I cowboy camped the first night on the PCT.

It was a breathtaking spot on top of Hauser canyon. I settled in, laid out my sleeping mat and bag to take in the view and soon realized the buzzing sound around me. Who knew there was mosquitoes in California in March?! By then I was too lazy to move and then I spent the better half of the night figuring out ways to escape the mosquitoes. Seems like they always manage to find exposed skin somewhere and I was soon left with bumps all over the place until they finally disappeared. I guess my strategy of feeding them till all of the mosquitoes in the area are full. worked out great.

So from day 1, sleep has been a bit of a learning curve. It’s kind of self afflicted, this is why.

For those of you who know me, I’m a bit of a gear junkie who is not afraid to move outside of my comfort zone to try new gear and improve my skills. In fact, one of the goals for this trip is to improve myself as a backpacker. To learn how to camp and hike in the outdoors more efficiently. So I wanted to challenge myself to de-clutter my bag and to work with gear that takes more skills.

So that being said, below is a bit of an account of the changes in my sleep system and the stories that comes with it. Hope you get a good laugh at my expense and understand that you don’t need to have everything all figured out in order to be successful at the PCT. Mistakes are okay to make as long as they help you improve.

1. Started out the trail with a pyramid tarp, which is this weird looking thing that works by staking out the four corners and putting your trekking pole in the center to make a pyramid.

• Didn’t understand the value of making sure the stakes are staked in securely, so one stormy night, I got out of my warm sleeping bag to fix my tarp when I woke up to find the tarp flapping in my face.
• Another time, I found a campsite and realized there was not enough room to pitch my giant tarp, had to go find another spot.
• Often decided to cowboy camp and then wake up in the middle of the night from the cold and got up to pitch my tarp. My companions often woke up in the middle of the night to find a bright orange teepee where there was none when they went to bed. It definitely caused a lot of confusion.

1. Realized I was so uncomfortable sleeping on a one year old foam mat so I ordered a brand new inflatable thermarest xtherm. Haven’t been uncomfortable since.

2. Decided the pyramid tarp was too much of a hassle to carry since it doesn’t really rain. Since I was carrying a poncho tarp anyway as my rain gear, decided to switch over to that after spending some time to practice pitching the tarp.

Practicing flat tarp pitches – A Frame

• First time ever pitching a flying diamond, in the dark too. Worked out pretty well to keep the wind off actually!

• On one calm night, I found a spot to cowboy camp, but pitched the tarp up anyway in an A-frame anyway to practice. Woke up at 12:30 to howling wind blowing the warmth right out of my sleeping bag. I was getting uncomfortably cold but don’t want to get up either. So as a last resort of desperation, I reached up and collapsed my tarp so it laid right over me. Slept great for the rest of the night.

Worst case scenario, wrap your flat tarp around you. 😂

• Pitched a beautiful flying diamond in the heavy wind. Noticed how correctly I judged the direction of the wind.

• Same night, while we were hanging out, I heard a loud pop! I look over at my tarp and found the front guy line loop popped out. So I spent another 20 minutes or so and flipped my tarp over. Slept great afterwards.

1. Finally got the ultralight, wind proof bivy I ordered a while back. So I sleep now struggled in that and only pitch my tarp when I need it to block the wind or rain. It haven’t rained on me yet so not sure how that’s going to go.

That was a recount of my sleeping adventures. Hopefully it’s smooth sleeping from here now that I finally finalized all my gear and getting smarter at picking my sites.

Looking forward to sharing with you more silly stories!