[pct-l] Tarp tent vs. traditional tent

Wed Feb 20 03:36:20 CST 2008

I used to have dreams of thru hiking....and actually was planning to do just that this year on the AT....but I got some doses of reality....

  1)  I have MS as well as asthma
  2)  I have 7 cats, a dog and a horse.  While I can take my dog with me, my horse is 3 ad ready to be trained....I can pay someone $600 a month to board and train him, or I can do it myself for free.  My cats....well, they're easy....food, litter and tons of pets.
  3)  I have a girls' club that got off the ground in '07 because I wanted to give the girls around here something to do besides drugs and guys.  If I leave there is no one willing to step in and fill my void.  I asked....no one wanted them..."You seem to have bonded with them".

  So....my hikes are going to be limited to a week here and there...and my annual (starting this year) month in Florida with my sons and the FT.

  So....I guess that I CAN meander....I have time.  

"Donna \"L-Rod\" Saufley" <dsaufley at sprynet.com> wrote:
    body{font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:9pt;background-color: #ffffff;color: black;}      You are WAY okay, and far from alone.  It's all part of hiking your own hike.  One thing I've noticed though is that it takes a lot of persistence and effort to complete the entire trail in one season.  So, you'll have to balance your desire to stroll leisurely and stop to smell the flowers with any desire you may have to thru-hike the entire thing in a single season.
  L-Rod
  -----Original Message----- 
From: Sandi 
Sent: Feb 18, 2008 10:37 PM 
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Tarp tent vs. traditional tent 

  I am going to go out on a HUGE limb here....I am not an ultra light backpack person.  I like my comforts.  At first, I started to get sucked in....and then I thought, "WHY???"  To gain more miles in a day?  "WHY????"  As such, I am stroller...a wanderer.  I like to see and stop and gaze and glory....and sit on my little 8 ounce tri-pod chair while I do so.  I have a wonderful tent that has two walls so I don't have to worry about too much about water dripping on my nose or my sleeping bag while I sleep because it's raining outside.  I don't worry about the weight.  I pick up my pack, put it on my back and walk.  When I am tired of walking, I stop until I want to walk again.

  I know that I am out of the main groove because of my beliefs...but is there such a thing as too much here?  6 ounces/3 ounces  

  JMHO

Jordan2ynp at aol.com wrote:
  Dear other hikers:

       I am of the club that still uses a "traditional" tent. Mine is 2.8 pounds, but it keeps me warm, dry, bug free, and has all the extras one expects a tent to have. My questions to those who have the tarp tents is, is it worth the savings? I am asking because mine is easy to set up, and it has always worked for me. However, I have never tried a tarp tent, and I was wondering what the tradeoffs were, if any. 
       As it is, my pack well be in the 12-14 pound range. It's not as light as some (8lbs holly crap!) but it could still be lighter, and as such the tent question comes to mind. 
       The final part of my quarry comes in the form of construction. The majority of the light tents I've seen require construction, and I am as good as a builder as I am at speaking French (in case you were wondering, I don't speak French). So, what are quality tarp tents I could buy? That being said, thank you all for your input on this subject in advance.

Your happy go lucky hiking pal,
Good Times :)

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