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Met a thru-hiker on the Lone Star Trail who changed my gear list
I was hiking a section near Conroe last spring and ran into this guy who had been on the trail for 3 months straight. He told me he ditched his tent for a simple tarp and bivvy setup after the first week, saving like 2 pounds. We sat on a log for 20 minutes while he showed me how he rigs it with just trekking poles. Has anyone else tried a minimalist shelter like that for longer routes?
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kim_davis3d agoTop Commenter
Oh jeez, not this again. I tried the whole tarp and bivvy thing on a 10-day section of the AT. Hated every second. Mosquitoes ate me alive through the bivvy mesh. Woke up with a spider crawling across my face. And if you get a storm with sideways rain, that little tarp setup is useless. Your bag gets soaked, your stuff gets wet, you're miserable. I'd rather carry the extra 2 pounds and sleep sound and dry.
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fisher.jessica3d ago
Oof, that sounds like a rough time.
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laura_wilson3d ago
4oz of permethrin on my gear fixed the bug issue for me.
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