JMT shelter

[Jesse Glover]

I am trying to decide on which shelter to use on my JMT hike next year, I will be hiking with someone so we will share the weight. We are planning on a late june start so bugs will likely be an issue. My options are:

Golite Cave 2, I love this tarp we have been using it for 8 years or so with no problems yet.

Golite HEX 3, I like it but I dont think it is an option due to weight.

2 person TarpTent, Not sure which one I have no experience with this shelter it belongs to my friend but the bug protection looks tempting.

So what would you go with? I am tempted to just bring the cave and deal with the bugs. Thats what I do in the Appalachians where the mosquitoes are not active at night but I have never been to the sierra so I have no idea what to expect.

[Jeff Jeff]

I've backpacked year round in the Appalachians for 5 years and I never got a mosquito bite. The mosquitos in the Sierra are biblical. You will literally go insane without protection from them.

I would use the Tarptent. They are pretty much the perfect shelter for the Sierra. Ideally, you can camp in a dry windy place up high and the mosquitos won't be too bad at night and you can cowboy camp. I've never had a drop of rain at night in over 90 nights there. A mummy bag and a headnet may be okay in those cases. You will want full bug protection if you camp in a mosquito infested place though. They are pretty active through dusk and they wake you up like an alarm clock in the morning.

Anyways, most Tarptents are light, roomy, and easy to stake out pretty much anywhere. You won't have too much condensation issues in the Sierra unless you pitch it in an open meadow.

You might want to bring 20 feet of very light cord though. Most Sierra soil is very thin, so you'll have to wrap rope around a large rock and tie the rope to the stakeout points on the tent.

[Ken Helwig]

depends on when you do the JMT. If it is early season say June-July then mosquitos are an issue. Aug-Sept will have much less. I use a Tarptent or a Gatewood Cape with the Serenity and have no problems

[David Chenault]

This past June the bugs came out between 5 and 9, prime hanging out in camp time. I had not planned for bugs at all, so it was a bit of a bummer. In the future I'd bring a headnet, and try to camp higher.

"Biblical" they are not, at least for anyone who's been to Alaska.

[Jesse Glover]

It's the cloudburst BTW. Anyone know the weight of just the poles?

[Anonymous]

We used a Hex 3 and our post-John Muir Trail equipment review concluded that it was a good choice. A pound a piece for the two of you is not bad.

As Ken pointed out, if you have any flexibility in the date choice, August would be highly recommended due to mosquitoes and stream crossings.

[Jesse Glover]

John,
Did you use any bug protection with the Hex? What did you use for a groundcloth?

1lb12 oz+the pole extension+a ton of stakes+some kind of groundcloth+homemade bug protection would probably be closer to 3 lbs. I think the cloudburst is a little lighter but I don't know for sure.

[Anonymous]

No, Jesse, we did not use a bug net and we experienced no problems even though my son and I both are mosquito magnets. We used plastic cut from a cheap drop cloth for the ground. If you are going to hike in June, then most likely you will want the tarptent.

[Ken Helwig]

Jesse keep in mind that you should try to keep options open as to when you can hike the JMT next summer. If we have a big snow year, it can be rather tough going. I planning my hike and I am doing it in August so as to miss thunder storm season, let the bugs die down a bit and have some snow melt. Really it all depends on the winter we are going to have. We just had our first winter storm blow through Northern California this weekend and hopefully it is a big winter because we need the water. I would really consider Aug-Sept.

[Jesse Glover]

I know in a perfect world I would do the hike in september but my hiking partner has decided to go back to school and has to be back by the first of august. I could possibly go 2 weeks or so later but I really don't think that will make a subsantal enough of a difference. I will however be watching snowpack levels and I am prepared to adjust the dates to acccomodate safe travel over the passes. But I am also prepared for just about anything else bugs rain and high water don't scare me. Snow doesn't scare me either its the weight crampons and ice axe that I am afraid of.

[Jesse Glover]

I have decided to just carry the tarp. I just can't justify the weight of the TarpTent. I will let you guys know how it goes…

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