New Tent

The day was warm. We were camped in the Grand Canyon at Indian Gardens under shade trees. The afternoon temperature peaked at 112 degrees. The previous day by the river the temperature had been 115 degrees and the night had cooled down to about 95 so we anticipated a warm but tolerable night.

The trees and the cliffs to our south blocked any breeze that might have been moving through or over the canyon. After the sun set the night was hot, still and muggy. The cliffs radiated the day's heat. The trees that had been welcomed to block the afternoon sun became sources of increased humidity and discomfort.

I dozed off to sleep but was awakened by Julie as she climbed over me and crawled out of the tent. For a short while she lay on the ground unable to sleep. Earlier in the day we had see a rattlesnake not far from where we were camped but that wasn't a concern. Her mind wandered to scorpions. The canyon has no shortage of small scorpions. In a few minutes she opted to climb back into the tent.

Our plan was to be packed up and hiking out of the canyon by 4:30 AM to avoid the mid-day heat. At about 3:00 we decided to use headlamps and leave early.

Good memories in spite of the heat!

We have a good four season tent that I bought many years ago. The top unzips to allowing venting through the roof. However, it's not the best for hot weather.

We have a 50 miles, four nights backpacking trip planned in two weeks. The temperatures in the canyon won't be as hot as they were in July two years ago but Julie suggested we purchase a new tent. She researched tents that maximise netting and have two doors. I suggested we add ultralight as one of the characteristics. We settled on a Marmot Aura 2P.

We're looking forward to our trip!


Tent without rain fly.


Tent with rain fly closed.


Tent with one vestibule flap folded back.


Tent with both vestibule flaps folded back on both sides.