[pct-l] Tents vrs Tarps - Bivies?

[ruffwork]

It's always almost funny every year - people stress about the exact gear to take (as I do also so I'm just as guilty):

THERE IS NO ONE  "RIGHT" ANSWER (put this on the next PCTADZKO bandanna, please ;-).

The answer is so dependent on the person, the conditions, et al that it all depended on how
well trained you are in coping and adapting to conditions to survive.

As Ted said (I think?): the best resource you have is between your ears...

If you don't take advantage of that nothing on your back can save you!

ruffwork

> I have used a tarp and I enjoy it. I have an 8x10 tarp and a poncho.  
> I like them both but I think I like the poncho better. I also sewed  
> my own little mosquito net tent. It works alone or with the 8x10  
> tarp. Tarps are great as long as there aren't a lot of flies or  
> mosquitoes out.
> 
> I probably would have died of insanity on my 2009 hike without a  
> tent. I went through Oregon at the height of the snowmelt mosquito  
> season. Those mosquitoes were insane. Nothing like the crazy  
> mosquitoes in the Sierras. These were aggressive and evil. The bit  
> through my clothing. I had to wear a head net all day long and tuck  
> in my shirt, and button down the cuffs of the sleeves. It still was  
> not enough. They bit my back and elbows, my crotch and knees and  
> through my shoes, believe it or not. So I added another shirt on  
> underneath and a skirt over my pants and sprayed myself with a giant  
> can of DEET. And oh, the craziness of trying to relieve myself! I  
> made myself a device for peeing out of a plastic salad dressing  
> bottle. Literally saved my ass. I'm just glad I took a lot of  
> pictures because I hardly saw anything at all through the haze of  
> DEET and netting.
> 
> When I pulled into camp each night completely exhausted by the chase  
> (me being chased by mosquitoes), having a refuge where I could take  
> off all those layers, cool off, eat something without fighting and  
> just simply rest, was essential. I became a tent convert.
> 
> A tarp is nice. I'd probably choose to use a tarp over a tent if  
> there were no bugs. But I was chased by them across Central and  
> Northern California in 2008 and across Oregon and part of Washington  
> in 2009. It just became simpler to toss a tent in my pack and know I  
> was ready for anything.
> 
> 
> On Feb 6, 2011, at 9:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> 
> > I have a question for the tent advocates. Have you tried a tarp?
> >
> > HYOH and all that. I'm not being critical or anything. It's been my  
> > experience that 100% of the hikers I've exposed to tarps have been  
> > converted. Maybe it has to do with them hiking with me. :p Again,  
> > I'm not suggesting there is a right or wring way to backpack. I  
> > just can't fathom eer using a tent Unless it was in a snowy winter  
> > setting