Tent/Tarp/Bivvy - what to take

I got this question a lot along the way.  I personally took a North Face 4 season tent and a 8x10 silnylon tarp.  Both worked excellent other than the details I have already talked about with regards to poles.  As it relates to this question, I really think you need all three, plus an extra tarp. 

While the Tent is great for those extended stops and truly bad weather days, there are many a spot  that simply setting up a bivy and/or the tarp is all that you need.  I did not have a Bivvy but will definitely add it to my list.  For fair weather climates, I think I would skip the Tent altogether and go with a Tarp/Bug netting combination.  So much lighter, easy to set up, and more room in the Yak for food.  Really all you need. 

The bivvy would provide even more options. In BC and Alaska, camp spots are a challenge.  The addition of a bivvy allows you to expand that which is a 'campable' spot.  Many times you would find log strewn beaches that had no room for tents.  However, a bivvy would have provided you all that was needed to sleep comfortably between the logs.  Having that flexibility  would be a real bonus. 

For instance, over the last 2-3 weeks, in the San Juans, I have not even been setting up my Tent.  The weather has been spectacular.  I would have preferred to have the bivvy on these nights just to keep the dew off the bag and to handle the 'what if it rains' circumstance.

One tarp is the minimum I would travel with, while adding a second  tarp would give you the added flexibility of having both a sleeping tarp as well as your eating or lounging area.  This proved incredibly important in Bear country where you had to eat down in the tidal zone away from your tent. The silnylon tarps, while expensive, take up so little room that I would definitely add a second one to my gear list.