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  1. #1
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    Default Choosing a campsite for tent camping

    I am sure much has been written on this subject but, on my next section hike, i am going back to ground with a lunar solo and neoair.
    I am a section hiker, 500 ish miles north bound, been sleeping in a hennesy
    Is it difficult to find a flat "spot" on the trail/find a good tent site
    any tips would be appreciated...!
    thanks
    -sloan

  2. #2

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    Campsites where? Maine? Georgia? North Carolina? Virginia?

    You'd be surprised by the thousands of never used flat spots on the AT from Georgia north thru Virginia. The main reason is because the majority of hikers glom onto the Shelter system and the campsites around these shelters and don't want to camp a mile further up the trail and bushwack to an off-trail level spot.

  3. #3
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    I am in VA on next section. About 80 miles northbound of damascus.

  4. #4

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    At least in GA and NC/TN, there is almost always a good tentsite within 1-2 miles after leaving the shelter. Everyone else stops at the shelter, and I keep going for less than an hour and have the place to myself.

  5. #5
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Are you looking for "flat" or "level".
    To point out the difference, even a vertical wall can be "flat", but you expect your floors to also be "level".

    Now I can't speak to what you'll find in VA, but even in the hill sides of GSMNP and the JMT, finding flat (enough) spots wasn't difficult. But just about every spot seems to have a slope to it. So the trick seems to be making sure to align your camp spot with the slope so that your feet are down hill (I keep saying I'm going to do something one of these days to put a level inside my hiking poles so that I can better tell which way the ground is sloped... the eye can be easily tricked by the surroundings).

  6. #6
    Registered User Hikes in Rain's Avatar
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    Until you get the level in the pole, a cup or pot of water will work as a level. They built the pyramids with measurements no more sophisticated than that!

  7. #7
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    Thanks guys. So, is really not as much of a problem as i am making it, huh?
    coming from hammock sleeping x 10 yrs, this is really my biggest concern

  8. #8
    Registered User scope's Avatar
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    In a hammock, you're always "level". Almost never "level" at a flat tent spot. For those used to tenting and being on the ground, I'd agree that you shouldn't have trouble finding a tent spot. However, my guess is you're going to have trouble adjusting to not being level. But as you know, hammocks have their own adjustments. HYOH
    "I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
    - Kate Chopin

  9. #9
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hikes in Rain View Post
    Until you get the level in the pole, a cup or pot of water will work as a level. They built the pyramids with measurements no more sophisticated than that!
    My intuition tells me that a simple cup of water isn't going to be good enough to determine which way a hill side is sloping.
    1. We're talking about trying to determine slope that is minor enough to not easily figure out with the eye.
    2. Small irregularities in the ground means you cup covering perhaps 3" of ground will be measuring the slope of local irregularities, not the over all slope of the 6' the tent/sleeping pad occupies.

    As for the pyramids, you are correct that they we're not using anything sophisticated. But I think the current theory is that the Egyptians filled the ancient equivalent of a garden hose with water and knew that the water level at each end of the hose would be the same height. To make a similar tool, I would need a 3' to 6' piece of hose filled with water. Attach one end to a tent stake and stretch out the hose and move it around to see where the water column is highest above the ground...

    Actually, that gives me an idea to try out...
    I use a Sawyer mini as a part of a gravity filtering system. Basically an Evernew bladder for dirty water, and Platypus hoser for clean water (the bite value simply removed and the tubing slid over the output nipple of the mini).
    I might be able to take my clean bladder filled with water, attach the open-ended hose to the bladder and simply set the bladder on the ground. Hold the open end of the tube above the level of the water in the bladder and see where the water level is the highest above the ground 3' away from the bladder. Worth a try.

    Otherwise, I keep forgetting that what I want to try is to simply take a string line level with me with a rubber band and attach the level to my pole with a rubber band when I get to camp.

  10. #10
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    HooKooDooKu -

    Great idea about the string line level attached to a hiking pole. Thanks!

  11. #11
    Registered User lonehiker's Avatar
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    This thread should be moved to Hiking Humor...
    Lonehiker (MRT '22)

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu View Post
    As for the pyramids, you are correct that they we're not using anything sophisticated. But I think the current theory is that the Egyptians filled the ancient equivalent of a garden hose with water and knew that the water level at each end of the hose would be the same height. To make a similar tool, I would need a 3' to 6' piece of hose filled with water. Attach one end to a tent stake and stretch out the hose and move it around to see where the water column is highest above the ground...

    .
    I used that method for leveling the piers I built my cabin on years ago. It worked. Bought the gear at a building supply.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tipi Walter View Post
    Campsites where? Maine? Georgia? North Carolina? Virginia?

    You'd be surprised by the thousands of never used flat spots on the AT from Georgia north thru Virginia. The main reason is because the majority of hikers glom onto the Shelter system and the campsites around these shelters and don't want to camp a mile further up the trail and bushwack to an off-trail level spot.
    you should thank the hiking gods that so many are willing to use shelters and leave the undisturbed patches of forest they way they should be left. get rid of the shelters as you so often advocate and campsite sprawl will quickly get out of control...giving you yet another thing to complain about.

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by cr115 View Post
    I am sure much has been written on this subject but, on my next section hike, i am going back to ground with a lunar solo and neoair.
    I am a section hiker, 500 ish miles north bound, been sleeping in a hennesy
    Is it difficult to find a flat "spot" on the trail/find a good tent site
    any tips would be appreciated...!
    thanks
    -sloan
    Much AT , or most trails, sidehills a lot.
    Often there may be no flat spots or few where this occurs.

    Look for flat spots on top of crests, and in low gaps, and you will usually find them.

  15. #15
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    I didn't get that the original question was how to measure or verify level.... but if that's the question...
    Why not just trust your middle ear and your body.
    Find a spot that look good? Take your pack off, take a break, and lay down on the spot you're considering for a few minutes. Feels like your head is low? Flip around the other way and give it a try. Comfy? Set your tent up on the spot and call it good enough.

  16. #16

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    With few exceptions, there are good tenting spots around the shelter sites. These should be your first choice and doesn't require any extra work on your part. For your Damascus to Marion section hike, sticking with the shelter sites is your best option.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  17. #17

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    Use a map to find a level site and ensure that you are in a camping zone. Consider choosing a site a fair distance off the trail, perhaps 60 meters. This will prevent your single use campsite from becoming one of the many places where people trip over tents in the trail.

  18. #18
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    High tech answer - use the level function that is on the second page of the compass on your iPhone. Use hiking pole to extend the length over which you are sampling.
    I don't do this, just throwing out another solution. Really, just lay down and trust your middle ear.
    76 HawkMtn w/Rangers
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  19. #19

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    Like many, I prefer my head higher then my feet when laying down. Sometimes the slope of the land isn't real obvious if it's fairly level. So, I'll put down my ground cloth where I think it will work and then laydown to test it.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  20. #20
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    I guess I'm just a bit careless. "hey, this looks like a flatfish spot." Now I have to find room in my pack for laser level distance range magnetic finders. Naw.
    enemy of unnecessary but innovative trail invention gadgetry

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