New tent! House in a bag

[hankinsfly]

 Ready for some trout camp. Excited to finally have a tent I can almost stand up straight in! Trout camp, dove camp, smallmouth camp, hell yeah

[mirvc17]

Nice. You won't regret it. I have a Big Agnes Rabbit Ears 6 for family camping. My only complaint is I forget I can stand up in it. I normally bring my 3-man Marmot for solo trips. The extra room would still be nice though. I haven't thought about hanging my waders inside the tent, but that could be a good option versus outside when temps are near or below freezing.

[hankinsfly]

JP, what Marmot do you have? I have a two man backpack Marmot and a Marmot 4- both tents are there thunderstorm and torrential rain proof, I can attest. It's hard dressing laying on your back though and I just need to be able to stand up in the tent for extended trips. This tent has two large vestibules, which I am excited about. You can keep all your stuff out of the rain. My Marmot 4 is a hell of a tent though, almost feel like I'm cheatin' on it. It's called the Hideaway, no longer in production.

[mirvc17]

Limelight 3. The version before the current one that has that boxy look to it. Got mine for a great price at the time and it's always been good to me. 

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[Fenwick]

Nice story guys. I used to be a gearhead into the backpack and Appalachian Trail thing in another life a long time ago and the two man tent was all I had. I aged out of two man tents a few years back. The confined crawling around and maneuvering on hands and knees thing was becoming too uncomfortable after a day of outdoors activities. Funny how it didn't bother me 45 years ago. Friends gifted me a "just big enough that you can stand up in it" tent. Took it with me to Beavers Bend Jan. 1, 2011. I fished 'til dark and then tried to set it up for the very first time in the Fern campground during 30+ mph winds. Used my car headlights for illumination at my site. The wind and the chill got worse and after several setup attempts and lots of colorful language I put it away and pulled out the tried and true 5x7 which went up in mere moments. Once I was all set up I took a walk to the Evening Hole bridge and stood on it taking in the crystal clear starry night scene with the bright white moon shimmering on the Evening Hole stretch. Nice having the entire place to myself on that beautiful night. Well, me and the plentiful deer out on night maneuvers but no people. Thing was, the morning dew froze the nylon. I couldn't fold up the tent at dawn. It was frozen stiff. I wound up bunching it up in a huge ball and pushed and shoved it into the back seat of my car (more colorful language) so I could leave to get fishing again. My "stand up inside of it" tent and a cot allow me to stretch out vertically and horizontally most comfortably. My aching back likes that. You might select the cheap fare primitive Hickory campground for spartan tent camping just below the Evening Hole bridge but the Fern location offers both primitive sites and more expensive camper hookup sites, notable for the electrical outlet, notably for the little $15 hardware store / Walmart kind of electric heater you buy and  plug in to that outlet and turn on inside your small tent which'll be toasty warm in no time so that you'd have noooo idea it is freezing cold even though there's but a thin sheet of ripstop nylon between you and the outside. The Fern campground bathroom / shower block is also incredibly hot inside in the dead of winter what with its industrial heater going. Nice to step into when it's freezing. Those features at Fern make winter tent camping okay. Fern campground is the one just upriver of the fly shop bridge, it's the campground with the stables and kiddie train nearby.

Hmm, off topic but you might keep that Fern campground bathroom / shower block in mind as a warm place to take someone to dry off / warm up should they take an accidental winter dip while fishing.

[hankinsfly]

Fenwick, I appreciate your response. I do prefer to camp and will do so all year. The cold is not the hard part for me, summer time camping though is hard- I sleep better cold. I just like the laid-back, deliberateness of trout camp. Coffee in the open, crisp woods. Rods rigged and ready right outside the tent, waders hanging up to dry. I like your input on the Fern campground though- I've always gone to Hickory and its deplorable out-house. The campground itself is awesome and killer location, but I would sacrificed some of that for a warm, cleaner facility with hot (warm would do) showers. I am excited about this new tent- the space and the ability to stand up. I'll tell ya, getting dressed in a cold tent sucks way worse when you have to do it on your back and crawl out of the tent. I've had some great trips in the old tent though. Camped on the Rio near Questa, New Mexico one August. Some fat ground squirrel chewed a hole in the side of tent because some dummy (solo trip) tossed some bread in the tent. Good thing it wasn't bear country. Looking forward to getting down there in a few more time weeks- anyone welcome as far as I'm concerned. As long as they don't prioritize their booze over their fishing!

[danimal]

Jan 24, 2017 22:42:33 GMT -6 hankinsfly said:

Fenwick, I appreciate your response. I do prefer to camp and will do so all year. The cold is not the hard part for me, summer time camping though is hard- I sleep better cold. I just like the laid-back, deliberateness of trout camp. Coffee in the open, crisp woods. Rods rigged and ready right outside the tent, waders hanging up to dry. I like your input on the Fern campground though- I've always gone to Hickory and its deplorable out-house. The campground itself is awesome and killer location, but I would sacrificed some of that for a warm, cleaner facility with hot (warm would do) showers. I am excited about this new tent- the space and the ability to stand up. I'll tell ya, getting dressed in a cold tent sucks way worse when you have to do it on your back and crawl out of the tent. I've had some great trips in the old tent though. Camped on the Rio near Questa, New Mexico one August. Some fat ground squirrel chewed a hole in the side of tent because some dummy (solo trip) tossed some bread in the tent. Good thing it wasn't bear country. Looking forward to getting down there in a few more time weeks- anyone welcome as far as I'm concerned. As long as they don't prioritize their booze over their fishing!

My brother has a large 3-room tent. The corner room has a AC portal. So we just crank up the window unit and run small fans into the adjoining rooms -- summer camping at it's finest!

[Fenwick]

I dunno if Dain is pulling our leg or not. The window unit and all those fans don't trip the outlet breaker?

[danimal]

Jan 25, 2017 16:39:19 GMT -6 Fenwick said:

I dunno if Dain is pulling our leg or not. The window unit and all those fans don't trip the outlet breaker?

We've never had a problem with it. It's just a small 110 window unit I bought at Walmart for about $120.

[jonbo]

My wife and I used a small window unit in our tent last summer. It worked great! A lot better than a redneck AC.

[schrederman]

I'm old.......... my tent has wheels and hookups and a shower and a very nice queen bed and... sorry... couldn't resist. I call it "Hotel Jacques". Spent many nights tent camping with my kids.

Jack

[hankinsfly]

Shredderman, I hope to be I a trailer some day but, but I'm 'po and I actually enjoy sleeping in my house-in-a-bag... hahahah. Maybe in retirement. But that ain't close.

[schrederman]

If I could choose between being young and agile again and having a travel trailer... I'd be sleepin' on the ground... unless it meant giving up my grand kids! It's all a trade - off...