What do you do when the ground is frozen?

**Stormstaff** · 03-07-2014, 05:50

This past weekend we took the scouts camping and there wasn't any snow to begin with but a frozen ground. I ended up with a couple of bent MSR Groundhog stakes for my trouble.

Suggestions for next time?

**Shewie** · 03-07-2014, 06:07

A pan of hot water to hand can help, just pour a bit on your pegging point and then push the stakes in, you'll probably need another pan when it comes to getting them out again.

**DuctTape** · 03-07-2014, 06:13

Place a forked stick on the ground with one branch sticking up like a tent peg. Then pour some water on the stick and wait for it to freeze to the ground. Tie off to the stick. Or do as shewie suggested but with a stick instead of a stake, that way you don't have to worry about removing it when you leave. #StakeFree

**Swehanger** · 03-07-2014, 06:51

I pound down my stainless steel nails with my axe

**12trysomething** · 03-07-2014, 06:51

Big difference between #stakefree and #freesteak

**Redpath** · 03-07-2014, 08:07

I ran into that problem. I was going to bury stakes in the snow, but there was only a couple of inches of powder. Under that was a solid sheet of thick ice. I had a bunch of big log segments that I moved over and tied off around, packed snow around them and they froze in place, worked great. Big rocks would work too.

**Bic** · 03-07-2014, 08:53

I've used long spikes/nails from the hardware store before. You can also tie off to logs or rocks....get creative out there

**Bannerstone** · 03-07-2014, 09:16

In really hard frozen ground, I use half length gutter spikes.

On one outing my friend actually broke a ti stake, the aluminum 1/2 spikes drove and held fine.

David

**Ratdog** · 03-07-2014, 09:16

landscaping nails
bricks

**QiWiz** · 03-07-2014, 11:57

I bring a single large tough steel nail/spike (or more expensively can bring stakes made from aluminum arrow shafts or carbon fiber shafts that can also take a pounding), and use it to make "pilot holes" for my light titanium stakes. This works well and is lighter than bringing a whole set of heavy tough stakes. I usually pound these in with a found or cut piece of hardwood, but you can use a hatchet if you bring one (I don't).