My Journey to Freedom and Ultralight Backpacking

by Carol Wellman

  When taking down a shelter, remove the stakes by pulling up on the stake itself, never on the staking loops. Sometimes, one stake must be used to pull another out. This can be done by placing one stake vertically through the hook of the impacted stake and pulling upwards. Place the stakes in a bag separate from the shelter, to prevent the stakes from puncturing the shelter. Shake out debris, match all Velcro closures and close the zippers. Lift one corner of the fabric and begin stuffing into its stuff sack, ending with the window, or screen. That way, all the air can escape. If you have stuffed a wet or damp shelter, air-dry it as soon as possible. Even silnylon will grow mold and deteriorate if left in a dark, moist environment. Shelters should not be folded because the creases, especially if done the same way time after time, will wear the fabric on the folded line. Just stuff it into its sack when packing up. That's why it's called a "stuff sack".

  Tarps

  A tarp generally doesn’t have an attached floor. Some hybrid systems, called tarp-tents, have sewn-in floors which may be made of mesh or waterproof fabric. Some benefits of a tarp are: variation in pitch, larger covered space per ounce of weight, more pet friendly (without the floor), cooking fuel cannot burn the floor, and cleaning and airing is easier with no floor to trap debris. Poles, guy lines and stakes may weigh more or less than a tent, depending on configuration.

  An efficient way to pitch a simple, flat, rectangular tarp is to stake out the back corners of one long side. Place this back side into the wind. Pull the parallel front length of the tarp forward and inward, forming a trapezoidal floor shape. Stake the two front corners. Then, lift the slack created in the front with a pole, or suspend from a limb. This forms the door. Many flat tarps are pitched in simple pup-tent configurations. Another way to pitch a flat tarp is to stretch a rope between two trees and stake down the back side into the wind. Bring the front over the rope and have it hanging over the line, then guy-out the front two corners.

  Structured tarps with overhanging panels, beaks, doors and floors are usually easier to set up, and they provide a sure pitch every time. However, if you prefer different configurations, a flat tarp will be the better choice, and less expensive. Directions for sewing silnylon flat tarps of various sizes can be seen in the “Making Your Own” section.

  Weights of silnylon tarps: For a solo hiker: 5 x 8 ft. is seven ounces; 5 x 9 is nine ounces. For one to two persons, an 8 x 8 is 11 ounces; an 8 x 10 is fourteen ounces; a 10 x 10 is eighteen ounces. For two or three people, a 10 x 12 weighing twenty-one ounces should be very adequate.

  Tents

  A solo, single wall two-pound tent was a breakthrough just a few years ago. Now, two person tents are in that weight range. The first Tacoma shelter, with all its guy lines and stakes, weighed just 18 ounces and was used for 5 months on my 2002 Appalachian thru-hike. My tent was smaller than the new model, which is 20 ounces and will fit most adults. It is not free standing, but that never was a problem.

  Handcrafted, ultralight tents are expensive but if you decide to spend hundreds of dollars on a heavier tent found at outfitters, you may not be satisfied. If you are planning a long distance hike, I suggest putting that money towards an ultralight tent or tarp system. Having a low pack weight will make your hike more enjoyable. You may need fewer zero days for recovery, have fewer injuries and therefore spend less time in trail towns. These benefits will more than repay the expenditure for a good ultralight shelter.

  The advantages of tents include a sewn-in floor, screen and storm doors. Everything is predetermined, and once you know how to set it up, it goes quite easily, even in the dark. A freestanding tent is one that does not require tension from guy lines. It relies on shock-corded poles crossing one another, providing a frame, which enables the tent to stand alone anywhere. While this can be nice when pitching on a tent platform, they are much heavier due to the necessary length of the poles. Dome tents are the most common of freestanding tents.

  Double walled tents are heavier, especially if the fly is made with heavy 70 (1.9 ounce) denier. If the fly is remade in silnylon, usually the tent weight will decrease by half the weight of the fly, which could be a pound or more.

  Before purchasing a tent, make sure the center height is adequate. If it is for two people, try to get a tent with two separate doors so that each person has equal access. Having only one door can become a great inconvenience if one must climb over the other to exit. Having two doors also allows each person to control ventilation.

  Hammocks

  I have not used a hammock other than for day lounging, so I can only relate some observances.

  There must be trees stout enough to hang the hammock from. In the desert this would be a problem. However, the tarp that forms the canopy could be used separately. The hammock could be used as a bivy sack, or sent ahead to be used later in forested areas. Some hikers have merely tied-off one end (the head), to a low branch or guyed-out hiking pole, allowing the hammock to rest lightly on the ground. This may also help in cold weather when good insulation is needed below your bag in the hammock. Reflective blankets can be used under your sleeping bag, on top the sleeping pad.

  Before taking a hammock on a long hike, try sleeping in one for several nights in a row. Those I saw using one seemed to be balled up in the middle of it. If you have back problems, a hammock may aggravate it further. Some hammock users told me that animals came up and nosed around under the hammock at night. Some folks say they love not having to sleep on rocky ground.

  Be sure you are comfortable with the canopy overhang. Those I've seen using hammocks had to change clothes outside. Cooking in bad weather was more complicated, especially where there was no shelter for them to duck into.

  Backpacking hammocks range in weight from 2.5 pounds down to 1.5 pounds. The tarps commonly used as canopies measured 6 x 10 ft. down to 9 x 6.

  One of the most widely used systems is the Hennessy Hammock. By typing this name into online search engines, you can check on specs and gear reviews.

  Bivy

  My limited observations of bivys come from my Pacific Crest Trail hike in 2001. A couple good friends had them. In the High Sierra when the bugs were bad, they had a lot less room to use for lounging after setting up camp. Their bivys weighed as much as my solo tent. They were simple to use, however. Upon reaching camp they pulled out their bivy sack, which resembled a large bag liner, and placed it on the ground. Their sleeping pad and sleeping bag were already inside it. In anticipation of heavy rains in Oregon, they planned to buy tarps to sleep under, in addition to their bivy sacks. I did not meet anyone with a bivy on the Appalachian Trail.

  Ground cloths

  Ground cloths are seldom necessary for tents. If used, be sure to cut it smaller than the footprint, so that rain can not run down the side of the tent, catch on the plastic, and pool under the floor. This will cause your gear inside to get wet when the weight from the interior presses the water into the fibers, and eventually through the floor.

  With a tarp, some sort of waterproof protection is needed on the ground. Hammock users may wish to have something to place gear on, under their hammock. It could be a small plastic bag, no larger than 3 square feet. Common materials used for ground cloths are Tyvek, which weighs about 1.8 ounces per square yard, plastic sheeting available in rolls varying from 1-3 mil, large black plastic bags ranging .9 mil to .65 mil, and light shower liners with the magnets and reinforced hanging loops removed.

  If you have a mesh drape or mesh skirting sewn onto your tarp, carry a large enough ground cloth so that it can overlap the mesh. This will keep mice and bugs from crawling in.

  Stakes for Your Shelter

  Taking the right kind of stake is important. In rocky or sandy ground, the corkscrew type (18 grams each) is great. For typical ground, gutter nails found at hardware stores, (12 grams each) can be brought. They are lighter, but more difficult to remove when pounded in completely. Use them at an angle away from your shelter, to keep the loop from coming off the head. Those big yellow p
lastic ones are 30 grams each, and 1 ½ inch longer than the corkscrew type. It is a great stake for car camping, but has no application for an ultralighter's pack.

  To facilitate removing a stake from hard ground, insert one straight end into the hook of another and pull upward. For the gutter nails, removal is facilitated by placing the hook end of a skewer type stake over the nail head of a gutter nail stake, can opener style, and prying a bit sideways. Using this method, they usually can be extracted without too much difficulty. Never pull up on your shelter’s staking loop or grommet. It could weaken the loop or rip the fabric.

  Carry the exact amount needed to set up your shelter, preferably in a separate ditty bag, to prevent them from putting holes in your shelter. A lightweight stake weighs from 8-18 grams. However, having too many can add unnecessary weight. When packing up in the morning, count your stakes before leaving. Rocks and limbs can be used as tie-off points for some stakes should they become lost or misplaced. I usually carry the minimum required, and use natural items for the non-essential stake-out points. This way, if I camp late, I can set up without scouting around. Yet, with enough time, I can stake-out lift loops and back walls by finding suitable limbs or rocks for tie-off points. In high winds, or when camping in sandy loose soil, place rocks or logs on your stakes to keep them from working loose in the night.

  Some people use their stakes as a pot support. This can work but some notes from my experiences follow:

  Stakes become somewhat bent and crooked over time, making it difficult to get them level enough to be used as a cooking pot support.

  They can become sooty, and this soot can be transferred to the shelter.

  More stakes may be needed if you like to set up your shelter before cooking, or if you cook in the mornings before taking down your shelter. At the end of a long day, you may not feel like leveling stakes in order to cook. A pot support is much easier. Some ground is so rocky; it is very hard to get three stakes leveled and close enough to provide an adequate pot support.

  Sleep System

  The sleep system includes a pad to cushion and insulate the body against the cold ground, a sleeping bag or quilt, and any pillows or bag liners you may use.

  There are three types of sleeping pads generally used. A closed cell pad sells for about $6 at Wal-Mart. They are easy to trim to size, and weigh approximately 1.6 ounces per square foot for 3/8-inch thickness. I used one for my entire AT thru-hike.

  A Z-rest is folded in sections, hinged like an accordion. It has egg carton type padding, and costs about $35 for the full-length model (72 inches long). The full length weighs 16 ounces. Sections may be cut off to lighten it; a 51-inch length weighs 11.6 ounces. An advantage of this style is they always lay flat, are easy to carry and easy to trim. They do flatten remarkably over time and much use, losing some insulating effect.

  Self-inflating mattresses are by far the most comfortable, but care must be taken not to puncture them. Patch kits can be carried, but the main thing is never let them touch the ground unprotected. Watch for nails in shelter floors. An ultralight 72-inch long model weighs 24 ounces, and cost $70. A 47-inch long model weighs 16 ounces and costs about $55. These cannot be trimmed. Some brands may weigh more. The prices quoted are from a mail order catalogue in December 2002.

  In order to save weight, the sleeping pad can be shorter in warm weather hiking. The shortest pad I carry is one that begins at my neck and ends just below my hips, at mid thigh, and measures 36 inches long. It is trimmed to 19 inches wide, and the corners are rounded. If I have enough gear to make a pillow, my head rests on that. If not, I scoot down so my pad is below my head, but still is long enough for my hips.

  However, in cold weather, the pad should extend beneath your feet. If you use a hammock, a sleeping pad will insulate the back side of your body. This is a common concern for cold weather hammock users. In very cold weather, or if you have a back or hip injury, consider using a full-length pad on the ground, with a three-quarter length pad on top. This is not considered ultralight, but it might be weight efficient and cost effective overall. Much of our body heat is lost in transfer to the ground beneath us. By using a double pad for winter backpacking, your current sleeping bag may still be usable.

  If you plan to sleep under a tarp or on a shelter floor, a full-length pad will protect your sleeping bag from moisture, dirt, rips and abrasion.

  A sleeping bag is considered one of the most important gear items a backpacker will buy. It may very well be the most expensive. Unless you plan to make a quilt, expect to pay a couple hundred dollars to get a high quality, lightweight bag. Bags made of goose down are lighter, can be stuffed smaller to reduce volume, and cost a good deal more than other bags. A higher number fill, for instance 800 compared to 600, indicates a better down because smaller feathers were included the process. This results in a denser insulation for increased warmth and better resiliency, which enables the sleeping bag to regain its loft when fluffed and aired. My 30 degree 800 fill goose down bag was as warm as my new 20 degree synthetic model. It weighed a pound less, and took up only half the space. These are very important facts that should be considered before spending money on a sleeping bag.

  You can look through catalogues to get an idea of what's available. First, find a sleeping bag with a temperature rating that meets the lows you expect. A 20-degree bag will satisfy almost everyone’s needs for 3-season backpacking. One British friend summed up the rating system by saying those numbers are for survival only, not comfort. If you get out in weather below the rating, you are on your own. Try not to buy a bag too large, or too long, because it is harder for your body to heat larger areas, and the weight and bulk is wasted. I have used a bag designed to fit someone an inch shorter. It was as tight a bag as I could tolerate.

  Some companies still do not make women's models, and yet they have great gear. If you have a good sleeping bag, but it's too big, there are two ways to shorten it. First, a bag can be shortened by pinching together the excess length near the top, just below the hood. You may need to cut back the zipper also. With that fabric pinched together, stitch near the insulation. Do not sew all the way through to the inside or you will lose the loft at that seam. The loft gives the insulation value. Trim off excess fabric, and finish the seam by rolling it under. It is a little complicated, but allows one to modify an otherwise fine sleeping bag.

  Another easy way to shorten a bag is to tuck-up the foot end into the interior. I bought a Hydrogen Marmot (800 fill goose down), 30-degree bag, which was designed for a 6-foot tall person. My feet could never get warm with those extra twelve inches. But, that same excess fill, tucked up inside the bag, and hand stitched across the bottom to hold it there, provided the proper length and extra insulation where it was most needed.

  To shorten or modify your bag this way, first lay it flat, right side out. Get in, zip it up, and extend your toes. Have someone mark with a safety pin where your toes touched. That is the desirable length.

  Now, with your sleeping bag flat, right side out, take your hand and push the extra inches at the bottom into the inside of the bag.

  Smooth the bottom out, so that the sides of the concave "hole" created are flattened against each other. Do not cut anything yet, you are just repositioning the fill.

  Pinch the bottom fabric together, still working on the outside of the sleeping bag. Scrunch up all the insulation above that fabric. You aren't sewing-through any insulation, just fabric. This way, you do not compromise the insulation.

  Stitch the fabric together with a small needle, using locking stitches every few inches. This will keep it from coming out when you are sleeping, and turning over.

  This will make more sense if you get your sleeping bag out, and do it step by step. It works really great.

  When you turn your bag inside out to air it, you can't tell that it has been shortened, because those extra inches folded to the inside will appear to be part of the normal length. When turned right side out, the stitching prevents the bottom in
ches from returning to its normal position, and holds it up inside the bag.

  There is a great debate concerning which material (down or synthetic) makes a better sleeping bag. Whichever bag you buy, it will last many years with proper care. Sleeping bags should only be stuffed, not rolled, into their stuff sacks. When stored at home they should be hung by a bottom loop from a hook, or stored in a large pillowcase-type sack. When you arrive in camp, unpack your sleeping bag as soon as possible. Air it, fluff it, and allow it to regain its loft. Airing both inside and outside is a good practice, and some hikers air their bags even while on lunch breaks.

  Quilts are an ultralight option to replace a heavy sleeping bag. They are much easier to make and do not require any zippers or closures. The quilt is designed under the premise that the bottom side of a sleeping bag is compressed, and therefore loses its insulating benefits. If you sleep only on your back (and could lay perfectly flat), this is basically true. However, even lying on your back, the areas behind the neck, the small of the back, and under the knees do not touch the ground. Those are cold spots. If you toss and turn, the air spaces change and any outside air admitted must be warmed. Before spending money on an ultralight quilt, test a small sleeping bag that has been unzipped and laid over you on a cold night. This test won't work if the bag is large. Some quilts are designed to have a pad velcroed to the sides of the quilt to maintain body heat. Compare weights and ratings of a quality down bag and pad to this quilt system before making a purchase. If you have or buy a quilt, a bottom layer of fabric can be sewn-in to keep your sleeping pad inside (and under you) all night.