Every summer I spend a week or two in Colorado. I do a lot of day hiking by myself. I feel pretty good about the rest of my kit but I always struggle with how much shelter to carry. Most of my hiking is at around 10,000 feet or above so it can be hot, cool, raining, snowing, and get pretty cold even during the middle of the summer. I always think about what shelter I would want if I had to spend a wet and cold rainy night up there. At a minimum I usually land up with an army poncho and liner and a heat sheet blanket. What would you guys recommend for that type of contingency?

Thanks,

David Enoch

i'd suggest a heavy-duty mylar bivi bag, like the one Izzy mentioned, from Adventure Medical (retail $34)

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/prod...Thermal%20Bivvy

i carry one like it called a Land/Shark http://www.landshark-online.com/. i always take it along when in the woods.

and like Izzy said, maybe even better is the one they have coming out early next year for $50 (retail) that has a gortex-like fabric cover:

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/prod...January%202012!

Sounds like you got it covered. I carry a sil-nylon tarp, tyvek homewrap groundsheet, AMK heatsheet, and disposable poncho. My daypack isn't that big so my shelter system had to be small and light.

I agree. Your stuff should get you through the night. I would suggest that you have some way of preparing hot drinks or food. On my worst mountain bivouacs, that capability has been crucial. A small, light alcohol stove and small pot/mug would work in most conditions.

Looks like you've got the basics covered, David. I like to carry a heatsheet or an AMK bivy for added protection and space.

+1 on the handwarmers and poncho, Izzy!

I concur that your poncho and liner are great choices.
I hike the same terrain (and more!).

If you really DO have to spend the night out huddling over a fire - be sure you have 3 ways to make fire and a metal cup, pan or pot to heat water in. This is a great way to add heat to your body by drinking warm water and will give you something to do while you wait for light. (This is my theory. I've not tested it but have made a point of having something to heat water in as part of all my BOBs.)

I think all of the above recommendations are good ones.

Let me add one that's going to sound a little weird: Dry socks, two pair. If you're out slogging around all day in your poncho, you're boots are liable to soak through. If you hunker down in your bivy with wet feet, you're going to be miserable. I typically carry one pair of athletic type socks and one pair of heavy wool socks, just to wear if I do have to hunker down. Of course I typically have a pair of gloves and a hat too, but those are specifically for having to shelter overnight.

HJ

If you want to get a little more fancy than a USGI poncho, you could go with a hammock setup. Start with a silnylon tarp, add a lightweight silnylon hammock with whoopie slings, and then add an underquilt and a small quilt for the top and you have a very comfortable system that can handle wet weather and temps down below freezing and you'll be up off the ground in comfort. In fact you might even find yourself hoping you get stuck overnight so you can use it.

You did say that you are only at about 10k feet so there should still be plenty of trees and a hammock and underquilt sure beats sleeping on the hard wet ground in a bivy that doesn't breathe.

All of what I just described will squeeze down to less than the size of 2 2liter coke bottles and is less than 4lbs. - so it will fit even in something as small as a kid's book pack. For comparison, a USGI poncho, liner and AMK bivy will run you about $100 and a nice silnylon hammock and tarp setup with quilts will run you about $300 (but you can drop it to $150 by building it yourself)

Some others mentioned handwarmers - that's a good suggestion - I'll add that there are 20 hour handwarmers available and they do last 20 hours.

The cookpot suggestion is a good one too. It changes a miserable survival situation into a completely tolerable primitive campout.

My first priority is clothing adequate for conditions more severe than the worst I expect. First priority is a good shell parka (goretex or similar). I carry this even on short hikes when it looks to be warm and sunny! Probably shell pants as well, and plenty of insulation. I tend to get warm when I hike, even in cold weather, so I'm usually dressed more lightly than my buds, but carrying more clothes in my pack. I also have extra food, fire starting gear, etc.


On day hikes in summer, generally the only additional shelter item I carry is an Adventure Medical SOL Emergency Bivvy (the little lightweight $16 one). http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/products.php?catname=Shelter&cat=53

Winter is a different story. When backcountry skiing, I swap the little SOL bivvy for the more robust SOL Thermal Bivvy. I also carry an ensolite pad. I also have a shovel (as part of my avalanche gear). In addition, stuffed in the bottom of my pack I have a puffy synthetic filled insulated jacket sized to fit over ALL my other clothing (this is in addtion to my normal goretex and fleece gear noted above). Also dry socks and dry glove liners (vacuum sealed).

NOTE: Thanks Izzy for the tip that Adventure Med is coming out with a breathable bivvy bag. I will have to check that out when they are available.

There are great points on the shelters. I also think there is an excellent point about the extra socks. Quite honestly, I would add extra undergarments as well. Anything that has even the slightest bit of moisture in it will make the night extremely long. I do not mind the extra weight for the t-shirt, underwear and socks.

My $.02