How to Pick the Best Shelter for the Appalachian Trail
Picking the best shelter is not about picking the best shelter that is out there but picking the best shelter for you. There is so many choices out there that it will send your head spinning and you might still get it wrong. I picked the smallest, lightest, budget friendly shelter but found that I was in a tomb and could not do anything easily in my tent. I changed it out about 30 miles in at Neels Gap but that put me in a expensive and limited choose tent. I will be taking that one with me, because I own it, unless I buy a new one as it is 5 years old and gear has gotten so much better and lighter.
There are a few choices including a tent which is the most popular, tarps which you should have a bit of backpacking experiences before trying, bivy sack, or hammock. Or just make sure you get to a shelter on the trail that you can sleep at each night.
I am going to start with the lightest weight for your pack, touch on other shelters, then go straight to the tent. The tent is the most popular on trail.
Sleep in Shelters on the Trail
Once in a blue moon, someone will do the trail and just sleep in the shelters that are available on the trail. There are over 250 back country shelters on the trail and average being 8 miles apart. In Georgia, they are much less then that but so many people start and stop in Georgia. They are generally there to help reduce the impact on the environment. They tend to be three sided lean-tos but in places especially Maine they can be full cabins as some people also use these in the winter when skiing and other winter sports. Most are in good to great condition. But some not so much. I would never use this strategy to make sure that I was at a shelter each night and not have a different shelter on me, i.e. tent, tarp, etc.
Shelters are first come first served. If you choose this as your shelter option, then you need to be the first one up and push to be one, if not the first to a shelter down the way. These shelters are not just for thru hikers but also available to weekend campers so even if you have a low amount of hikers on the trail, they could still be full. You are not guaranteed a spot. Worst, the shelter might be full even if it is completely empty when you arrive. Shelters serve as great homes to mice, snakes, and other critters that you might not want to share a bed with.
When I was on the trail, I walked up to one shelter in the morning and the guy said that he had killed at least 50 the night before as they woke him up and he did not want to put up his hammock in the dark. At another shelter, I was going to use it as I was one of the first there but when I looked around, I saw a lot of mouse droppings. I put my tent up for the night. I pointed it out to several another persons and they also choose not to use the shelter. But this one guy choose to sleep in the shelter and put his tent up in it. (This is not good behavior on the trail. Putting your tent up to take a lot of the shelter room and is very frowned upon.) Not to long after dark, I could hear him fighting off the mice. I want to say that I was sorry for him but I can say that I tried not to laugh to hard. Plus, in the morning, he found that the mice had made a few holes in his tent, sleeping bag, and other gear. The trail likes to teach lessons.
That being said. Taking a night off of not having to put your tent up can be wonderful. But remember, you also are open to the elements which if the rain is coming down sideways can get your stuff wet, you are sleeping next to strangers (most that snore which I have a pug so it does not bug me but I actually encourage people that snore to camp next to me), and someone can come in during the night and join even if there is not room plus they can be wet and get you and your things wet.
Tarps, Bivy Sacks, and Hammocks
Tarps are just that, a tarp that covers you from the worst weather but is not closed in. A bivy sack is basically a one person sack that fits a sleeping bag and you, i.e. a just a sleeping bag type tent. A tarp is not a bad idea but it allow for bugs to come in and small animals to wander through your area. On the east coast, I personally would not do it, but then I don’t like snakes or bugs. The thing with both of these is you really have to be use to hiking. I would say that these are not for first timers but rather for skilled hikers. But also for a trip that last 5 to 6 months and your changing camping areas daily. Not really the chooses that you want to do.
Hammocks. Again, if you have not been hiking a lot. Not something that you want to start with. One of the guy that I was hiking with, i.e. we were hiking the same speed and we ending up about the same place every night, had one for a very short time before he changed over to a tent. One of the issues was that he was having a hard time finding trees to set it up in.
Approved camping areas fill up quickly during the evening hours. Many campers don’t understand to leave spots open for people that need those trees to get their hammocks up. Most of the approved areas were never meant for hammocks and the trees have been removed years ago. Therefore, a lot of the places that you can put up a hammock are on the edges of the approved camping areas. The guy I was talking about ended up falling and hitting his back on some rocks during the evening because that was the only area that was available and open for him.
In addition, he choose to stay on trail a night that a really bad storm was coming through. He stayed on the ridgeline, i.e. the top of the mountain. The wind whipped through with all the rain and the hammock also moved with that wind. He did not have a good night and by morning, his hammock was destoried. He got a tent a Neel Gap.
I also heard of several people that had to hike longer days to get to the next area as the area that they wanted to stop at did not have the trees to put their hammocks up. This sucks as if you are done for the day and have to keep going, you are leaving yourself over tired and possibly setting yourself up for an injury which can make you have to take a nero, low trail miles, or zero day, no trail miles, to recover or possible, make you leave the trail and go home.
Note: You have to hike your own hike! I will not talk about these more as I don’t fell that they are good options unless you are an experienced long distant hiker that has used them in the past. Because every year, someone on the trail uses these and has a wonderful time on the trial with them.
Tents
The tent is the most popular because it in the easiest but it is the heaviest of all of the items. Because you have the tent, poles, and stakes to add to your pack. If you are new to hiking, a tent is the best way to start. When picking a tent, you need to think about several different things: size, poles or trekking poles, seasonal tents, weight, price, etc. For price and weight, check out my how to buy gear like a pro post. It gives a breakdown of price vs weight.
Tent Size
Tent size sound easy. You are one person or a couple. Therefore, get a one person or two person tent. I started with a one person bivy. I felt like I was crawling into a tomb every night so I made sure that I get to shelters early and stayed in them unless they had mouse droppings or other issues. It was hard get my backpack into it, set up for the night, and break it down in the morning. Therefore, size is a large issue to review. I have a Big Agnes, not sure the model, but it worked well for me when I was on trail.
To me, the best tent size is one that allows you to sleep good and be able to put your backpack in with you. If you are tall, make sure that the size fits you and your sleeping pad. Being two inches off means that your up against the wall of the tent on at least one side. Being up against the wall of a tent can make you wet and/or colder then you need to be. As the condensation of the tent tends to go down the walls and it is colder next to the walls of the tent. But also, you have the issue that you can’t complete stretch out.
The best way to make sure of this is not to look at what the manufacture tells you the tent size is but take the measurements that are giving and look at what you are getting into. For example, one manufacture has a tent listed as a three man tent. For three men to be in the tent to sleep, you have two men sleeping side by side and the third being either across their feet or head. But the truth is that it is a two man tent with space at the bottom for gear and only if those men are not 6 feet tall. Plus they have the man as a standard size which most of us are not, i.e. something like 5′ 9′ and 150 pounds, not really sure and there is not a standard size chart.
I like the two man tents best because it is me and my backpack as the second man. It allows you to have a bit of room to move around in. I also found out in the bivy that I also wanted to be able to sit up in my tent. This can be important as you might get stuck in your tent for several hours or most of the day because of weather. It was pouring down cold hard rain and I took a zero day because I did not want to get that wet and cold plus the trail was just going to be a slippery muddy mess. I was at a back country shelter but the shelter basically smelt like Willie Nelson or Ice T tour bus so I did not want to spend anytime in it. Personally, I don’t care what other people do but I don’t want to be around certain things.
Being in the bivy tent without being able to sit up for the day was not very fun. My back was not good the next day. I only came out to eat and use the bathroom. Plus, the trail has so many people that most of the time, you need to change your clothes in the tent or the pit toilet that smell to high heaven. I pick the tent. Especially at night as getting into clean clothes, or at least the one that you were not wear during the day, feels nice. Plus if it is raining then dry clothes.
Tent Season
Tents come in 2 different seasons sizes. A 3 seasons are for spring summer and fall. A 4 season tent is also includes winter. Unless you are leaving very early in the season or stay late in the season, a 3 season tent is all you need. A 4 season tent is made for heavy snow, high winds, and severe cold but it is also heavier. The a 3 season tent which has more ventilation for the summer months.
Tent Poles or Trekking Pole Tent
One of the newest trend that started a few years back is using your trekking poles as your tent poles. This is a great idea as it one less thing that you have to carry on your back during the day. It can be an 8 oz or more difference plus it takes less of your backpack area. It is about the only reason that I am looking at changing my tent is the weight. 8 oz is a lot of weight. Weight that can be used on other things or for me, less weight on my back. The less weight that you have, the further and faster you can go on the trail.
The main issue is that a lot of trekking pole tents have less head room and they are mostly a pyramid shaped which gives you less room except in the center to sit up and move around, i.e. it makes it harder to roll up your sleeping bag and sleeping pad as you have to start closer to the center of the tent to have head room to do so. Other issues include that they are not free standing so you have to have a way to get the all the tent stakes into the ground, i.e. sand, rocks, and frozen ground are out for camping on. If you forget your stakes at the last camp, can’t get them all out of the ground, or just can’t get them into the ground, then you might have an issue until you get to town.
Tent Stakes and Bags
Most stakes and/or tent bags that come with any tent are heavy or easy to break or both. These should be replaced with lighter and/or stronger ones as they can be expensive for manufactures as an addon and many manufactures choose not to get the best ones. For tents, it might just be cutting off the extras to the bag. Lightweight tent companies are better about the bag for the tents but not the stakes.
With tent stakes, look at painting the tops or adding a ribbon or rope to the top. A rope or a ribbon can also be used as leverage to pull them out. But something very brightly colored that would not be in nature. These are so easy to lose. In addition, make sure you have a bag for these and make sure that you add a bright color to the bag if it is not very brightly colored. Stakes need to stay in their own bag as they are almost always dirty and nasty. In addition, to get into the ground they have tips that are sharp. These tips can make holes in your sleeping bag, tent, clothes, etc. Make sure they are in there bag and can’t get out. For me personal, I like to keep these separate from the tent and in a easy to get to area as my tent and these are the first thing that I do when I get to camp for the evening unless I am sleeping in a shelter.
Summary
Everything is a personal choose and hike your own hike. For your shelter, make sure that you are taking into account your needs. But also check all the Youtubers for the tents or other shelters that they use. The best is to watch the Youtubers that are interviewing people at the Appalachian Trail Days Festival in Damascus, Virginia which is usually in Mid May and most hikers on the trail will make their ways their from any where on the trail and go back afterwards. It is the largest hikers event any where. A great event to go to even if you are just thinking about go on the trail in the future. The other big hiking festival is the PCT Days in Cascade Locks, Oregon, if you are on the West Coast.
The two Youtubers that you should look for is Greenbelly and my favorite is MyLifeOutdoors for researching the best items. They both do video’s on lots of stuff but the ones that you want to really watch are those that they do where they interview hikers on about their time on the trail with what they brought on the trail, what was working for them, what was not working for them, the first thing thru hikers ditch, etc. This is were you are get the best information on what you should take with you. The people they are interviewing, generally, did not get their gear for free and they have no reason to promote or upside any items. Plus the are frank about it. If they love it, they love it. If they hate it, they are vary frank about it and why.
Both of these guys also do a count what items are the most popular items, for example, MyLifeOutdoors guy gives a count on the tents in the hikers camp and how many of each type of tent he see up. I am not saying he is doing a perfect count but a good guesstimate. And other items that hikers are talking about. Just because a tent or other item is the most popular does not mean that it is the best.
Therefore, the most popular tent or other gear is generally the flavor of the season which is cheap, light weightish, and the one all the Youtuber’s are talking about. When I was on trail, the most talked about item was the jet boil. It was great as it boiled water quickly and saved on fuel with it’s design. But it has lost its charm in the end. It is a great product but it can be heavy. Therefore, easy to use and cooks everything quickly but then you have the downside which is price and it just this big thing that weight more then the pocket rocket which is was the second most popular choice. I think that it is back to the first choice again.
The other item that everyone had was this sleeping pad, I will not say what it was because I believe the company redesign it and the new one does not make that noise. It was comfortable and it was the flavor of the season. The biggest issue was that if you moved at all, it made so much noise that not only did everyone know that you had it in camp, but it woke you up. It was the funniest thing because campers would come into camp apologizes that they would be waking you up later. It was also quickly replaced by all the hikers that were able to budget it in. Those that could not…they were stuck with it and not always popular at camp.
The truth is most people that hike the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Coast Trail. It is the first and last trail they will ever hike and most will not finish the trail. Because lets face it, hiking is the most time consuming and expensive activity around. Time consuming because hiking for the weekend is really nice but it does not really make for an enjoyable trip as it takes more time to get ready, drive to were you want to hike, then you just get to run up and then back to your vehicle. Even a three day hike. Plus you have to deal with your “real” life which usually included a spouse or significate other, pets, child(ren), friends, and family. Some might hike with you but most have other things that they have to do.
So, getting the best tent on the market at a high price really is not want you want to do. You really want to get the best tent for you at possibly a higher weight but which make you feel that you are home for the night. This is not a one night, weekend, or week trip that you are doing. This is like renting an apartment or buying a house. If you don’t like it, then you will be unhappy for 1/3 of the four to six months that it take you to complete it. Or unhappy enough to leave the trail sooner then you should.
If you find that the shelter that you have chosen is not working for you, change it as soon as possible. Also, put it up a few times before you head out. In the backyard, on a weekend trip, or in the living room if nothing else is available because the last thing that you want is to learn how to put up your shelter or take it down in a rain storm which leaves you and everything you own wet. Generally, if you are starting the trail northbound with everyone else the weather is wet during March and April and your starting the trail when you get off a plane, train, or a family or friends dropping you off on their schedule not the local weather forecast.
Check out more post for tips on trail life.