Shelter Practices

[J-Hiker]

I carried a tent and used it everywhere except the Smokies. That said, I was always consulting the Handbook to line up my breaks with shelters. It is so much easier to fix and eat lunch on a table and bench rather than sitting on a rock.

[Country Roads]

I prefer my tent, 'cause I hate to disturb folks when I get up for "night maneuvers". But when in shelters, I sleep head out 90% of the time and put my pack under the overhang on the ground/floor or put it under my head I rarely hang it unless I want the entertainment of watching the mice try to jump on it. I leave top and all pockets open so mice can go in and out easy and not chew their way in. I have had some mouse issues at camp sites when using my tarp, probably the worse problem I have ever had with mice was at the, Slaughter creek tent area (but I guess mice be better than bear!) and I did make sure mouse was not in the pack when I started packing up in the morning.

[dakotarose]

Head out! I guess we've all learned about the mice running next to the walls! Use my tent at every non-rainy opportunity, even when the shelter is empty. It's nice to be near a shelter for the table and facilities.

[rambler]

A day's hike north of Harpers Ferry is a shelter with the back end close above head level slanting down from the front. I met a thru-hiker who was on his first day of a flip-flop hike. Getting in bed he banged his head against the low roof. "Ohh", he moaned, "My head hasn't felt like that since a bear had it in his jaws." Turns out he wasn't joking, but he could not explain why the bear did not finish the job!
He was a funny character who got lost on his first day at a road crossing, but a local saved him and fed him dinner, too.

In shelters I usually sleep with my head facing in for warmth and out of drafts. The only time I slept outside of a shelter (Double Spring Gap) in the Smokies was when I was driven out by a snorer around 2AM. Struggled to get my tarp up right next to the fire pit as it started to rain. My worst night ever on the AT. The guy had also talked until midnight. So, he kept me awake when he was both awake and asleep. Even ear pugs were ineffective.
Spring and summer I rarely sleep in shelters. Often near them, but not in them. When nearby, I often drop by for the companionship, but leave after dinner.

I hang food, but only the pack if a hook is available. Leave it open and zipper pockets, too. I had a mouse gnaw a hole in a pouch in which I keep gorp on my hip belt. It was empty. I saw a mouse climb into it and then out when he found it empty, but that time it was open, so no damage. Mice cause many more problems than bears. One guy had a trap and he caught 8 mice in one night.

One fall night in NH a mouse ate into my sleeping bag and stole some down. It had done the same thing to another person who had written about the thief in the shelter journal. Guess the critter was getting a nice bed/nest for winter.

[7Sisters]

When I shelter, it's almost always head in. I shy away from shelters that have multiple decks as I find them very to cramped and the air quality isn't the same.

Having said all that, I prefer my tent but sometimes I just don't want to bother with the tent. I usually find sleeping in shelters with multiple people a painful experience (unless I'm the first to fall asleep). The noises can be brutal.

Peace

[LIhikers]

Originally Posted by 7Sisters

......... I usually find sleeping in shelters with multiple people a painful experience (unless I'm the first to fall asleep). The noises can be brutal.

Peace

Have we shared a shelter?
Sounds like you've been a victim of my snoring

[Harmony]

I avoid the shelters, I prefer the privacy of a tent, but my hiking companion would prefer to sleep in the shelter so I compromise (somewhat) by sleeping at least one night in the shelters if they aren't crowded. I've been sleeping head in, but now that I read that the mice like the perimeters I think I'll switch. One night my friend woke up to find a mouse unrolling her toilet paper which she forgot to repack, there was a stream of toilet paper running across the shelter behind the mouse who was scurrying away with the loose end.

[7Sisters]

Originally Posted by LIhikers

Have we shared a shelter?
Sounds like you've been a victim of my snoring

I can't say too much because I was tenting outside the shelter one time and was keeping folks awake who were in the shelter. I consider that a pretty amazing accomplishment considering I was easily 40 to 60' away from the shelter.

Peace

[Silver Fox]

Originally Posted by Brother Baldy

Just trying to get a sense of preferences at the shelters. Head in or head out? Upper deck or lower deck? Do you hang your entire pack or just your food bag on the bear lines?

Head out because of mice running around inside perimeter of shelter. Lower deck if it is hot. Hang entire pack.

[ki0eh]

I was just at a shelter where a long-established group got there before my buddy and me and they had the snorers in the shelter and non-snorers had already set up tents. I thought that was backwards but obliged. What do y'uns think of the snorers' rule?