I grew up in Syracuse, went to school in Rochester, and now live in Buffalo.
I would only use a lean to in case of real inclement weather - in fact, I only used a lean to once - while returning from a February climb of Marcy via Avalanche Pass we got hit by a blizard that prevented us from making it out that day as planned and we ended up taking shelter in a lean to - pitching the tents in the knee deep snow would have been futile. But the nest day was a beautiful hike out with bright sunshine. Back then our packs were 50 or more lbs with ice axes, crampons, and snow shoes attached.
And in the Eastern High Peaks region you can no longer have camp fires so the fire ring is irrelevant.
But if I could hang in a lean to during a wind driven rain or hail storm (as is likely in late October) then a leeward facing lean to would be some protection from the storm. Of course, if the weather is that bad we always just use the lean to as shelter and sleep on its floor sans the hammocks
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