Boy do I have a lot to learn about winter camping!

[DivaB]

Shug:

I had snakeskins on the tarp, but frankly, couldn't figure out how to use them to ease my pain. I couldn't really get to the guylines without fully retracting the snakeskins. Maybe there's a way I can stuff the tarp into the snakeskins so I can deploy one side at a time.

Mind you, this is a 10' x 10' Funky Forest Tarp - a somewhat unconventional tarp design which I hear is like the Kelty. I'm gonna have to keep practicing. I would rather encounter this crap in the back yard than be in the wilderness feeling inadequate and overwhelmed.

I hear ya. We use the Funky Forest Tarp as well...got in on that deal and wished I would have gotten one more. I don't see a way with that tarp of being able to use your guy lines without complete deployment of the snake skins...or in our case python skin. If and when you get the breaks or doors done, please post pictures I've been want to make doors for ours, but the Holidays rolled in and thus my sewing stuff got shoved into the spare room.

[SilvrSurfr]

I hear ya. We use the Funky Forest Tarp as well...got in on that deal and wished I would have gotten one more. I don't see a way with that tarp of being able to use your guy lines without complete deployment of the snake skins...or in our case python skin. If and when you get the breaks or doors done, please post pictures I've been want to make doors for ours, but the Holidays rolled in and thus my sewing stuff got shoved into the spare room.

I like the Tyvek 'cause it's just a tape job - but I suspect the original Grizz Beak dimensions are a bit undersized for a Funky Forest Tarp. I think Grizz spec'd 12" x 53" but I'm gonna measure and decide if that's wide enough for the overlap I want.

[Scottybdiving]

There's really no easy way to do it in a high wind. Even a moderate wind makes it a challenge. I'm sure you already tried it, but I unfurl only the min amount of the skins and tarp possible and tie those two points down before i go any further. Most skins are long enough that the overlap can cover about two thirds of the tarp. You have to maintain control of both sides of the tarp at all times. I have been through the severely tangled guy line thingy before, only not in cold weather like your situation. I'm sure the cold only adds to the drama.

[jbphilly]

One of those big momma tarps with doors on would probably be a good choice for very windy conditions, also.

[DemostiX]

I am not seeing the winds 30 miles south and 12 miles inland. If I did, I might consider trying the GI gore-tex bivy cover instead of fly for the first time. After all, the only real protection you are going to get in such conditions would be if the fly is drawn down right at the hammock foot and head. At which point you might wonder: "Why not just tie it under and around the hammock and UQ?"

I, too, would have said "snake-skin", uttering "trade-mark" under my breath. But, let someone else describe a snakeskin in which 1/4 of the tarp at a time can be hung,not half. Find a patent on that design. !!

I wonder whether any with experience have instead staked out the tarp first, and only then put up the ridgeline in such conditions.

Deepest sympathies and all smilies implied. I'll think of you on my next ride up through MB on the way to Sandy Hook, where the winds must really severe tonite.

[SilvrSurfr]

Deepest sympathies and all smilies implied. I'll think of you on my next ride up through MB on the way to Sandy Hook, where the winds must really severe tonite.

Wish they would allow camping on Sandy Hook - they allow the occasional Scout troop but it's very restrictive. Hard to believe they will tolerate a nude beach at Gunnison but won't allow a little camping for the general populace!

[SilvrSurfr]

Wait a sec! Maybe they would allow nude hammock camping around Gunnison Beach! I'm gonna pursue this.

[heyyou]

Your back yard is such a rotten campsite that I'm not ever going to camp there.

On a more serious note: In a wilderness, I would not hang where the wind is that bad. There would likely be a better place within a half an hour's walk in either direction.

[SilvrSurfr]

Your back yard is such a rotten campsite that I'm not ever going to camp there.

On a more serious note: In a wilderness, I would not hang where the wind is that bad. There would likely be a better place within a half an hour's walk in either direction.

Actually, the wind just switched to a steady west-to-east flow and my tarp is perfectly positioned. It was bound to happen one of these days.

I do agree that coastal estuaries are pretty bad places to hang. I could easily move a half-mile inland and not have to deal with these winds. Then again, that would put me in the middle of an urban ghetto, and wind would be the least of my problems!

On further thought, I think the back yard is the safer test area for hanging.

[TinaLouise]

It was definitely nightmarish. Though I don't have the trees in my backyard to make sure the openings are not facing the wind, it doesn't really matter where I live because the winds don't come from one direction. My house is between a river on one side and the ocean on the other, and the winds come from all directions. One minute it's gusting from the north, and the next from the east. I think this is just the nature of coastal high winds.

Hey, I too was out testing last night!! And I've got the same type of location as you, between the ocean and the Cape Fear river!! Lots of wind and the direction switches to all over the place. I, at least have a lot of trees to choose from but it never makes any difference, the wind just changes direction after I put up my camp.

Last night, because there was no rain forcasted, I just decided to not put up the tarp!!

All in all, how did your setup fair? Temps here were just slightly warmer than your location. Were you able to stay toasty?