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Camped on the ridge vs the valley floor in Glacier last month
I had to pick between camping exposed on a ridge with killer views or down in a valley with more shelter from the wind. I went with the valley and woke up to a bear sniffing my tent at 4am, barely got any sleep. Would you trade comfort for safety or just deal with the wind on the ridge?
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gracethomas18h agoMost Upvoted
Oh man, that's brutal, can't blame you for wanting shelter though lol.
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brooke_jones15h ago
True @gracethomas, but getting burned usually means someone's watching the pot.
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I gotta push back a bit on saying the valley is "shelter." That's not really true a lot of times. Valleys can funnel wind way worse than a ridge, plus you got cold air settling down there at night. I've been caught in a valley before where the wind came howling through like a tunnel. @brooke_jones probably knows what I'm talking about, you trade one problem for another. A ridge at least lets you see what's coming, and bears are less likely to wander up there since it's exposed. Next time, I'd try the ridge but set up a windbreak with your pack or a tarp. What kind of tent were you using?
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