Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

Was gonna make a thread asking about recommendations for a tent but saw this one.
Never been camping.. i know.. anyways my buddies are going next month to Fort Bragg and I was googling tents for Tacoma's but not sure which would be a great tent for beginners and for a good price. I've seen some tents that go for $200 to $2k.

 

Yuck! Good heads up. Right now they are still allowing hikers to exit from Whitney Portal (as the OP plans) and don't expect the fire to reach Whitney Portal itself but obviously a fluid situation. While they are allowing folks in the wilderness to exit via Whitney Portal for now they could obviously decide to stop issuing permits that have Whitney exits out of caution at any time.

 

didn't realize there was a fire in the area. Ill have to keep an eye on that and keep my group informed. We planned to park at whitney and had shuttle service from whitney to onion valley booked.

 

Good luck! Looks like 10% contained as of today.

 

Just got off the phone with the Lone Pine ranger station. They told me if I come up there, to have a plan B. from what I understand that theyre just letting the fire ride out. at least from the person I spoke with on the phone.

 

Heading to the Denver area. Anybody know any good places off grid to camp for a few days?

 

Tent that mounts to the truck or one for the ground?
My .02, get a ground tent, no sense locking the truck down to one spot.

Can't comment as to what brand of tent to use, more of a hammock guy myself.
However:
A tent with some extra wiggle room is nice (2p=1p, 3p=2p, etc)
Sleeping pads or an air mattress make a big difference in quality of sleep.

 

Gonna be using a sleeping bag and was looking for something to put on the bed of my truck. Maybe room for 2 since I'm a big dude.
Edit: Also would I have to remove my tonneau cover? Or are there any tents that mount just fine while the tonneau cover is rolled up?

 

That I know you have to remove the cover for them to work. Could make a poor mans rtt. Get a tentcot and mount on cross bars above the cover.

 

Not sure where you live but if the weather is nice put down a couple blankets in the bed and roll out a sleeping bag. Done and then you'll get a taste to see if 'camping' is something you're into.

 

Which way are you coming in from, where are you planning on staying and how far away from Denver are you ok with driving? Not much near the city that I know of...if you're looking for something away from people or outdoor/forest type. But, quickest area is to head west on 6th or 70 into the mountains and there are some areas depending on what you are looking for. Just assuming downtown denver... denver metro spans a huge area which could play into your camping wants.

Can also post in the Colorado BS thread for more responses.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/colorado-b-s-thread.131441/page-7490

Off the top of my head, Yankee Hill is easy to get to and large enough to find a place to camp... although its the go to firing range area, so maybe not so quiet.
https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/502-yankee-hill-to-central-city-co

Across I70 you have South Spring Gulch which is easy and if you go up to the top, you have some sweet views
https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/2055-south-spring-gulch RIP Taco...

If you click on nearby trails, you can expand the search radius and look for stuff.

This is more SW of Denver... Rampart Range is a popular dirt bike/atv area, so likely far from quiet on most days unless you get off the beaten path.
https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/430-rampart-range-road-co

 

Any of you guys fish/backpack the smokies on a regular basis?

 

Lol I've done that before actually and got bit up by mosquitos. I don't mind critters and wild life but I'd just like to sleep slightly elevated and have that peace of mind, and since I have a truck and no tent yet I might as will get one for my taco.

Worst case I just remove the tonneau cover temporarily or permanently if I like camping enough and go often. I might even sell it and put it towards the tent lol.

 

buy a tent off Amazon. thats what i would suggest, i always keep a ground tent in my truck even if i have my rtt

 

Yeah I'm on my lunch looking around atm, just thought I'd get some input on brands etc. from here.

 

The name brands will be pretty nice, some of the things you'll pay extra for is quality, weight, collapsability. So if you dont mind a heavier and larger bundle when its stowed, you can save money there.

I had a eureka (i think) brand 4 season tent that was pretty nice for how inexpensive it was relative to the name brands. There were small things that could be easily fixed (like adding string to zippers and such).

I've also had REI and North Face tents, which would be considered mid range I would say (at best). REI one I got at the garage sale event for under $25 with everything, the tent had a rip in it which I fixed once with fabric tape and its been fine since. That was years ago.

For Amazon, read the reviews and see what people say. You can also use this website as a quick way to get a truer rating (does a good job at filtering out the paid for or bulk good reviews) https://reviewmeta.com/

 

I might get this tent..

$248 Napier Sportz Truck Tent | Pickup Truck Bed Camping Tent | Full Rainfly | Sturdy and Spacious 2-Person Truck Tent | Easy 15-Minute Setup | Blue/Gray

https://www.amazon.com/Sportz-Truck...dpPl=1&dpID=41YR-auhXZL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

 

The bed ones are neat.. and nice way to stay off the ground. As long as you dont plan on using the bed for anything or pulling that out when its time to set up the tent.

Whatever you go with, get a good reviewed sleeping pad since a cheap sleeping pad will get you no sleep in the most expensive tent. I have a klymit insulated pad that I like when I use the ground tent. Have been spoiled lately with a hard shell RTT which is... amazing.

 

Good info here. I did that in like 2009 with my wife. We were a little slow getting on trail up to Kearsarge, and with a huge pack load for the first of 8 days (and no trail legs yet), we weren't moving super fast. I noticed stormclouds building up from the SE behind the high ridge, which made it hard to gauge. Nonetheless, we then found our trail legs quickly to get the F over the pass. We had a few flashes around the pass and it started sprinkling on us just as we made it over. Some jackass was beginning to scramble up the rocky slope away from the trail, and I thought, good riddance, one less campsite to fight for at the lakes below. We were over and down quickly on the other side, we went fast many to get out of the deluge and find some shelter.

This was looking south, just before the pass.


I advise pushing as far as you can toward Forrester, too. It is an exposed bitch, and you will face long, hot exposure on the south side for a long time.

I aimed for a site on the shelf about 1/3 of the way up, here:
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-118.36890935897829&lat=36.71422177106179#.W0WAhNJKiHs

If you zoom in, you can make out the trail. After a long, straight grade upslope, dotted with trailside camps near the top (all of which were pretty much occupied, but too crowded), the trail turns hard left and levels out. After the turn, look out across to your left (NE) for some krummolz groves among the boulders off trail. I found a great site there with a fine windscreen, and better yet, zero neighbors:

 

Link