Don't laugh--need help

**KingTut** · 06-06-2011, 07:21

Okay, I'm a noob and I'm poor and this is going to sound as ghetto as it gets. I have a hammock and a sleeping bag. I can't affort a tarp right now, so I have three options: 1) Somehow rig my tent's fly or just drape it over me; 2) Take a piece of Tyvek I use as a ground cloth and just drape it over me; 3) Take nothing and risk the weather (stupid). I'm determined not take my tent on a 3-day, 2-night trip. I'll be in NE Tennessee on the AT in two weeks, so it will be pretty warm, but rain is always unpredictable. It's the Watauga Lake to Damascus section.

Anyone with suggestions for a ghetto tarp or has anyone tried to use a tent fly before?

**Bubba** · 06-06-2011, 07:25

Can you afford a $5.00 blue poly tarp from Walmart or Home Depot? They'll work well enough.

**Bomber** · 06-06-2011, 07:27

Take your tyvek, use some pepples for attachment points(tie the guyline around them)...... and presto - improvised hammock tarp!

**WLMiller54** · 06-06-2011, 07:27

Pick up a 9x10 Blue Tarp, or Plastic at the big box store for $10. That will work as a fly in a pinch.

If your Tyvek ground cloth is big enough you can rig that without too much problem for decent protection from the rain.

**KingTut** · 06-06-2011, 07:27

lol I can manage that. Just hate the weight. But I do want to hang this trip.

**wirerat123** · 06-06-2011, 08:52

If the tyvek is big enough use that. If it's not big enough, go to know construction sites and look for large scraps or ask some crews about large scraps of left over Tyvek. It's light, it's durable, and it works.

**mbiraman** · 06-06-2011, 09:06

Go to a lumber yard and ask for the tyvek off the lumber slings/lift

**exup** · 06-06-2011, 09:32

In all honesty, the cheap blue tarps only weigh around 22oz I believe for 10 x 8. That's of course the real thin ones. Won't last forever but it'll work in a bind.

Or I could let you borrow a tarp as long as you send it back. PM if interested.

**Aardvark** · 06-06-2011, 11:26

If you can sew, Wally World had the 5x7 Outdoor Products tarps for $10, 2 together will give you a good sized asym... just remember seam sealer and use pebbles in corners rather than grommets. After your trip, you can do the corners right.

**obxh2o** · 06-06-2011, 13:51

Take the tyvek. I weighs a tenth of what the blue tarp weighs and is a lot stronger. Plus, it adds the atmosphere of an Arkansas trailer park (almost as much as a blue tarp).