I am prepping for a PCT thru hike, and am trying to decide on my shelter.
I am hiking with my cousin and we are both 6'3"/200lbs guys.

One option is an MLD supermid, with the full size innernet
This is expensive, but a very spacious and awesome shelter.

Another option would be a bivy/tarp set up.

I know I will want to be cowboy camping a lot on the trail to decrease time tearing down camp and to enjoy the nature more, but I am worried that if I don't have a bivy sack that I'll get hammered with condensation.

That makes me think a Borah gear bivy, with the MLD supermid would be a good combo, but here I sacrifice the larger bug free zone that makes the MLD so intriguing unless I get the perimeter net.

Any suggestions?

until you get into washington, you shouldn't have big issues with condensation... in most cases. You won't have much condensation, and what there is can be easily addressed by putting you bag out in your mid morning or lunch break. In WA, you are likely to be more concerned with rain than condensation

Bivys will actually increase the chances of condensation because you will have a surface that is cooler than the surface of your bag AND you are if you have closed the bivy, you have extra moisture from your breath which makes condensation worse. The advantage of the bivy is that the surface of the bivy is a bit further away from your insulation. Personally, I think with modern DWR fabrics, that the bivy is much less important in this sort of application that it used to be.

I do use a bivy with a quilt, but it's not to keep condensation at bay, but to block drafts and to keep my quilt off the ground (e.g. ground cloth with sides).

--Mark

I think the way a person preps for a PCT thru depends a lot on where they live, what conditions they're used to. If a person has little experience hiking in drier conditions, they'll likely optimize their shelter choice for rainy and/or humid conditions that don't occur too often.

For a standard northbound trip, i.e., leaving Campo in April or early May, I suggest that you get something pretty minimal to start out with. What worked well for me was a poncho for the first 700 or so miles --- as both rain gear and shelter --- and then I switched to a lightweight tent mailed to Kennedy Meadows. Up to then I (happily) cowboy camped almost every night.

Until WA state, the tent will be more about creating a bug-free space than it will about keeping off rain or dew. Until you get to perhaps northern Oregon the PCT is typically a dry trail. You need something, as of course it can rain anywhere, at any time of the year, but for the most part you want a light and adequate rain shelter coupled with --- depending on your preferences --- a decent bug-free zone to get into at the end of the day. Not all days, of course, and not even many overall, but still. Some folks are fine with just a headnet on the buggy nights; each to their own, a bug-free area inside a shelter (mesh tent or full-on tent of some sort) is worth it for me.

Bivy: I carried a really light, water-resistant (not water "proof") bivy to augment my poncho at the start of the trip, and maybe used it a couple of times, primarily for the one time that bugs were any sort of an issue. I wouldn't do so again. You will indeed cowboy camp a lot, or at least I suggest that you do. You won't want a bivy sack to do so. I just kept my poncho sort of handy to pull over me in case of a surprise shower or the like.

The other suggestion about shelter that I feel pretty strongly about is that you and your cousin should each get solo shelters of whatever type you opt for. Unless you've made a blood pact to finish the trail together or leave it together. It's much much (much) better to have the flexibility to separate either temporarily or for one of you to just end their trip and the other carry on. It can also be very nice to be enough physically separate at night to not worry about snoring, use a pee bottle, spread out your stuff without getting it intermingled, etc.

BrianLe's advice is excellent and based on his personal experiences as a PCT thru-hiker. His suggestion about solo shelters is worth considering. This arrangement gives you more options for not hiking together every step of the way.

At the moment, it may seem inconceivable that you would ever want to hike apart, but the PCT takes about five months to hike and brings many challenges, both physical and mental. Having the ability to take a break from one another, or allowing one of you to leave the trail while the other continues on, may be worth the extra weight.

I have not hiked the PCT, but have read the journals. There are many places to switch out gear so do not think one-size-fits the entire route. I would think you would be better off with the best match of gear for the conditions for specific sections. A good read would be both 2012 and 2011 PCT journals - conditions were very different for each year.

I have used a bivy a lot in the Sierra at high altitudes (alpine climging) and it works. But it may be overkill for the PCT where you will be camping lower and have timber most of the time.

You need to think of a "sleeping system" rather than just a tent. Pad, bag, shelter and perhaps groundcloth all work together to meet your needs regarding warmth at given temperature, chance of rain, bugs and weight carried. You do not need a groundcloth with a bivy, but perhaps would need it with a short pad and poncho.

Listen to BrianLe. He has more experience than all of us put together!

While I appreciate the outrageous flattery, I'd be leery of paying too much attention to any one persons opinions. I far prefer the idea of considering the ideas and trying out the ones that make the most sense to you personally. Lots of people that I highly respect (with more experience than me) do some things on trail quite different than the way I do them.

I guess the other thing about experience is the old saw about "Ten years of experience, or one year of experience ten times?". Most of the hiking I've done has been more like the latter; certainly you get into some interesting situations if you hike enough, but even then I think it's too easy to generalize from a pretty limited set of challenges.

If I may, however, add one unsolicited piece of advice: if at all possible, get your gear more or less as you want it to be for your thru-hike, and then take it out on a solo shakedown hike of at least 50 miles. Bring a notepad and pen and make notes at the end of each day about gear and/or on-trail process, food, whatever. Perhaps take a memory thermometer to get a better sense for how well your clothing and sleep system keep you warm enough (or not). Such a shakedown trip can help identify problems that every year force too many people to end their trip early. Finding and fixing at least some such things in advance could make you a much happier hiker.

This is a great suggestion. I will definitely do this at least once, and I have never heard of a memory thermometer! Super useful.

I was thinking at one point in time of using the Gatewood Cape as a poncho/tarp for the desert section, but I wasn't convinced it would keep me dry (again, I'm 6'3") Would it?? Or is there an option that would? It'd be great to save some weight in the desert...
Would you set up your tarp in the desert if it started raining in the middle of the night, or literally just pull it over you?

I understand the points that you guys are making about solo shelters, I think I will just direct my cousin to this thread, and we will be on the same page. 6 months is a very long time to not be able to hike at different paces when we need to.

I'm glad I won't need a bivy to cowboy camp on the trail. I want a bug free space I can roll over and sit up in, one that is pretty light (trekking pole support probably), and very fast to set up and tear down. I know I am asking for a lot from my shelter, but I really want to find one that fits me. The MLD supermid is just that for me and my cousin, but what would be a good solo alternative? Again, I am a big, tall guy, and I like to have a little extra space.

If I were to pick another MLD mid tent right now for solo use it would be the duomid due to the large size, and relative light weight. I might want the duomid modified to have a perimeter net, and a net door to cut weight but still keep the skeeters out.

What do you guys think? Great suggestions so far, every post has shed some new light.

Serendipitously, I own a Gatewood cape; I started the AT with one but swapped out due to a lot of blowdowns at the start.

I've read differing opinions on this, but I'm 5'9" (I swear I used to be 5'10" but at my latest physical, the nurse said ...), and the inside feels pretty tight to me in order to keep the end of my sleeping bag from touching the tent fabric. Though note that I use a size regular neo-air, which sort of pushes you up enough higher as to make a little difference there.

In the so-called "desert" you can probably make one work even at 6'3" as you won't have condensation to worry about. In your shoes I'd just go with something like a Golite poncho, but in fact it is more of a challenge at your height. There's just more of you to cover! If possible, see if you can borrow a full-length type of poncho and practice setting it up different ways (grope the internet for setup pictures/ideas) and see how vulnerable you feel under there.

Or, of course, just get a lightweight shelter that fits you and carry it for the whole trip.

Given that you're likely to have little in the way of rain to deal with, I'd think in terms of a sort of minimally acceptable rain coverage starting out, knowing that (a) I can tough out one or two uncomfortable nights for substantial weight saving, and (b) things dry out so much faster/easier in a dry climate. But it certainly can pour out there; it didn't for me, but you might not be as fortunate.


It's situational. If chance of rain looks really low (the normal state of affairs in the first 700 miles), I'd just have the poncho or tarp or whatever in easy reach, know where it is. Maybe make sure the DWR on your sleeping bag isn't worn off.
If in the night it started raining with any sort of volume and sustainability, I definitely would pitch the shelter rather than just pull the fabric over me. It's more just if a few drops are sprinkling I might not bother, you just make a best guess.
If in the evening the clouds look at all threatening or if you have a weather forecast that suggests any risk, set up the tarp before you sleep.

Weather forecast: btw, cell reception was in general better in southern part of CA than anywhere else on the PCT, so if you have a smartphone or happen to be hiking with someone that does ... it's not at all unreasonable to check the weather forecast when somewhere on relatively high ground.


I used a tarptent contrail from Kennedy Meadows onward, and I found that to be an excellent choice, and it would be so for someone much taller too. It's a lightweight and spacious solo shelter, single walled.

For a tall person looking today, if you use two trekking poles, also have a look at the lightheart designs "solong" --- a tent variant designed for tall people. I used their cuben solo (standard, not "solong") on the CDT last year and loved it, it's nicely designed.

I have no experience with that MLD or with pyramid's in general. You might camp a night or two in places where it's very windy (and thus where the extra stability could be good), but that will be the rare exception.
One possible downside with a big tent like this as a solo shelter is finding tent sites. Not much of a downside for most of the PCT, overall in CA I found it easy to find places to camp, but in WA state we've got lots of brush growing anywhere there aren't trees, so often you're looking for pre-existing cleared tent sites in the latter part of your trip, and the time when you'll most need something more out of your tent than bug protection.

All that said, MLD makes great stuff and the supermid is pretty light, even if you add in perimeter bug netting.
Perhaps if you post (or just search) on BPL (backpackinglight.com) you can get some good reviews from folks with pyramid tent experience.

I'm 6'2", and I went with the Golite Poncho tarp + bivy combo over the Gatewood, mostly because I was worried about the height difference and I like the versatility of being able to camp just under the bivy and not having to set up the shelter every day if I don't want to.

The MLD supermid looks nice, but heavy. Even sharing with someone, you're looking at up to 20 oz per person, in comparison to max 16 oz for a silnylon golite poncho tarp+bivy combination.

I'm not planning on the PCT immediately, more purchasing items for the AT. Still, its worth keeping in mind.

Do you feel that the Golite will adequately protect you? If I decide to use that shelter in the desert it will be just that. no bivy. So I'd want to feel at least some what protected from splash back.

In all honesty it may just come down to me carrying the same shelter the whole way, which is unfortunate in the desert so hopefully I can pin down another viable option.
I know I can get my hands on a large enough tarp, but I do like the added bonus of the poncho/tarps because it sheds the 10 oz. or so that my rain gear takes up.

Brian,
I think the contrail is looking like my favorite 1 man shelter at the moment. Fast set up and tear down is something I am really interested in, and it would be cool to save weight by using hiking pole support as I do hike with poles.

I wouldn't focus on that aspect too much. Of the various solo tents that I've had either direct experience or hiked a lot with others who carried, it seems to me that you can get pretty fast and efficient at set up and tear down with any shelter after you've spent a few nights doing that. Or at least I haven't seen or felt a huge advantage in one model over another on that score.

I find that every shelter option has disadvantages as well as advantages. So that you have your eyes wide open ... disadvantages for me of the contrail are:
- roomy for a solo tent but the flip side is that it can take a touch more space to pitch it. Though I've put mine in some pretty narrow spaces, it can be done.
- while I can sit up in it, the height is at the entrance, so I have to sort of scoot my butt backwards to sit up
- I personally prefer a side entrance over a front entrance
- The contrail has a long not-so-steep stretch from the peak all the way down to the foot. It's possible for water to pool there if the pitch doesn't stay taut. Or for snow to more easily accumulate there.
- it's not the best option in high wind, though one can mitigate that a lot through site selection, using all the guy points, even facing it correctly relative to wind where your side is flat enough.

None of those items is a very big deal, I still like the tent quite well. Again, every tent has issues!