Advice on shelter system for the Sierra High Route

I’ve looked at variants along these lines, and my comments would be:

With an adequate tarp, you shouldn’t need a waterproof bivy, but the Recon bottom is 15D, just too fragile for me.   So I prefer the MLD with 30D Silnylon.   I do prefer the overall design of the Recon, if they made it with 30D bottom I’d switch.

But is the HMG an adequate tarp to cope with thunderstorms?   I have not used one, but it looks like it has open ends, and it’s not very big so not much overhang.   Looks like you might be in trouble in a Sierra thunderstorm if the wind starts blowing the wrong way.    I think a Hexamid Solo tarp (with beak) is a better design to protect you from blowing rain than the HMG, and lighter.

Having said all that, with the bug pressure in the Sierra I wouldn’t choose Tarp+Bivy at all.   When you stop in the evening and the bugs come, trying to eat dinner from inside your bivy is not a fun prospect.    I think a Z-packs shelter with integrated netting is a much better choice for quality of life when there are bugs about.   Solplex or Altaplex are around 1lb, so no weight penalty.    Cuben is not an ideal material for the floor of a tent, it’s abrasion resistance is not great, but repair tape sticks really well, so it’s just a question of checking for pinholes fairly often.

I came to the same conclusion as Ralph after spending a couple nights in heavy wind with an HMG 8.5×8.5. Also, a flat tarp takes a lot of lines and stakes/rocks to get a solid storm pitch. Mids go up so much faster and provide 360° protection.

Your question, however, was about bivies. I don’t see the point of a waterproof bivy and a tarp. If you are going to carry waterproof bivy maybe that’s enough? It wouldn’t be fun if you got socked in by a 24 hour rainstorm but that isn’t too likely in the summer. If you carried a heavier waterproof bivy you certainly would have fast setup/breakdown.

I’m shooting for a few nights on the SHR this summer in July. We will be bringing a mid with a bug inner for the reasons Ralph stated.

“I don’t see the point of a waterproof bivy and a tarp. If you are going to carry waterproof bivy maybe that’s enough?”

I wouldn’t leave a tarp at home for the small weight saving, even if I didn’t plan to pitch it most nights.   It can turn cold and rain with a vengeance in the Sierra, just a bivy in those conditions is not a fun prospect.

Thanks for the comments.  I really appreciate the input.

Doing about 1/3 of the SHR myself this summer…using the system I use everywhere…

Six Moon NetTent_ Guylines attached with the Six Moon Gatewood Cape.  Rain-gear and shelter in one.  My favorite combo thus far.  I sleep out 90% of the time without anything.  If there are just bugs, I’ve got the NetTent alone for a 360 degree view (something that not much else in it’s class has- Zpacks, Gossamer, Tarptent).  If I get weather, the Cape has a great interior height and lots of interior room.  AND…the Cap is my rain-gear + pack cover….  LOVE this system.

I pair it all with a  Gossamer Poly Ground Tarp, Big Agnes Insulated AXL Air and an Enlightened Equipment 950 Revelation 20 degree.  I’ve had lots of setups over 40 years of backpacking…this…is my favorite.

That sounds like a great setup Adam.  I had thought about the Deschute for a little more room, but you can’t use that as rain gear.

Depending on the timing of your trip bugs may or may not be an issue. By mid September most years the bugs are gone for the most part.

BUT, you may experience lower temperatures and possible cold storms.

Later in the season you may not need the bivy at all especially if you choose your camp site carefully – away from water and damp areas. It’s not hard to find well drained sites if you plan ahead.

I’ve used an MLD Trailstar for a lot of the Sierra above tree line (with and without a bivy). It provides great protection and is very storm worthy especially in blowing winds and rain. Also very easy to set up with a single pole.

But the Trailstar is not for everybody – it does take some getting used to and some just hate it.

I don’t have any high Sierra experience, I wish I did, but with a tarp + recon bivy I think you should be fine. I’m a convert from Lunar Solo to Little Trailstar + bivy. Nothing beats a Trailstar for storm worthyness.

Your HMG tarp and bivy are sufficient, especially later in the season (labor day +/- 2 wks) when there is usually little rain.  If earlier season you may want a bit more coverage.

I’ve section hiked several sections of the Sierra High Route using an MLD Pro Poncho (cuben fiber) as my primary shelter and an MLD superlight solo bivy.  Most of the time this was sufficient.

On a couple occasions I wished for more coverage…never got soaked but got plenty of spray.  So I purchased a duo grace tarp thinking the more coverage would handle the spray.  Haven’t used it yet so can’t say whether it is an improvement yet.

Re. fragile bivy floors, you can cut a matching footprint in polycro and adhere it with a few bits of double sided tape or dabs of sealant. You’ll need about 2 square yards and I think the light stuff is 0.5osy. Minor damage won’t matter since you don’t need it to keep you dry. It’s just there to protect the bivy floor.  Since it will be attached to the bivy, it won’t complicate set up, or blow away in the wind.