A small Question about Tents and Tucks

[ilya]

I am going up to Tucks for my first time next Fri. I'll be there at about 5:30 am. I got a few questions for you guys...Do you think I'll be able to get a tent spot (I really want to camp), are the platforms under the snow..if so can I just camp on the snow. To all who answer..Thank You !

You still have the best site on tuck's anywhere on the web

[M@]

5:30am friday morning will not be a problem getting "A spot"

"A spot" means a lean-to spot or a tent-platform spot. You decided when you get to HOJO (the camping area) what you want. I've tented and lean-to'd. I've found lean-to'ing easier on the pack-weight and I always meet such kewl people and learn about the ravine that way.

Anyhow: Tenting was fun too, a lot more private. We pitched the tent right on the snow. It was VERY well packed down. There was a little 'bar' area setup too. It was set up to cook and hang out very well. I would imagine you'd be pitching onto snow this weekend as well.

The biggest negative I have for camping is the big fat hill you have to go down to get to the camping spots. On fri/sat night I always roll down that damn hill becuase I've had a little too much fun on the HoJo deck.

M@

[pauliek]

We tented there 4/21 weekend, awesome. There are only 3 platforms available, all under ~ 4ft. snow that weekend, though like M@ said, makes for very convenient cooking / sitting areas, and great 'cupholders' for your, ahem, beverage. Like he said, shelters are great to meet some awesome folk and save yourself 8 precious lbs. I think I still preferred the tent though, meet the neighboring tenters right next to you, and walk around lake later to meet everyone else @ their shelter. You should have your choice of either early Fri. a.m.; we arrived @ 10:10 p.m. and missed the employees there, hence no way to know how full. Later learned we missed some sort of alleged 'full' sign near trail head. Arrived @ Hojo's @ 2:45 a.m., dudes that we passed on their way down said ALL was full. Whoops. We, er, uh, tented at the elusive site #4, in between the others. Not cool, but we were NOT going all the way back! Dude next to us reserved his for whole weekend but said he was cutting out early and we could have his. My point is, beware! We didn't do this intentionally, and next time MUST make it to Pinkham prior to 10:00 p.m. Note, anywhere you stay where there is snow is good, especially for my stumbling buddy for his late night full body total diggers everywhere! Without ground pack he'd been a deadman!

Originally posted by msheppard:


The biggest negative I have for camping is the big fat hill you have to go down to get to the camping spots. On fri/sat night I always roll down that damn hill becuase I've had a little too much fun on the HoJo deck.

M@ Can I get an 'amen brutha' to THAT?! Argh. Note to self... SKIING down the 1st section of that NOT recommended (yes, I'm VERY lazy and even VERY dumber!). Do'ah!

[M@]

You tried to SKI back to the tent sites? Classic!

I can imagine the other benifit of a lean-to spot would be the rain advantage. When we camped we left our packs, skiis and boots outside of the tent. If it had rained the ski boots would have been pretty uncomfortable. In the lean-to, you have some room to store your pack and everything, and while it's raining you can hang out under the roof and amuse yourself a lot easier than in a tent.

M@