High Sierra Topix

Hello,

How many of you sleep in the backcountry without a tent? I'm considering ditching the tent this year during the summer months when the weather looks promising. I used to sleep outside on Catalina Island a lot and have done so a few times in the Sierra. However, there is always the concern of creatures creeping up in the middle of the night. I'm curious if anyone has had some interesting encounters. A few years ago, I woke up in the morning as the big spoon to a rattlesnake, no coffee was required that day.

I assume you mean without a bivy sack. I would not sleep outside without mosquito protection during the first couple of weeks in July, or whenever mosquitoes are out in force. I have been in soaking rains in the Sierra in the summer. If it is a monsoonal summer, you are likely to get afternoon rains, pretty hard rains at that. I have used a bivy sack a lot in the Sierra and although it is confining when it does rain, overall, it works fine. Bivy sacks have mosquito netting so you can zip up out of creepy crawlies. I just posted a 2008 11-day trip I did with only a basic bivy sack. Back then tents were considerably heavier than a bivy sack. Nowadays, tents are pretty light. If you take trekking poles, you may want to invest in a light tarp.

If you are talking about a 1-2 night trip with a good weather forecast, then cowboy camping is fine. I have had a bear sniff my face while cowboy camping out on the flats near Silver Lake where I camped before doing a trip. Although a bit weird, he just sniffed and ambled off. Deer are very curious and will come up and sniff you too. Bugs are more annoying and can bite you. Early season in sagebrush, ticks are a problem. You also can get a lot of dew on your bag which may require drying it out before packing it go get going. Dew on down bag, packed damp every day, for extended time, will reduce the insulating value of the bag.

Just try a few short trips without the tent and see how it works for you. Be sure to get a recent, detailed, site specific NWS weather report. Do routes that if all fails, you can easily just walk back to your car. A lot is personal preference. What works for me may not work for you.

I use a bivy sack whenever practical, love seeing the stars at night, super light, simple set up, easy to get in and out. I also like having the bivy to keep dew off my down bag, although inside condensation can be an issue. But, I just have the cheap REI minimalist bivy, I would imagine more expensive bivys are better at breathability. I only do about one week a year backpacking anymore, mostly truck camping, dayhikes, and flyfishing.

I used a cot, pad, bag and bivy while truck camping for a long time, until I got a KampRite CTC tent/cot combo, a fantastic set up for truck camping IMO. Much better/more practical than a truck top tent, again, IMO.

John

Like Daisy, I've cowboy camped later in the season without any issues. One night in Desolation Wilderness the dew got pretty heavy, but dried off by dawn. I've also done it in Death Valley. Just be sure of the weather forecast!

Between the skeeters and the rain, I definitely will not go without a tent. It's nice to sit and read or eat without those problems. No cowboy camping for me.

Let us know how it goes.

First of all, we need to refine our terminology. A shelter is a tent that has no integral floor. I use a Cuben Fiber shelter that uses one trekking pole as a center upright. I added mosquito net, a removable floor, one extra storm flap, and some other things. So, the carried weight is between a half pound and one pound, just depending on how you add it up. It is possible for a mosquito to become trapped inside, but that is why I carry a tiny atomizer of bug juice. I've been caught in a few Sierra thundershowers, but it has never leaked. The biggest risk is if rainwater runoff goes underneath the shelter, so I pay attention to the slope of the land. I don't want to have to dig a moat around the shelter.

I'm a big fan of cowboy camping and have done it extensively in the California deserts and in the Sierra. I was pretty nervous about critters large and small the first time I tried it, but the joy of an unobstructed night view more than made up for it and I became a convert. I did once wake up to a bear sniffing and knocking around some of my gear that was just beyond my head, which was a little...exciting...but other than that, I haven't had issues! I just won't do it during monsoon season or when mosquito pressure is on.

I have probably spent more nights in the SIerra without a roof over my head than with. But there is a time and a place for everything. Clear skies and no bugs, it's great. I think I have taken shelter from bugs more often than weather. In June or July I would probably not go without a bug-proof shelter unless I had heard very good things about the demise of the skeeter population, but I am particularly popular with those blood-sucking devils. August and early September seem to me like the most reliable time for a combination of few skeeters and little rain, but I would still take some sort of shelter just in case; bivy sack or small tarp at a minimum, unless for one or two nights with a perfect forecast. I have spent a night in a bivy sack in light rain, and though not the most fun thing, it's do-able. As to encounters, the worst was skeeters sharing my bag with me - and actually, some cattle nearly stepping on me one early morning well north of Tahoe. I would not worry about any other critters in that regard.

I always carry a tent (Durston Xmid) but I don't always use it. Why bother with a tent if the sky/forecast is clear? Thankfully, I've never had an animal experience like some of you

You wrote:

A few years ago, I woke up in the morning as the big spoon to a rattlesnake, no coffee was required that day.

And what happened next?! Please tell us c0ryn.


I have always feared that situation, as I too am an inverate cowboy camper. With our dogs usually with us, we use the tent more to keep them in, and out of trouble, than to keep the bears out.