Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Ultralight tent for Trail Camp

As I recall Trail Camp from 1961 and 1988, it was quite difficult to use tent stakes and I was glad to have a free-standing tent. Now, as I try the ultralight approach, what tent is recommended for one or two persons? Is a tarp reasonable for Trail Camp? Suggestions appreciated!

I can't recommend a tent per se (I used Big Agnes Seedhouse last year at Trail Camp, loved it), but I can offer this. We had high winds, and I used a combination of stakes hammered into the ground and stakes wrapped around rocks to keep my tent solid. In some places, the ground was too hard to dig into, but there were a ton of rocks, so when I couldn't get into the ground, I anchored in other ways, and had no problems.

I had a very different impression of that tent - in 2009 in September, I used the Speedhouse SL1 there myself and I recall it to be a miserable night, with wind flapping the tent in my face, with ice buildup on the inside of the tent and all over my sleeping bag. It's going to ebay soon, as I find it far too small for me, and the setup is not "free standing" and at Trail Camp, unless you have the first pick of tent sites, that means wrapping many guy lines around small rocks.

In hindsight, for solo trips, I should have bought the BA Copper Spur UL1, since I have the larger 3-person UL3 and love that tent - totally free standing if necessary. Still, even that tent has vestibules that have no support poles, so you will need to put some pegs in the ground or find a friendly boulder to anchor those lines.

There are a few 4-season tents like the Bibler Fitzroy that have no vestibules, and you just pop the two poles inside from corner to corner and you're set up. But $$$ and not really ultra light.


Tarp? if you're lucky and the weather is fine, sure, just as good as cowboy style. If there's a storm, you may have to hang on to it. You see a lot more bivy bags than tarp tents up there.

I can only comment on solo tents.I've used the MSR Hubba in the past,however, with it's strait sides its kind of narrow for me.
This year I'm the BA Lynx Pass 1. It's got a taper that goes wider at the top so my shoulders don't rub up agaist the side like the way they did with the Hubba. Plus,its only 10oz heavier than the Hub.

Larry, I would say not. If the weather is perfect, of course a tarp is fine....but naturally, that is not what one should depend upon. Unfortunately, TC seems to be a place where it is often windy, and often VERY windy. I would say that wind is a down side of tarps, particularly in an environment where there is no real tree cover, and staking can be a problem. I've been there when the wind just howled, and there was nothing to prior indicate that it was going to be that way.

You can certainly set up a tarp for a prevailing wind, to withstand it, but a back gust can really mess you up.

So, my experience would be that unless it was part of a much longer trip in which you really were committed, and had to "make do", I'd go with a regular tent or bivy. I also have a Lightsabre, and I think it is ideal for this setting, even luxurious and very secure. I normally don't stake it, but I would at TC!

Just bought a new tent. (I haven't used it yet, so take my comments with a grain of salt.) I have previously camped in a Mountain Hardwear PCT 1, which I indeed used on its maiden voyage at Lone Pine Lake and Trail Camp. I used it again on Mt. Shasta, and although it performed well at Helen Lake, I wasn't as happy of its non-freestanding nature (harder to stake down in the snow) and I also wanted more space for my gear. It's a pretty small tent.

So I had been searching for a two man tent which had both lighter weight and decent cost, as I really am intending it for use as a one man tent. I think I found the best option - the Sierra Designs Vapor Light 2. It's 3 lbs 14 oz packaged. It was best described by one reviewer who said "it's a large one man tent, but a small two man tent". (It's got a trapezoidal rather than rectangular floor plan, with 39" at the foot end and 49" at the head.) The best thing, one that I just couldn't refuse - I got it for $126 on Sierra Trading Post on one of their daily specials. (Probably the reason they sold out.) It is availabe on other websites for as low as $188, still a good deal. (I found that some high end two man tents are well over $400, which is a bit steep for my tastes.)

Sierra Designs makes another tent, the Lightning XT 2, which is also reasonably priced and light.

Sierra Designs Vapor Light 2

I may be stoned for this, but I like the Cabela's XPG Ultralight. You can get a one or two man version. You can't beat it for the price.

Looks like a good value, and is available in 3 sizes. Cabelas makes good stuff.

Hi How could it be? Just had to buy a high end tent in Bishop,4 season sleeps 2-3 and comes with a carry bag $34.95 Doc is the Cabela tent cheaper? I will take mine back .


On the topic of trailcamp I like the area north of the trail, up on a ledge system and out of the wind , the area is sandy .Thanks Doug

Check out the MSR HubaHuba its 2 person under 5 pounds and has done well for me. Freestanding tent and the fly needs 2 tie outs (rocks) It has seen some wind and weather doing fine. Also very easy setup/breakdown. I have not had it out in the strong winds like trail camp can dish out.

We got a Big Agnes UL2 last summer just in time to be pinned down in a really bad rain-hail-thunder-lighting storm just below Muir Pass near Evolution Basin last July. The tent was solid enough using only rocks to stake it out, that we could actually nap while the storm raged over head. Yes, it is very small, but it only weighs 2 pounds 12 ounces.

After we woke up and packed the tent away we talked to two ultra-light hikers who were forced to spend the storm huddled in ponchos. All they could say was: "We learn something new every time we come to the mountains."

and they learned that lesson right below Mt. Darwin...

ironic ..
my new BD tent enjoyed a cpl nites at LBSL last May while i skied S couloir on Carillon (above UBSL) and N slope of Thor. Its tight for 2 /luxurious for 1: {http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/mountain/shelters/hilight-tent}
min weight 2lb 10oz
It hasnt been put through the ringer yet as its a new 2010 replacement for the Garuda Kaja that had been part of my life for 10years..tears were shed when i had to retire it.

Neither of my backpacking tents is free-standing. The one Nathan and I used when we did Whitney in '01 is a long-obsolete Walrus that's roomy for one, adequate for 1.5 (Nathan was 12 at the time) and extremely crowded for 2. It weighs in at about 3#.

My newer tent is an MSR "Zoid 2" which is also (unfortunately) a discontinued model. It weighs somewhat more, a bit over 4#, but is quite adequate for two full-sized people. Nathan and I used it on both of our Philmont treks in '05 and '07. Things I like about the Zoid are dual doors and the fly gives you a vestibule outside each door so you can leave boots, etc., outside but sheltered and save room inside the tent.

As others have noted, the tent spots at Trail camp will require some rock-anchor creativity. Also, pay attention to how the site drains. When we were up there, it rained most of the second night we camped there (on the way down) and several people ended up sleeping in puddles because they picked spots that were dished instead of slightly sloped. I knew better and we stayed nice and dry as a result.

Thank you all for the helpful info. As a now recall, trail camp was very windy in 1961 and 1988. As such, perhaps a free-standing tent would be best. Any strong opinions on the very lightest 3 season free-stander? I'm going to be hiking with my buddy, who summited with me in 1988, so we can share the load.

talking about tents for windy places: Mountain Hardwear EV3 - didn't even flap in the wind last weekend below Iceberg Lake (wind that carried a down jacket and a sleeping pad for a quarter mile - gusts were easily 50+mph and came in hard and brutal).

not the lightest tent, as it is built for 100+mph wind, but was it ever nice to sleep in that without any worries. Huge space for 2, 3 in a bind. the damage? 8 pounds and enough cash to make you reconsider the hobby.

If I do my October JMT, I will carry that thing even if I go solo. It is so worth it.

Hey Fishmonger,
Why doesn't that suprise me that you would have no problem with the extra load!

[img][IMG]http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h381/Jeffrey_Doty/IMG_5128.jpg[/img][/img]

it is just a half ton truck, but it handles the pack well

Oh! I thought the truck was attached to the back of the pack!

Ive also had great success with my MSR Hubba, but with the strong winds Im very much considering skipping the tent and going with a bivy. The first time I went up I was kept up all night. The bivy has no poles and therefore, 'should' be more comfortable (according to my own twisted logic Has anyone gone the bivy route? thoughts?