practice rigging a tarp

[siguy]

so i am uploading some new photos into my photobucket account and see some pics i uploaded a while ago but never did anything with...

i figure i will go ahead and post them while i wait for the new ones to upload...

i headed into the woods behind my house for a little practice rigging up a nice little silnylon poncho/tarp as a shelter. i took my pack with a couple of blades and some cords and some aluminum stakes i made out of heavy guage wire.

how close i am to the house:

if i choose to ignore that and look the other direction...

so i picked a fairly level spot next to a tree free of any large rocks or sticks...and strung up the poncho.

it occured to me that i could open up the interior a little bit and take some stress off the poncho if i tied the hood up to an overhead branch...

i also had one of those poly tarps with the foil on one side...like a heavy duty space blanket with grommets. when i laid it out for a groundcloth, i realized that it is actually larger than the poncho by a small amount. in the future i just might want to leave the poncho home and take something else for a ground sheet, and string up the tarp.

found some jack-in-the-pulpit while i was setting up...

cleaned up...pretty low impact...of course i didn't camp here and the tarp was only set up for about 30 minutes, but this is about how it usually looks when i am done with an overnighter. sometimes i even play stealth man and pretend the big bad goonies are trying to track me...it can be fun

just thought i would share a few photos...perhaps someone can even get something useful out of my comments...

anyways, enjoy! and thanks for looking

 

[mneedham]

Siguy,

Cool pics, its great to get and play around with you gear isn't it?

 

[siguy]

it is alot of fun...

and its always good to work out the kinks and figure out what is more hassle than its worth...

 

[mneedham]

Yep, I find that everything always requires a little more thought and effort than you originally anticipate, but that why we practice....

 

[Rockywolf]

Looks like a good time. How come you didn't stay overnight?

 

[siguy]

i half way intended to, but i ended up going out to a party instead, and when i got back i was too tired to deal with the chill...this was a few weeks ago and it was still pretty cool at night.

this summer when i have more time i plan on spending some quality time with the plants overnight...

 

[CanDo]

Cool post, here's a photo of my home for one night this past winter:

 

[myright]

nice pics Siguy. It's a heck of a lot better to practice those skills then be forced to used them when you aren't ready

My neighbors may call the men in white coats if they see me stringin' up a tarp on my fence...

 

[heelflip_kid]

I liked your photos and wish I had such a great place to run around near me. (FYI - Suburbia isn't the best place to practice bush craft. The Homeowners Association called us after I was practicing making fires with my firesteel) Thanks for the pics, I always love pics of users gear and setup.