While it is always possible to improve your gear, remember this, the tarp took a good beating and held, did not fail, did not leave you unsheltered. You sure did something right, so trust yourself and your gear, and if handy improve as you can.
While it is always possible to improve your gear, remember this, the tarp took a good beating and held, did not fail, did not leave you unsheltered. You sure did something right, so trust yourself and your gear, and if handy improve as you can.
When the wind blows so hard And swaying the 18"-20" Dia trees, hammock is tied too. Rocking you while you try to sleep. But keeping dry, is a wonderful feeling. But also the fear of a Hammock Dart soon to fall.
Can add more Tent poles to the top for added Structure. and more anchor lines helps. BUT how often are you in that type of high wind/rain/snow storms.
Oh yea, waking up the next morning to find 20-24 tree's laying down with in a mile of yea. Gives you a sense of Awe..
" Taking the gun off safety increases the velocity by 100% "
In Colorado I find more live tree blowdowns that dead. Picking a safe place to hang is like going to Vegas.
Wow! Did it come down when you were hanging?Originally Posted by OutandBack
A lotta ins... lotta outs... lotta what-have-you's
WOW. I've camped in some stormy conditions before...mostly windy...one trick I found useful with a wedge type tent like below; (day set up)
is to angle the tarp so that instead of the wind catching on the flat side, the wind would "cut" through edgewise, on a hot summer day, this was very nice, as it provided breezes for me...in a rainy storm though, with your tarp's shape of set up, I would locate it so that the wind hits only the pointed ends, guy the edges down, rather like a boat...that way, the wind will only impact the small sides instead of the large sides.. if the wind is blowing only one way and not cyclic like some winds I've slept through.
(I've done similar with an USGI pup tent, it made for an interesting experience getting OUT of it lol)
I've actually aborted a couple trips due to high winds and falling trees. I was up at Bear Head Lake State Park one year hiking out to a backpack campsite and just barely missed getting struck by huge falling trees multiple times on the trail. Winds were 25mph - 35mph sustained with gusts up to 40mph or so. When I got to the campsite I noticed the majority of the trees were birch and very rotten. I was hearing trees snap and blow down all around the site for an hour or so and I decided I'd had enough. It leaves a very uneasy feeling and helplessness. I felt pretty relieved when I made it back to my car safely. Not a fun situation to be in for sure.
Lightning is the other storm camping scenario I really don't like. I was in a nasty lightning storm this past September about 2 miles from my car and I was pretty freaked at how close it was to me. I try to avoid going out when the weather forecast is bad but sometimes it's unavoidable. It was perfect weather on my hike out and about and hour after getting to camp the storm blew in and I was stuck. Fortunately it only lasted about an hour and blew on through.
Discretion is the better part of valor.
The road to success is always under construction.
http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/
as stated above, angling for smallest possible exposure to the wind helps. as does tying clear down to the ground and using closed ends- if the wind cannot get in, it can only operate on the outside of the tarp. Aso, regarding geometry of tie outs: for what it is worth, a 10/12 pitch angle is wind neutral. Lower/flatter results in lift (extreme flapping). Higher /steeper results in sideways pressure and stress on the tarp. Keeping pitch between 10/12 and 12/12 gives best compromise to reduce stress, flapping, side pressure, etc. so just eyeball a tad flatter than 45 degree pitch. This may impact chosen tarp size when high winds are expected.
Sorry you had wind issues, I don't have anything to add than what has already been stated, especially hanging your tarp lower to the ground. That all aside, I love your area, it is just beautiful!
The site I was in, was near forest hut.
http://loodusegakoos.ee/where-to-go/...udu-forest-hut
Swamp lake that shows in picture is made by storm winds in this area
Also lots of fallen trees over there.
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