I’m still hacking away. Perhaps I should have chosen “Hacker” as my trail name instead of “K-Fun.” We are getting a little stronger each day and improving our time. Instead of a mile per hour, we are doing it in about 50 minutes.
With thunderstorms threatening, we decided to stay in the shelter. Since our two-person tent has a smaller footprint then two people’s bedrolls and the surrounding space, we put up the tent in the shelter to provide extra warmth and bug protection. At the time there were only three others in the shelter, and they did not mind. By nightfall, the shelter was full and several AT hikers complained about our having the tent in there. The guilt I felt from their comments kept me awake most of the night. Dennis didn’t have any qualms and said he had seen it done when he was on the AT, but I felt uncomfortable for not abiding with hiker etiquette. I later found that this topic is controversial on the Whiteblaze Forum.
By the time we got to Goddard Shelter, I was hypothermic and exhausted. Luckily Dennis was in better shape. He prepared a hot supper, after which I curled up in my down bag and fell asleep long before dark. No socializing for me.
During the night the winds howled and the storm pounded the shelter. By morning, there was only a mist, and lots of mud.
I don’t see a problem with it under the circumstances you described…..I do understand your feelings of being concerned……I use a Clark North American Jungle Tent Hammock and make my own shelter with the great fly provided hanging dry, warm and bug and rodent free…..If there is no place to hang, it converts easily to a ground tent……Best sleep ever and made to be able to sleep on you side…..They have two person hammocks also…..All that for not enough extra weight to worry about!….Good Luck and thank you for your posts!
Thanks for your support Rick. It means a lot to me. The issue seems controversial among hikers, and since I am a relative newbie to long-distance wilderness hiking, I was sensitive to my having created a faux pas.