The Decision Is Made. The New Tent Is On The Way

The New Tent: The LightHeart Gear Solo Standard.

LighHeart Gear Solo

If you have been following the blog, you have been exposed to some of my discussion of tents, tarps and hammocks and now have an idea of the different though processes people have for purchasing each type of shelter. I have been going through a very similar thought process recently regarding the purchase of a new shelter for the late winter/early spring portion of my hike.

I have multiple shelters to choose from for the hike. For the majority of the hike, I am planning on using either a hammock or more likely my tarp. The tarp is the obvious choice for light weight, and the hammock, although heavier will sleep more comfortably and may be the choice for most of the hike if I decide to try to stay away from the shelters with the problems of overcrowding, snoring, and mice.  However, I have been thinking about the beginning of the hike, especially if the weather is mild and I start hiking early in the season.  By starting in mid February I can beat the crowds that are associated with a late March or early April start.  The danger of such an early start is of course the weather.  The mountains of Georgia, North Carolina and the Smokey Mountains are guaranteed to be cold, the gamble is how much ice and snow I could encounter.  I am trying to minimize the risk of snow and ice by only starting such an early hike only if the winter has been mild.  However, I do realize that even with a mild winter I must be prepared for severe weather and this has help make my decision to purchase a tent.

If in the case of snow and ice, the obvious choice of shelter if I am not able to get into a close town is to wait out the weather in a shelter.  However, depending on how severe the weather becomes, my location on the trail, how I am fairing physically, the shelter may not be close enough to travel to.  In that case I have to have a back up plan and other shelter available.

My tarp could be a viable shelter.  It is my go to shelter for the summer portion of my hike.  It will work but has some possible drawbacks.  First, even in a storm pitch, there is one side that remains open, if the wind shifts it can expose the occupant to the weather requiring repitching the tarp in a different direction. Secondly, if I have to pitch the tarp over snowy, icy or muddy ground, there is the problem of moisture and the chance of wet sleeping bags and clothes.  This is not something that I would want to deal with extreme weather.

My hammock would be an excellent shelter as it is pitched above ground and as such there is no issues of having to deal with snow, ice and mud on the ground.  You will hang over the mess.  With a tight pitch of the hammock tarp, the tarp should shed any snow buildup easily.  There are two drawbacks of the hammock.  First, is that if I have to shelter over for several days, the hammock would be tight and cramped if I had to basically lay in it for a day or two, Secondly, in order to be warm in the hammock, I am going to have to carry several pounds of additional insulation (called underquilts and overquilts) to keep warm.  The hammock is a usable shelter, but with additional weight and space requirements of additional insulation as well as being confining if I had to shelter in it for several days, I do not look forward to using a hammock for this portion of my hike.

So the other choice is carrying a tent.  The tent allows me to clear away snow on the ground, lay a ground cloth down to protect the floor of the tent from moisture, The tent obviously has an enclosed entryway and as it is enclosed, may potentially be warmer than the outside air temperature due to helping to keep body heat in the enclosed space.  Shedding of snowfall on the outside of the tent, with the right design should be workable as well.  After reviewing all the options, I elected to go with a tent.  Now the fun began, what tent to buy.

No tent poles with this tent!  It uses your
trekking poles to drop weight.

Well, without rehashing cuben fiber vs Sil-nylon, i opted to carry a few more ounces and go with a hybrid sil-nylon tent by Lightheart Designs. A hybrid designed tent is a tent that is partially a single wall tent as well as areas that have a double wall design. (typically similar to a rain fly.)  This tent is large enough for a person and their gear, and the design should hopefully allieve some of the issues of condensation that are extremely common with single walled tents, keeping me drier if I have to hole up in the tent for several days.  The generous space of this tent should allow me to move around a bit, dress, or read and play cards to cut the boredom while couped up.

LightHeart Solo.  Fly folded up

The LightHeart Solo may find it stays in the pack well past Damascus VA if the spring is wetter than usual.  As it is a fairly light tent and is enclosed with bug netting it may be an option instead switching out early to the tarp.  The tarp and a bug shelter will weigh about 24 ounces and the tent only weighs 27 ounces so it could definitely stay in the pack longer till we get past the worst of the mosquito season.

So, the tent has been ordered and should be here in the next day or two.  Seam sealing will be done this weekend and I will be taking this tent on the trails over the next couple of weeks during my shakedown hikes.  So be looking for a review of the tent shortly.  Until then, check out these unique tents at www.lightheartgear.com for further specs and information.

Following the Compass Rose North.
AT Hiker......

New Equipment

New Equipment

Vasque Blur SL
Trail Runners

So, I was able to add a couple pieces of clothing for my hike.  I am trying to find the last few major items I need and was able to grab my puffy jacket and a second set of trail runners inexpensively at the thrift store and outfitter.  I love a good sale at the outfitters and thrift stores rule sometimes.







OR Puffy Jacket

So, only a few bucks were spent and I am that much closer to completing my gear.  Now to find a tent for the beginning of the hike, cold weather base layers, a  good fleece pullover, a couple additional pairs of socks, and a cold weather sleeping bag.  Once I aquire this equipment, I believe most of the equipment will be purchased and I can enjoy any weather condition I may want to hike in.


New Hiker Dictionary Page

NEW PAGE ADDED

For you non-hikers that are following the blog, I have added a tab at the top of the page that links to my new Hiker Dictionary page.  Check it out.

Rainy Wet Virginia.

A Wash of a Weekend

So, what happens when your best laid intentions fall apart?  Well, you do as I do and punt so to speak.  The plan was to head out to Rocky Knob in Virginia, do a bit of hiking and hang out with some friends camping for the weekend.  Of course the hurricane in the gulf was predicted to reach out to Virginia with possible thunderstorms and rain as it moved up the United States...as a side note, I need to look at an atlas as I am sure Virginia must be a suburb of Seattle!  Does it every stop raining in this area for long? Sheesh.



Woods and a campsite at Rocky Knob.
Notice the rain and mist.

So, the plans changed into a gear test for my hammock instead.  I have been debating ditching the tarp that came with my Hennessy Hammock and using my 8x10 silnylon tarp instead.  I think it was a good call as there were limited trees to hang from and I could not really position the hammock for the weather properly and we did get some heavier rains throughout the weekend.  So, let's call this a hammock shakedown weekend instead of a good hiking weekend.



Floyd VA

All was not to waste, I did find a very cute town called Floyd Va.  just north of Rocky Knob and if you are ever in that part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is definitely worth a couple of hours for lunch and shopping.  The company this weekend was awesome and I was able to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in quite a while. Hmmm...oh, the trail?  I did get on the trail and will have to return in better weather when I can actually enjoy a dry hike ans spend some time actually looking at the scenery....All I saw was rain and mud....grrrr.



My Hammock and tarp.
Notice the  uneven rocky ground?
Advantage goes to the hammock
instead of a tent this time.

So, about the hammock, I did like my new tarp with the hammock, it provides a much better coverage area and protection from the elements than the HH Tarp that came with the hammock. I did use every piece of tie down rope I could find due to the thunderstorms and wind we were anticipating and the tarp held strong and tight..Sweet.  Not a drop of water entered the hammock area and both my sleeping bag and myself remained fat and and happy every night.  I did notice my back beginning to get cold due to no real insulation under me so now and I realize that if I am going to take the hammock on the AT in March, I really need to look at insulations and possible underquilts to keep me warm.....

So, all in all, it was a successful weekend even though the hiking was limited..Good food, good friends, and a field test of my hammock in a great deal of rain made for an enjoyable time.

A damp wet hiker,
Bruce

Gotta Love the Relatively Unknown Local Trails.

Local Trail/Awesome Views

 

 

 

Endless Wall Trail

Ah, the pseudo secret local trails.  Where I live there are many beautiful trails to train on and believe me I love hiking them all.  Flashback to yesterday.... I believe I found my favorite!  The Endless Wall Trail at the gorge has to  be hands down my favorite local trail within an hour of my house.

 This is not a long trail, in fact to get any worthwhile training  out of it, you must do the out and back several times as the trail from trail head to trail head and return is a scant 5 miles.  The terain is easy with some minor up and downs but is mostly flat following the canyon rim.  The trail surface is mostly soft dirt with only a few short rocky sections. The National Parks Service rates this trail as easy to moderate but believe me, there is no moderate to this trail, It is easy. Warning, if you bring children or pets, keep a sharp watch on the them.  There are no railings around the cliffs so be careful around the edge!!

Because this trail so easy The Endless Wall Trail is not the best trail for mountainous trail conditioning, however it was a great break to rest my ankle that has been hurting lately and the views more than make up for the lack elevation.  You can rack up the miles easily with multiple out and backs and the views will keep you entertained.  So I am going to call the the trail for fast walking and cardio conditioning only but the views more than make up for the lack of elevation gain.  With that, I will let the pictures finish the rest of the story.  Enjoy.

The trail heading to the cliffs.  Notice the leaves are already starting to fall onto the trail because of all the rain this summer.

 

A cute hiker bridge over the now dry creekbed.

Canyon rim.

Another canyon rim pic.

Ladders down the cliff face.



The view looking east into the Gourge.  The New River can be seen almost 1000 ft below.

Till next time....keep looking north towards Katadhin.