Tentless?

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Snow Nymph
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Post by Snow Nymph »

I use a tent, but ours is 2 lb 13 oz and is 5'x9' so the weight is not a problem for the space we get.

I don't like using DEET, and mosquitos love me. I use OFF unscented, and keep a small container of Preparation H handy for the ones the get me. If you dab a little on the bite before scratching, the bite doesn't welt or itch, just like the advertisements say!
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The Other Tom
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Post by The Other Tom »

Snow Nymph wrote:I use a tent, but ours is 2 lb 13 oz and is 5'x9' so the weight is not a problem for the space we get.

I don't like using DEET, and mosquitos love me. I use OFF unscented, and keep a small container of Preparation H handy for the ones the get me. If you dab a little on the bite before scratching, the bite doesn't welt or itch, just like the advertisements say!
Isn't DEET the main ingredient of OFF ?

Also, my son tells me that if you are bitten by a mosquito, don't swat it. Let the lill bugger drink his fill. The resulting welt is much smaller and doesn't itch....it works for him.
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maverick
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Post by maverick »

The Other Tom wrote: Also my son tells me that if you bitten by a
mosquito, dont swat at it. Let the lill bugger drink his fill. The resulting
welt is smaller and doesnt itch...it works for him.

Ill avoid getting bitten at all, which works most of the time.
Letting skeeterz feast on my blood with west nile found in more and
more birds on the west coast is the last thing I want to do!
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giantbrookie
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Post by giantbrookie »

The Other Tom wrote:Isn't DEET the main ingredient of OFF ?

Also, my son tells me that if you are bitten by a mosquito, don't swat it. Let the lill bugger drink his fill. The resulting welt is much smaller and doesn't itch....it works for him.
The main ingredient of OFF is in fact DEET. As for letting the mosquito drink, that in theory should make things worse. What many of us are allergic to--and what makes the bite swell and itch--is the anti coagulant the mosquitoes put into us so that our blood doesn't clot in their little mouth syringe. One would presume that the longer one lets the mosquito suck, the more of that anti coagulant is dispensed into us. Unless the action of smacking them causes the mosquito to loogie every last drop of anti coagulant into us, I'd bet you are worse off letting them drink.

About eleven years ago I swore off DEET because of some of the bad things I heard about the health effects (although I must confess, I never traced such things back to the actual peer reviewed literature--I should), and because of the fact that even 100% DEET completely coating our exposed skin and our clothing didn't keep me and wife and I from getting hundreds of bites on our worst mosquito trip ever (a 9 day New Army to Shepherd Pass epic--probably our second- or third-best trip ever in spite of the bugs). Our policy in the years that followed was to simply dress to keep them away: lightweight long sleeve shirt (great sun protection, too), long pants (always did this anyway), and the mosquito net hat when things get bad. The only points of vulnerability with such a get up tend to be the unprotected hands and the shoulders where the fabric kind of gets stretched taught so the mosquitoes can bite through it; those areas are protected by anti aircraft fire (smacking the buggers). My North Face long sleeve shirt, complete with various zippered mesh ventilation etc. keeps me cooler than hiking in a T-shirt, and protects me better from the sun.

In recent years I've reconsidered my personal DEET ban as the number of West Nile cases has increased. One of my students was nailed by West Nile last year (the same year he also was bitten by a brown recluse spider--a very bad year for him). It comes down to what poses the higher percentage risk--adverse health effects from DEET versus West Nile. Given how popular I am with mosquitoes....
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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maverick
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Post by maverick »

GB, what trip rated as the best ever?
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Post by giantbrookie »

maverick wrote:GB, what trip rated as the best ever?
You can probably guess this one: It would be Dumbbell Lakes in late July 1993. At the time my wife and I considered starting a family and she asked me if there was any place that was so outrageously inacessible that I had never seriously planned to visit it (you need to keep in mind this was the year after we had done Edyth, too). Her rationale was that we should go there on a trip and then get down to starting a family. I replied that in high school a friend and I, looking over topo maps (would have been 1976), had referred to the Dumbbells as the "helicopter lakes" owing to their inacessibility. Accordingly, we headed for the Dumbbells. Day 1 took us to Dusy 11393 (no brainer for fishing nuts). Day 2 suffered a delay as I inadvertantly launched my rod tip into the depths of icy 11393 (tip section ejected itself AND snapped the line doing it). It took a serious dredging operation with multiple lures for me to snag the lead line guide and rescue my fishing for the trip. We headed over Knapsack Pass and then made a studpendous mist-drenched slot canyon descent to Deer Meadow (included one hairy crossing of a side stream above a waterfall, at the head of the slot canyon section--runoff was very high that weekend and we were perpetually drenched from multiple stream crossings). Because of the delay we did not reach Amphitheater Lake as planned that day. On day 3 we nearly gave up. Barrett Creek was an extremely wet crossing and Palisade Creek was not even close to wadable--it had fatally high flow. Just before giving up we found a giant magic log that gave us access to the other side. We then thrashed through the deadfall steeplechase along lower Cataract Creek, then had to make three more very wet stream crossings before reaching Amphitheather. Gazing up at the pass it looked like we were sunk again--the pass was guarded by multiple cornices--even the "alternate" northern class 3 bypass. Having come so far we decided to look at the cornices up close and personal before giving up. It turned out we were able to find a crack between the rock and the left hand side of a minor northern cornice. We were able to jam wiggle this crack, the most physically difficult single move I've ever done with a full pack. After that we were home free. The next day we explored the basin and climbed Observation Peak when the fishing was so good we got bored. On day 5 we decided to add an extra layover day because we enjoyed lounging around in the basin so much (consequences later). On day 6 we explored that wonderful frog-filled lake west of Observation, then returned, pulled up camp and moved to Amphitheater. Enough of the cornice had melted so the wiggle crack was much easier (walk through). We had motel reservations in Bishop the next day, so the extra layover day set up our greatest "dismount" ever. Amphitheater to South Lake in one shot via Knapsack Pass. I remember jogging the last 1.3 mi to Parchers Camp to get the car (left my pack and wife waiting at the trailhead). As a result of that trip, having kids kept get putting off; it wasn't until 2002 that we had our first one.

The next best ones:
"Ring Around the Goddard" (1994). Lamarck Col-Evolution-Ionian Basin-Scylla-Goddard Creek 10212-Blue Canyon-Mt Reinstein-Martha L-Davis Lakes-McGee Lakes-Evolution-Lamarck Col.

"Mordor II" (2003). High Sierra Trail-Pants Pass-every basin in the Kern-Kaweah River Basin (including backpacking over the top of Picket Guard Pk) plus the Red Spur Lake-Kaweah Pass, etc. Rain round the clock nearly every day. Otherwise this would have also been a peak bag feeding frenzy.

Whitney (above, 1996) New Army then split off to Upper Soldier-Miter Basin-Crabtrees-unnamed lakes on southern flank of Wallace Creek-Wallace L.- Mt Barnard-Wright Lakes-all over the trailless upper Kern-plus unnamed basin that fish and game people don't want me to talk about-Shepherd Pass. Yeah that made up for the bugs.

"Mordor I" (2002) Wolverton-Tableland-Glacier Ridge-Josephine L-Cloud Canyon-Colby L-Triple Divide Pass and Peak-whatever the col is that then gets you to Lion Lake-Tamarack L-High Sierra trail and cutoff to Wolverton.

If I had to do one trip I believe can top all of these for quality of off trail hiking plus fishing it would be a Bishop Pass-Taboose Pass shuttle: Dusy-Barrett-Amphitheater-Dumbbells-Lakes Basin-Bench L -unnamed mysterious places-Taboose Pass. the other one might be:

Rancheria to Tehipite up Goddard Creek up to Tunemah to Blue Canyon to Blackcap Basin. May not do this second one now that I'm headed for Blackcap (this summer), but I will do the Bishop-Taboose thingie someday, even if I have to wait for my kids to get old enough to do it.
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Mike M.
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Tents

Post by Mike M. »

I favor longer trips (10 days or more), so weight is of paramount concern to me. I have been using plain old tube tents for many years and find them tolerable -- if pitched correctly, they can even be pretty comfortable and cozy. These tents weigh less than a pound and are inexpensive. (Unfortunately, they don't offer any protection against mosquitos.)

I only pitch a tent if I think it is likely to rain at night. Which in the Sierras, fortunately, means I almost never have to resort to using a tent. Why would anybody forego the pleasure of sleeping under the stars?!

Giantbrookie, I've hiked (usually solo) almost all of the routes you identify as your favorites. It is truly incredible country -- can't wait to get back up there this summer!

Mike M.
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Fishytodd
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Post by Fishytodd »

Thanks for the suggestions, I tried out my tarp setup the other night on a particularly windy east bay ridge and had a wonderful night. Skeeters were not a problem there but i will be packing netting for the sierra trip.

I will certainly let you know if going tentless was a huge mistake. But the buddies that i am going with will have some extra space in their tent, just in case :)
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