tent for JMT

I found this thread while getting ready to post a question about which tarp I should take on the JMT this July. I only have a little tarp experience, and am (like this poster) curious about 1) how inconvenient it is to find places to pitch tarps in the high sierras (rocks, wind), and 2) what tarp you all would recommend for 1-2 people on such a trip. Thanks for any advice you can give.

I have done the JMT a couple years in a row and am in the area a lot. I usually take a BA Seedhouse SL2 but one year I took a Tarptent Squall 2. It worked fine but a couple nights were hard getting stakes in as I was on rock.

I am going to be just south of there in two weeks and am taking my new TT Raibow.

Jeremy, I have no tarping experience, but after being on this site for a while I've found that most people agree that the Gossamer Gear Spinntwinn is a great 1-2 person tarp weighing in about 11 ounces with lines and everything. It's worth checking out.

http://www.gossamergear.com

I am headed out in mid August and my wife and I will be using an Oware 8×10 flat-tarp/Oware 2 person simple bivy setup. It is simple, reliable and suits a variety of weather and or site conditions. Not to mention you can make a super easy lean-to shelter to get out of the rain at lunch time if needed…

I did the last 165 miles of the JMT last year with a Gossamer Gear Squall Classic (a spinnaker tarptent). Had no problems any night, however at Twin Ponds (just above Guitar Lake), I had to use rock as my stakes, but that was the only locale. I still used the stakes, the rock prevented the guyline ("Teed" by the stake) from slipping.

I'll be doing the entire JMT 4 weeks from now, using the same tent. Plenty of people hike the JMT using tarp tents with no problems nor complaints. Two of the other hikers had the large Tarptent 3 person tent, the Rainshadow 2 tent.

I hiked the High Sierra Trail for 7 years, of which 2 years where with the large Tarptent 3 person tent, the Rainshadow 2 tent. We used that at Twin Ponds too (just above guitar lake behind mt whitney). No problem (except, again, we used rocks to keep guylines down that night (otherwise stakes went into the ground just fine at all other camp sites).

You have to remember that there is good shelter from the wind below the tree-line.

If you plan on spending you nights above 10,000' then maybe the tent is a beter option.

rainbow and seedhouse are about the same but rainbow is lighter and as long as you dont set it up like a fool into wind it is better.
get the rainbow.

The JMT during the summer has some of the most mild weather conditions one could find when >8K ft. Between those two options I would go with the Rainbow… it's up to any conditions you are likely to see. It's free standing nature can be a boon. There have been a few spots I have stopped on our near the JMT that stakes didn't work that and it would have been nice not to collect rocks to secure my shelter.

I have typically used something lighter for summertime in the sierras: gossamer gear the one, spinshelter or poncho tarps + a16 bug bivy

–Mark