[pct-l] Tarps, Tents, Nets, and Ground Cloths

[SnoLepard" <SnoLepard@TrekkingKats.com (SnoLepard)]

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The reason I like using a tarp and a  separate net is that I don't like sle=
eping in a tent, or under the tarp for that matter. On the PCT thruhike I j=
ust finished I only set my tarp up 15 times out of 133 nights. There was on=
ly rain on six of those nights, but frost on a couple others. And it kept t=
he dew off of me. In The North Cascades there was plenty of cold, windy, an=
d wet weather. Condensation was not a problem under my tarp. There was some=
 on the underside, but not enough to get me wet. My down bag stayed dry.

I used my mosquito net on numerous occasions, but I never actually had to s=
et it up under my tarp, which also would have worked great. The "net" resul=
t was that I was effectively sleeping outside when under my net. I could st=
ill see the stars. I love seeing the stars while I'm getting ready to nod o=
ff.

I used the ground cloth, a custom cut piece of Tyvek every single night I w=
asn't in a town, and for that matter many of the nights when I was in a tow=
n. I didn't have to set up a tent to have ground cloth under me, or to have=
 a net around me.

The tarp weighs 12 ounces, the net 5 and the Tyvek about 4. That's 21 ounce=
s. I did carry some stakes part of the time, but I actually went more than =
half the trip without any. Rocks worked fine. I made two-section tent poles=
 out of Easton arrow shafts. (Thanks Monte!) The poles weigh less then 2.5 =
ounces. Now I'm up to less than 24 ounces (not including the stakes I hardl=
y ever carried) for a system that kept ants and mosquitoes off of me, kept =
me dry in some nasty weather, but let me sleep outside under the stars almo=
st every night.

I cost a lot less than any decent tents I've priced. Of course it's not for=
 mountaineering and winter use, but this is the PCT-List, not the Denali-Li=
st.

Hope to see many of you this weekend at Lake Wenatchee!

BoredLepard