[pct-l] tarp camping...

[Sean Nordeen]

It all depends on where you are and the time of year.  You can often just camp out in the open without trouble.  Even when there are bugs, they often will disappear at sunset and won't return to sunrise.  For people who don't lounge around in bed, that works out in most situations.  On the PCT, I didn't encounter a night with any mosquitos until I got just before Big Bear but didn't need to use any protection since they left as it got dark and I get up at first light.  Though I'll admit, in the Sierra Nevada before fall, you'll need some kind of protection.

For when bug protection is really needed, there are several methods.  The SUL one is to use a bug headnet over a baseball cap (to hold it off the face) and have the mummy bag sleeping bag zipped all the way up like a suit of armor.  A step up from this is a bivy sack with bug netting (See Mountain Laurel Designs, Titanium Goat, Oware USA, Six Moons Designs for some lightweight breathable water resistant (not waterproof) solutions).  A bivy sack has several uses.  It blocks the wind better then a tarp or even a tent, it adds warmth to your sleeping system so you can use a lighter sleeping bag/quilt, it allows one to easily cowboy camp (when the tarp isn't required which for me is 95% of the time), it allows the use of a smaller and lighter tarp since it handles any wind spray during a rain storm.

Then there is hanging some netting from your tarp, tree branch, or hiking poles.  There are more minimalist solutions of a simple net drapped over your upper body to things that look like a full bug tent.  Gossemer Gear has a small simple netting that works.  As mentioned before, the A16 Bug Bivy is an older but popular solution (though I think heavy for the amount of coverage, but it is reasonably priced).  Mountain Laruel Designs has their Bug Bivy and their Serenity Shelter, Six Moons Designs has their Serenity NetTent.  Simblissity has an interesting though slightly complicated net shelter design.  There are others out there, some by mainstream companies (though they tend to be heavier).

I personally use a bivy sack with sewn in bug netting for the colder and shoulder months and when weather is expected and a Mountain Laurel Deisngs Bug Bivy for the warmer months when I don't want the added warmth of a Bivy Sack and more room to move around in.