopped i would throw on my thin shell pants Patagonia brand and a hard shell Solomon jacket and 1 thermo bottom for bed and a thin long sleeve for bed as well and 1 puff jacket if it was not enough for the hard shell to handle and 1 thin pair of socks and 2 pairs of marina wool socks my total pack weight was 34 pounds with food and water for 5 days i could have dropped it by 4 pounds by leaving out some luxury items but hey some stuff is just worth having to make your trip more comfortable. My sleeping pad is heavy as well for winter its sea to summit green not sure what its called at the moment its one of the ones that have a bunch of insulation in it worth the weight in my eyes to help retain body heat.
They did not close them they asked that you camp in a tent vs sleeping in the shelter they took the tarps down due to covid but you can still use the shelter at your own risk
Yes sir even though i want to cut weight i still can not help for the life of me to always shove last minute stuff back in just bc im that guy that always says what if lol what if really makes it hurt sometimes but is always rewarding when the what if happens and i have what i need to get thru. I actually suffered a injury while i was out this trip, i was coming down from clingmans dome down that steep rocky path didnt slip or anything just took a normal step with my trecking poles and took a step down and something popped in my left knee, i think i have a slightly torn ACL or meniscus. It was brutal trying to make it to the shelter luckily i was only 2 miles away and ran in to some thru hikers thatvi met earlier that week and were walking towards me to get cell service and said they would carry my pack the rest of the way to the shelter and broke my pack up the next day to help get me out of there the next morning to newfound gap parking lot i made it out took a while but i got out and thank god i didn't cut down on my fist aid kit and wraps bc i definitely needed it to help me out of a bad situation and learned i will never not take mole skin ever again
Well i can only speak for the smokies from fontana damn to newfound gap i stayed in 4 shelters this week and none were boarded up and non of the privies were boarded up or locked up 2 shelters i stayed at did not have a privy you had to dig a hole but the ones that did have a privy were fully operational and the ridge runners were working i actually met one her name was Amelia very nice girl asked me how i was doing and where i started and stayed at and pointed out some good views along the way. Take it for what its worth but your buddy might be mistaken on whats really going on, on the trail.
Plan away my friend you are good to go heres a picture from our start out of fontana damn and a picture of my fire i had in the shelter
I have put some thoughts in to possibly doing that. What do you do for rain and staying dry during bad weather?
I can see using one for a hammock, but have also heard people doing a tarp for ground camping and was wondering how they stay dry in my head im seeing water coming down the sides and pooling up under me?
Well only places i know where to cut weight would be in her sleeping bag and pad or cloths. If you can get her to be comfortable wearing the same outfit during the day everyday for the 4 days you can cut weight there and have one set for bed. And you can cut weight with tent stakes and stuff sacks, alot of people like to put stuff in different color stuff sacks so they can find stuff easier it may not seem like much but it adds up cutting grams and ounces adds up to pounds in the end and if you both have doubles of stuff you can cut that out of her bag as well like you both do need a first aid kit 1 good kit is all you need now i am not a expert these are just things i have cut from my own personal trips. Cutting down weight on food as well most people always bring way to much food, this is always a very hard one for people but really sit down and measure it out and break it down in to portions and ziplock bag them i think you got this in the bag though let me know what you came up with to cut the weight down i am always up for learning new ways to cut weight.
