Tent and a tarp?

[4eyedbuzzard]

Some hikers cut the handles off their toothbrushes to save carrying a few extra grams. Others carry heavy photo gear, electronics, elaborate cooking gear, town clothes, and even tubas all the way to Maine. The tarp is one extra pound. If you start with it and find you aren't getting its weights worth out of it, you can put it in a flat rate envelope and mail it home.

[Creature Feature]

The tarp is one extra pound. If you start with it and find you aren't getting its weights worth out of it, you can put it in a flat rate envelope and mail it home.

Thanks for the dope slap. I needed that. I've been focusing on this trip so much that sometimes I go down a rabbit hole.
Thank you all for the sound advise.

[morgan]

I carry a Tarptent Notch as my sleeping shelter and a lightweight tarp (8x10). The tarp is great for those days when the weather sucks. It makes cooking, eating, sitting and packing up much easier.

[franky]

I carry a Tarptent Notch as my sleeping shelter and a lightweight tarp (8x10). The tarp is great for those days when the weather sucks. It makes cooking, eating, sitting and packing up much easier.

That looks pretty good too.

[HooKooDooKu]

Thanks for the dope slap. I needed that. I've been focusing on this trip so much that sometimes I go down a rabbit hole.
Thank you all for the sound advise.

Even better, if you use a lightweight blue tarps (they come in various thickness), you can just ditch it if you find you're not wanting it.
BTW: When I do "weekend" hikes, if i know it's likely to rain, I bring along a blue tarp (haven't wanted to spend the money for something lighter) just so I have a place to setup and cook and/or toss gear just like you're describing.

[Daybreak]

I find setting up an additional tarp is not needed. In the rain on the AT, most people will cook at the small bench or the floor edge under the shelter whether staying in the shelter or not. You can also cook midday when shelters are "empty" especially if you plan to camp, arrive after dark, or the first crowded week. For extra warmth nothing beats a hot water bottle in your bag. Well worth the fuel weight for unexpected cold or wet issues. There are days that I am chilled before I arrive at camp while avoiding getting another layer wet and chill further by the time I dive into my cold bag with my cold dry clothes on.