Buddy at the hostel convinced me to ditch my heavy tent for a tarp setup

He showed me how he fit three nights of food and gear in a 30-liter pack using just a trekking pole tarp and a ground sheet, and after getting soaked in a storm on the JMT last summer I finally get why weight matters more than comfort.

3 comments

3 Comments

charles6401mo ago

Honestly my buddy tried that tarp life on the AT and woke up with a mouse crawling across his face. He went back to his tent real quick after that.

sage_moore371mo ago

@charles640 I’ve done 200 miles with a 5x7 tarp and a bivy. No mice yet just a lot of checking for spiders.

shane_hayes1mo ago

Man that spider checking is real though. Idk how many times I've woken up and done a quick scan before even moving. Creeps me out less than a mouse on my face though, yikes. I've had a few close calls with critters under my tarp but never anything that bad. It's a solid setup when it works but yeah, the constant vigilance part is a tradeoff for sure.