things I learned this weekend

[Mustardman]

it's much easier to make adjustments at the rl pull tab of the tarp rather than at the tree itself. i like to keep a loop in the end of the guyline used on the tree, it's not attached to my tarp. i girth hitch the tree with the guyline like it was a tree strap, so the line's attached to the tree rather than the tarp. then i make adjustments/tie the line to the pull tab on the rl of the tarp, much easier. you could even attach a fig. nine to the tarp rl and do it the same way, but i find a slipped buntline hitch to one end of the tarp and a trucker's hitch on the other works great.

I do the girth hitch around the tree sometimes, and sometimes I just tie a slipped overhand knot to fasten the line to the tree - a bit quicker and plenty secure. I use a pair of the carabiner figure 9's to adjust the lines, and the carabiners are clipped through the metal rings on my mamajamba tarp.

[Blue Caboose]

It is nice to have a mat to step out on. I carry a small pad that serves as the back pad of my pack, sit pad, go to ground pad (have'nt had to do that yet) and mat.

[MacEntyre]

A top quilt works much better than a bag for regulating your temperature.

If you unzip your bag to your knees, leaving a foot box, it can be used like a quilt.