if you decide to tent in a shelter, provided there is room, do mice eat through your tent? or does anybody know if mice have ever eaten through tents?
billy no shoes
Tenting in shelters
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#2
Yes they will eat through your tent. Plus it’s really annoying to arrive at a shelter to find a tent in it. Tents belong on the ground.
Nokia
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#4
I sent a tent up in the Muskrat Creek Shelter, with an approaching hurricane September 25. Good thing, cause it rained into the shelter and the tent was the only thing keeping us dry.
Rookie’s Dad
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#5
A few years ago I used my Bibler Tripod bivy in Hightop Hut, a very mouse infested shelter in SNP, and the mice didn’t chew a hole in it.
The other guy sleeping in the shelter got a little upset when a mouse ran across his face. He also didn’t like waking up with a bunch of mouse crap around his face.
Bob J
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#6
If I came to a shelter bone tired and irritable like i USUALLY am, and I saw a tent in the shelter I would probably drag the tent to the firepit And beat the crap out of whomever was in the tent… BUT! if the tent was very small and there was still plenty of room and I was feeling good *I would NOT do like I said above.
CAPTAIN CAVEMAN!
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#7
I think most hikers are thoughtful and only use their tent in the shelter if there is no one or very few people in there. And I am sure most would take it down if more people showed up. I used mine at the first shelter going north out of Harper’s Ferry on the bottom floor. Huge thunderstorm and lots of mosquitos. As long as your food isn’t in your tent the mice should leave it alone.
Blip
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#8
I think most hikers are thoughtful and only use their tent in the shelter if there is no one or very few people in there. And I am sure most would take it down if more people showed up. I used mine at the first shelter going north out of Harper’s Ferry on the bottom floor. Huge thunderstorm and lots of mosquitos. As long as your food isn’t in your tent the mice should leave it alone.
Blip
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#9
I used my bivy sack in shelters several times at it kept the mice off of me and the bugs away plus did not monopolize the shelter. I agree with blip that most hikers only set up a tent in the shelter if there is a good chance that not many hikers will be coming and will gladly take it down to make room if asked. We all walked through the same crap to get to the shelter and are pretty understanding of eachother. If not see Captain Caveman for advice.
Big B
system
#10
Hey, I’d like to believe someone would take down their tent if the room was needed for another hiker. Maybe that has been the experience of others, but not for me. Add to that the two dogs they had inside the tent and it made for a pretty miserable night. The humans in the tent seemed to think the tent walls allowed them to talk as much as they wanted during the night. The dogs just barked, and barked, and barked.
Even if you get all of your food out of the tent, don’t forget any clothing that has your perspiration on it. Mice are attracted to salt/perspiration.
jaws
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#11
My experience has been that most persons who have set up a tent in a shelter will move if others show up. Eventually. After the new arrivals make an issue about it. Some will simply move the tent a foot or two and expect the newcomers to squeeze in.
Almost all shelters have pre-used tentsites near the shelter structure, or at least within a quarter mile. Why is it necessary to set up a tent inside a shelter?
Many AT hikers shoot for a shelter every night. I can see the advantage to eating, socializing, getting water, and using the privy at a shelter–but except to avoid bugs or avoid packing up a wet tent in the AM I see no valid reason to set up a tent in the shelter vs. setting up on the ground. Both those reasons have better solutions–bug netting or bivy sacks inside the shelter instead of full tents, or better yet deal with the rain and set up on the ground.
Skyline
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#12
If you have a tent why set it up on the very hard floor of the shelter?
If you are carrying a tent leave the shelter to those who do not have any other choice. I have arrived at shelters several times only to find a tent set up inside and the people definitely did not want to take it down to make room. It creates a very hostile situation.
woodstrider
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#13
I have on a couple of occassions set up a tent in a shelter. On both occassions it had been raining and I came in late. No one was around and I hadn’t seen anyone for several hours. I would have immediately taken my tent down if someone came in. The reason for the tent in the shelter, I hate mice, in the summer months the southern shelters are over run by them. I hang my food bag outside the tent and have not had any problems with the mice eating into the tent.
Bilko