I feel AWFUL about starting another tent thread but I hope this isn't terribly generic. I'm looking for a light but *safe* 1-person tent for thru-hiking the Colorado Trail (denver to durango) in July / August of this year.

It sounds like the weather can be extreme in terms of daily thunderstorms and resulting downpours. I will be most likely hiking alone and would like to be reasonably safe. But I wouldn't like to carry extra pounds in an overkill either.

Any suggestions from people familiar with the Colorado Trail in the summer?

A light tent strong enough to deal with the winds and thunderstorms you've experienced on it?

(I presently own a 3 lb 2-person tent .. the MSR Carbon Reflex 2 - but my girlfriend will not be with me on this trip.)

let me start by saying good luck on your thru hike! i will be thru hiking the CT in september.

i spent 10 days on the CT with my fiance last july and we shared a six moon designs wild oasis. we are both small people so it wasnt to big of a pinch. the wild oasis held up great for us! the tent body is 13oz, stakes roughly 2 oz and a gossamer gear polycryo gound cloth at 1.5 oz. not bad for 2 people haha. we only had two nights of rain and handled it just fine. we had a few windy nights and it took like a champ. if you want a shelter with a similar design but lighter weight look at zpacks hexamid. im considering one of these for my thru hike. the cuben fiber body with the screen floor weighs 7.45 oz and without the screen its 2.65!!! it has a shorter beak than the wild oasis but has 2 added guylines on the back good for handling strong winds. joe used his prototype on his continental divide thru hike last summer and worked very well.

sorry im rambling haha.

just a few quick questions, how light do you wanna go? what shelter style are you considering ie tarps, tarp tents, poncho/bivy, hammock combos...? floor or floorless? trekking pole setup or flex poles? tent material ie silnylon, cuben etc.?

cool points for tackling the CT!
peace
.maestro.

Edited by themaestro on 05/27/2010 18:19:40 MDT.

Hey Ross,

I tried to get in touch with you by replying to another post of yours.. you don't seem to have your PM-thing enabled.

I'm looking for an enclosed shelter -- i.e floor + bug protection. By default, I'd have gone with a Contrail-like tarptent. Single wall and non-freestanding are fine. The SMD you mention looks interesting.. not used to not having a floor so far though.

PS: Are you doing your September hike solo? I'm looking for a hiking partner... (though it looks like you are planning a much faster hike than my 4 - 5 weeks).

I also can't decide between starting late July / early August / even mid August.. how did you decide on September? (I read the other thread you created.) I'm surprised you got only 2 days of rain in 10 days on the CT!!

The reports of lightning storms every afternoon on the trail is the single biggest (rather large) mental block I'm facing in getting ready for this trip.

If you are interested in the SMD but want a more bug-proof and floored shelter take a look at the gatewood cape + SMD serenity net tent. It is basically a dual wall shelter, but light and the tarp doubles as a poncho.

ya, i should probably get my PM setup. for the subject of floors, i personally dont need them. if im in a shelter with a floor im gonna carry a groundcloth regardless. if i got a rip in my floor id have to send it in to be repaired. much easier to just replace a groundcloth. the wild oasis is nice in the fact it has a skirted netting that can be tucked under the groundcloth. you will want some form of bug protection. the mosquitos can be brutal at lower elevations.

as far as my thru hike, i will be hiking solo. i am a fast and efficient hiker and get a lot of pleasure at waking up early and going all day. i wish i could take my time on this hike but the lady gets upset when im gone for a long time. she will be starting her junior year at the university of colorado denver so i know she will be stressed enough as it is, let alone wondering if im caught in a lightning storm above treeline ;)

i decided on september because i am moving to denver in a week and spend as much time over the summer exploring everything colorado has to offer me. as well as taking small trips to parts of the trail i havent hiked to get a better understanding of it. august just didnt feel right for me and for some reason september just feels right.

we got rained on pretty much everyday but only twice while sleeping. once being on the first night. we were struggling with hanging our bearbag when it started raining, we ran back to the tent and my ladies sleeping bag was a little out of the edge of the tent so it got a little wet. she went to bed a little upset but we woke up to some fantastic views!

im still being a little cautious about the storms as well. we didnt have to much trouble handling them but we were never above treeline when they came, due to great planning :) all and all they dont last very long and the clouds give you plenty of warning.
peace
.maestro.

Edited by themaestro on 05/27/2010 19:29:52 MDT.

I guess I'm looking for someone to tell me that they've used shelters like the Gatewood Cape on the Colorado Trail.. they've always seemed attractive to me but to use in familiar places like the NY/North-East area.

Without such reassurance, I'd lean towards a TT Moment, Contrail or the SMD Lunar Solo..

PS: Ross, I know you haven't thru-hiked yet but do you think there is a way to get below treeline or to safety of some kind by every afternoon? I'm going to look into this more when I get the detailed topos but the later parts of the hikes seem to stay about treeline for a couple of days at at time.

i have no experience with the gatewood cape myself but i hear it is a great shelter but poor poncho. if you like it its worth testing. SMD makes killer shelters but with the time it will take them to make it and your short period of planning id probably go with the cape. the gossamer gear "the one" is a great option. about a pound, floor and bug protection. definitely look at the maps of the southern portion. look for possible safety routes in case the weather goes sour.
peace
.maestro.

ps...what are your arrangements for getting to the trailhead and whatnot? id be more than happy to help out a fellow hiker!

This is based on my experiences in the Sierra and a summer where my presence seemed to guarantee rain. I ended up being very thankful for my choice of tent.

If you expect rain, and you are in the high, rocky, lumpy country finding a site that has the right slope, and drainage pattern and allows you to place your stakes can be a problem. At the very least a built in floor is going to make things easier. Some people build ditches to create the right drainage. That is unacceptable to me personally.

This summer even with my freestanding tent I had be very careful in picking my sites. I have two dogs who sleep under the vestibules, one on each side. The first trip one of my dogs had to abandon the vestibule because it flooded out in a heavy rain. That has made me very sensitive to the drainage issue.

That was one the big reasons I dropped using a tarp, that plus the amount of gear it took to protect my bag from rain and wet dogs, hold off mosquitoes and hold the tarp up (I don't carry poles). I ended up with more weight and less protection, plus the hassle having to find just the right spot. And then there is well known law of physics, the force of attraction between a wet dog and a dry down sleeping bag is insurmountable.

Hey Ross,

Maybe you should PM me your email address or something, so we can discuss stuff without so much thread drift.

Since I've never been solo for this long and this environment isn't my natural environment, I think I'm going to go with a single-wall full shelter. A new GG The One is a bit beyond my budget (or that's what my girlfriend thinks).. closer to $200 is better.

My present list is:

Tarptent Moment, Rainbow, Contrail
SMD Lunar Solo

or a mainstream ~ $200 one like
Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1 and some similar size/weight ones by MSR or Mountain Hardwear.

I'm leaning more towards the lighter options here -- the Contrail, Lunar Solo and maybe the Moment. It'd be great if people who've been on the Colorado trail / nearby could offer any insight about the strength of winds to be expected and if any / all of these tents can take them. Difficulty in staking out a non-freestanding tent would also be helpful. (I don't have dogs or much gear..)


I'm going to give this a week before I make a purchase.. absolute worst case, I could lug along my 3 lb MSR Carbon Reflex 2.. maybe not.

Edited by longhiker on 05/28/2010 12:21:53 MDT.