Trailstar in the Sierra for 3 – coverage and bugs

Plan for it to be cozy trying to get three under a Trailstar. It can be done (I did it once for a 3-night trip) but it was very cramped. We didn't have to contend with rain but we were all seeking respite from 50+mph gusts coming in off the ocean. We were all able to more or less stay sheltered in there overnight but there was a lot of fiddling, bumping into each other, climbing over each other, etc. to get in and out. It definitely was not an optimal situation but the other shelter we had with us couldn't handle the winds we faced, so we had to make do.

If you could pitch it high(er) and/or hang it from an overhead branch so you don't have to work around the center pole, it would open up a little more space to work with.

When we did it, we set the center pole at an angle. The biggest person (me) slept on the one narrower side. The other two shared the wider side created by the offset pole.

I don't have any real good advice/thoughts on the potential bug situation for you. I did a trip into the Sierra about 3 weeks ago, spending most of the time around 10,000' and got eaten alive, but I reckon in many places the bugs start to clear out by mid to late July.

Thanks, Nico. I had the same idea about offsetting the pole. As far as space goes, its my understanding that we PROBABLY won't have a whole lot of night time rain in the eastern Sierra, so we can probably cowboy and be as comfortable as we want.
The mosquitos are another matter. Maybe I should pick up some netting. What are the best strategies for avoiding the mosquitoes there?

I was in Desolation Wilderness last weekend and we camped at 9,000 feet along a very wet runoff field/stream and next to a small lake. We had bugs in the early morning and dusk hours, but they were fairly easily avoided. Those who wore sufficient amounts of dope got no bites at all. I'm funny in that I loathe chemicals and smelly potions about the same as mosquitoes to I used very sparingly. I got a few bites. Usually walking into the sun or the wind was enough to make them disperse. I did not sleep with a head net, but I did use a duomid and bathtub floor, no net. I simply pulled my bag over my head and by the time I woke at 8 a.m., they were already gone. I'm guessing that's got to be the case – getting better every day – throughout the Sierras, but can't say for sure.

As for 3 in a trailstar … sure pitch it high, might do in a pinch. I have always found that pitched low, you lose a fair amount of interior space and you're looking more at a large one-person tent that fit the right two people, but not a big two person tent that can fit the right three people. YMMV, of course.

I personally would only sleep 2 in a Trailstar, but as folkmsaynon a high pitch you would all squeeze in.

Do you have a solo shelter you could bring along also for your son?

I think I'll take my SpinnTwinn for our 3rd. Bugs be damned.