Ha! All I know about 'tenting' I learned on this trip. Besides 2 car camping adventures, I'd never done it before. And I actually slept in this tent only once before we left. So, this is what I know...
1. Get a good site. Sure, you want it to be scenic, but at the end of a long day hiking, you're gonna rinse off, eat, and go to bed so pretty doesn't figure into it too too much. Instead, you want good compact soil that will hold your spikes (not too sandy or underlying granite).
2. Close enough to a water source to carry it back to camp yet far enough away the mosquitos won't follow you back. (Extreme example below but wind kept bugs away and it was legal)
3. Sheltered. Scott & Susan camped at Upper Palisades and had their tent collapse on them in a heavy wind, and another hiker's tent actually blew away before she could get in it and it ripped! So a tree break or big boulders are helpful near exposed areas.
4. Comfort. Ideally firm sand, but beneath trees are fine if you don't mind sweeping away tons of acorns else you'll have a lumpy bed (and potentially rip the tent floor). A couple flat rocks are nice for sitting and for setting up your 'kitchen'. And as lovely as sunsets are, you'll probably be in bed before they happen; it's positioning for the warming sunrise that you want.
5. Organization. Well, that'd be nice. One does develop a system after a while, especially as you only have limited gear with you. I tend to do the 'dump' first, then put it all around my sleeping space once I'm in. To each his own.
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