Trying to decide on tents to bring for our family-of-4. We have a couple of okay-light-weight, but they are old. And one is a 3-person and the other a 2-person. Last time we camped, the kids were small enough to cram all 4 of us into the 3-person, but no more. We could probably still use them, but they are not optimum. So in deciding whether or what to buy as replacements I'm wondering about getting a 4-person vs. two 2-person tents. Is there enough space at camping spaces for a 4-person? I think it will give us fewer ounces per person if we do that, but if the spaces are nestled between rocks that might not work out.

Thoughts?

You can make room for a 4-person tent, but you might have to move some rocks, and it will be crowded at Trail Camp. Google "images whitney trail camp" to get an idea of the terrain. Here's one:



Here's a nice 4-lb 4-person $400 tarptent to consider if you want to minimize weight:

http://tarptent.com/hogback.html

Thanks, that looks really interesting. I'm not sure I can use the screen part alone, though, and I might want that for desert hikes. I like the design though - will think on that!

lots of room for big tents at Trail Camp if you go a little earlier in the season

Awesome! And a soft base to lie on!

All of my winter camping has been in the much lower elevations of Northern Maine. But there's a lot to be said for it, especially no bugs! Though one needs to be creative in setting up the shower tarp.

You can use just about any tent there. I've even seen a tent wrapped with 4 mil poly sheeting. The key is making sure it is secure while you are away.

It does get windy from time to time and I have seen pitched tents rolling about...including some rentals. "Hey dude, where's my tent?"

Yah, that happened to us, once. We learned our lesson. Wait. twice. Well.... sometimes it takes a bit, LOL. One time the tent was just moved about 6 feet - it had been lifted up and floated in the Tetons. The other time it was blown right over with the door facing upward to the deluge... it was closed, but the zipper couldn't hold back and there was SIX INCHES of water in it when we got back. Luckily the thermarests had all stacked up on top of each other so we only lost one sleeping bag to the soaking. Irony, we had camped up in the mountains and driven down to the desert valley floor where it was hot and dry all day.

So I'm guessing there are plenty of rocks around to help secure the guy lines and stakes, so it's only a matter of remembering, not a matter of astounding magical technical acumen to get the thing secure?

Plenty of space for a 4-person tent at Trail Camp. Plenty of rocks. Usually a combo of stakes and rocks does the trick.