Nearly a Success

It is hard to judge the tilt of the ground from the pictures, but what about setting the shelter to one side of the rock outcrop or the other and laying cross slope with a stone "curb" on the downhill side? You could make a short stone wall on the far side of your fire and still get the heat sink/reflector effect.

I have heated a mil-surp poncho tipi shelter with several candles before, but I had a swept floor without debris and set stones around them as a guard so I wouldn't roll into them. I managed to get a 40 degrees temperature gain in there, put it above freezing and no wind inside.

Also, consider a diamond set to your tarp rather than the pup tent set. It sheds wind better and gives a bigger face to gather heat. You can play with different setups in your back yard to see what is possible and what works best for you.

Again, kudos for keeping after it.
 
friday i wore a pair of thick cotton socks. last night i wore a pair of thin synthetic under another pair of thick cotton. but i kept them dry, so they should still insulate well.
 
Couple of alternate suggestions:
Maybe carry an AMK bivy to sleep in. Being enclosed, your feet probably would have stayed warmer. Use the heat sheet rigged up as your reflector (use those little clips that look like small chip clips from Office Depot), with your shelter open towards your fire. Being reflective, you can situate it far enough away from the fire that you shouldn't melt holes in it.
 
siguy said:
friday i wore a pair of thick cotton socks. last night i wore a pair of thin synthetic under another pair of thick cotton. but i kept them dry, so they should still insulate well.
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Ditch the cotton socks, at least when you bed down. You are getting evaporative cooling as the damp socks dry out. At least get a thick pair of wool socks to wear fresh at night and a wool watch cap or balaclava to cover you head. Warm head = warmer feet..
 
siguy said:
the fire was whipping around so wildly though that i wouldn't have been shocked to see a stick reflector burst into flame.
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Good ideas here already for when you really have nothing, digging a hole, using a rock face, but given advanced notice I like aluminium foil. Even quite a lot of it weighs not a lot and folds down so small. There's always some in my kit. It's just too darn useful for too many things.
 
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naked said:
I poked around for a bit, but I didn't find a good picture/diagram of a diamond setup?
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http://hikinghq.net/gear/tarp.html

Pin one corner to the ground. Tie the opposite corner with a line to a tree. This forms your ridgeline. The two free corners get pinned out to either side forming your walls. Adjust the height of your line to the tree so that your walls meet the ground.
 
naked said:
I poked around for a bit, but I didn't find a good picture/diagram of a diamond setup?
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Image35.gif
 
codger, thanks for that link, it gave me some good ideas.

i was wearing a warm cap and my scarf thing, so that all i had exposed was my mouth and the bottom of my nose...

thanks for all the help guys!
 
Here is another link that shows a variety of setups.

http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/tarp/TarpShel.htm

Some of these designs look real complicated, but most aren't. They are like folding sheets of paper which is good practice. A desktop tarp setup.

Yeah, I noticed the headgear when I went to sample the videos. I am deaf, so I don't get to hear what you are saying in them, but I get the jist from your actions. very few guys subtitle yewtoob.
 
I agree with the wool - if you hate the itch - get boiled wool - like Smart Wool. Get some liners for them (Silks) - wear the liners, then the wool, and get some warmer boots. If warm boots - the wool will CERTAINLY help.

TF
 
Outstanding videos Simon! I keep that same space blanket in my daypack now as well as a poncho.

With all the great advice you are getting here, and with what you have allready accomplished, I am learning alot. Great thread!
 
Great job siguy :thumbup: I got up to 15 on your youtube clips and decided I'd better post here before I forget :o I really liked the setup and the video taping, I need to get one of those. Everything looked great and fun, I look forward to seeing your future trips, J.



DOC-CANADA said:
Good job, Simon. What's wrapped up between the toilet paper and the red bag? Is that your cooking pot?

Doc
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Not to anwer for him, but it looks like a ball of string or twine to me :confused:
 
Yes, of course - Duhhh! :o I thought it looked like something wrapped up in a white plastic bag.

Thanks guys.

Doc
 
that's actually a roll of athletic tape, a ball of cotton twine, and then my little psk type kit.

i use the athletic tape for fixing myself when i break...
 
Siguy,

I would suggest a small roll of duct tape if you are going to carry tape - you can still use it on yourself if needed - but it has more uses than just athletic.

TF
 
Simon - Great job getting back out there Bro.

I was wondering about warming small rocks to use as portable heaters...? Might they have helped with the cold feet?

It was Brutal here in NH on Saturday night, couldnt have been that much better in CT so my hats off to you for staying. Great job! :)
 
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