JMT Shelter Choices

My opinion is that:
If you think you are going to experience nasty weather, pitch low with good solid pegging. Save the high headroom pitches for hot calm weather.

The main advantage of a flat tarp is you have lots of options and it would be good to practice getting a very tight low pitch for those rare occasions. Maybe one of the many modified flying diamond variations?

Last year on the JMT my wife and I used a GG Spinntwinn with a 2 person Oware Bivy. It worked just fine but in the end we wished we brought along our Tarptent. In several spots we camped around other groups and the privacy would have been nice. This summer we are headed out to the Tetons and we have upgraded from our old SMD Europa to a Tarptent Double Rainbow. Looks perfect for our needs.

You don't ever have to camp above treeline on the JMT if you are willing to plan your schedule with that in mind – you just walk further or less far so that you are in the trees when you camp. I'd say that bug protection is more important than storm-worthiness in the Sierra, at least until mid-august, when the bugs taper off.

Nate, On my JMT adventure I used a Golite tarp and bug shelter half way to VVR. For me the only down side of the tarp was the large footprint and long set up time which meant I had to find a perfect sight for that shelter and after 10-12 hours of backpacking it sometimes was tiresome to sent up the tarp. After VVR I was able to switch out my Golite tarp for a DLG Tarptent. It had a much smaller footprint which meant easier sight selection and I could set it up under 5 minutes (Much easier after a long day of hiking at higher altitudes) Looking back at my trip I wished I had brought my Tarptent the entire way of the JMT—Easy set up,easy sight selection and always out of the bugs and elements..Everybody has different comfort levels-Enjoy your trip!

-Jay

+1 "For me the only down side of the tarp was the large footprint and long set up time which meant I had to find a perfect sight for that shelter and after 10-12 hours of backpacking it sometimes was tiresome to sent up the tarp."

At the end of a long day, tired, brain dead, and dark:thirty, a shelter that goes up fast an easy is worth another couple of ounces.

If you have the time and energy to be a creative problem solver, it's not so much of an issue.

At the end of a long day on the trail, backpackers look for different places to camp. Some prefer to camp in the general area of others. I guess that is safety in numbers. Some prefer to camp far away from anybody else, and they value their solitude. Bears are going to look first at the places where backpackers traditionally camp, so if you like doing battle with bears at night, there is your chance. Some of us actually seek out bear camps, and that is for photography purposes. Many simply look for a camp that is fairly close to a water source. Some will travel many more miles that day in order to drop down below timberline, but that may be only for bad weather. Absolutely everybody has a different priority.
–B.G.–

On the JMT I found I got WAY better sleep at 8,000ft versus 10 or 11,000 simply because the higher amount of oxygen. I woke up a lit less during the night. It ended up being worth it to me to camp low when I had the option, even though the day starts with a huge climb.

I use a tarp all the time in the Sierras and never had any issues. Though to be honest, the majority of the time, I never set it up unless a thunderstorm/bad weather is threatening. I normally just sleep out in the open which is far quicker to setup camp and take down and I'm pretty lazy about camp chores.

Even above treeline, a tarp will work fine. Just look for a sheltered spot behind some boulders if wind seems to be an issue. Take avantage of those bowling ball size rocks and use them to weigh down your stakes/extra guylines. Even if you can't use a stake due to camping on a rock, tying a guyline to a large enough rock will hold in a strong wind.

> What kind of shelters are best for the JMT?

Depends on time of year. Needs in winter are much different than summer :)

Assuming summer… pretty much anything will work. Weather is pretty mild. Not to say that you won't get rain / wind… but it tends to do that a lot less than many places.

A medium-size flat tarp (provided you have have experience with multiple pitches) should work just fine with one caviet. Some locations have heavy bug presence… so you would want a bivy of some sort.

Personally, I like something that goes up quicker and easier than a flat tent and provides me some bug free space. So generally I recommend some sort of tarptent. I currently use of the Zpack Hexamid which I like quite a bit.

–mark

"You don't ever have to camp above treeline on the JMT if you are willing to plan your schedule with that in mind – you just walk further or less far so that you are in the trees when you camp. I'd say that bug protection is more important than storm-worthiness in the Sierra, at least until mid-august, when the bugs taper off."

I agree with Paul on all points. However, when I visit the JMT again I'll bring a pyramid shelter so I can camp as high as I want. In my view, the best and most scenic sites were up high out of the trees. Also fewer bugs and more breeze.

Last summer on the JMT, the mosquitos were just crazy!!! That was mid July-August. Netting of some sort was a must day and night. We had a tent. Some privacy was really nice.
Cheers.

I will be hiking the JMT solo leaving on Aug 21st. I was thinking of the following shelters and below is also what I believe to be my priorities in no particular order.

-I hate bugs. I haven't cowboy camped yet but would like to. I am one of those that still feels safer with a thin layer of mesh between me and the outside world. Thus, I will probably take significant bug protection even if the mosquitoes are gone. I hope to change this soon.

-I will likely be camping away from others and would like to be able to camp above treeline with great views of the sunset/sunrise, etc.

-I like the idea of the modular approach. A tarp with a bivy, etc. so that I can only use part of the system if that is all I need.

Most of my nights out have been in a MLD Duomid + ( SMD Serenity NetTent or MLD SuperLight Bivy for added warmth).

Here are some of the different systems I am thinking about.

—MLD Grace Cuben Solo + Bug Bivy or MLD Serenity NetTent
Will the tarp protect me enough from the rain with a bug bivy or do I need to bring my MLD SuperLight to protect from splashes and wind.

—MLD DuoMid + SMD Serenity NetTent
This appears to be pretty bomber, but I don't need all the space of the DuoMid. I could get a solomid.

—SMD Gatewood Cape + SMD Serenity NetTent
Would this provide the same level of "bomber" protection as the DuoMid? Or would it provide enough protection? It would be lighter, doubles as rain gear, and if I spend time inside the SMD Serenity NetTent the smaller size compared to the DuoMid wouldn't matter.

—Hexamid + something
If I get the hexamid with netting, I suppose I don't need anything but a ground cloth and maybe the extra door in case the wind shifts in the middle of the night and I don't feel like moving the shelter. This doesn't appear as modular as I would need the tarp for bug protection, but I could be wrong. Or I could use a hexamid without the netting + something for bug protection.

Any other ideas or suggestions would be great. My trip isn't for awhile, but I want to get a good number of nights in with my system if it is new before I leave.

Thanks for any advice.

Well by Aug.21, usually the bugs are mostly gone.

"MLD Grace Cuben Solo + Bug Bivy or MLD Serenity NetTent. Will the tarp protect me enough from the rain with a bug bivy or do I need to bring my MLD SuperLight to protect from splashes and wind."

This is my normal setup. I've used that tarp with no bivy, a superlite bivy and the MLD bug shelter; all will work for the Sierra in August. Bad weather in August usually means thunderstorms rather then several days of rain. So you can dry things out the next day if they get a little damp. The bug shelter gives more room to read if you are scared of bugs. The superlite bivy is enough bug protection if all you want to do is sleep and it isn't very hot at night (ie. not low eleveation). The superlite will block the wind better if you get a strong cold wind (a possibility if you camp high) though rocks/bounders also work. The tarp gives enough coverage from the rain without a bivy if you aren't in a wind tunnel as it comes down.

I did the JMT with a tarptent two years ago but never spent a night in it. Going to bed with a headnet on was interesting as the blood sucker would try their hardest to get in. But about an hour after dark as the temperature dropped I could get by without the headnet. The other factor is what time of year you will be going. The later it is the fewer the skitters. If I were doing it again I would take my tarp and bivy and only use the tarp if rain was expected at night which has never happened to me in the summer.