Thoughts on the Trail: Tarp Practice for the JMT

Tarp in a modified A-frame in Los Padres National Forest, San Rafael Wilderness

I spent a few hours on Saturday practicing setting up my tarp and trying out some different configurations. I've collected some of these on a Pinterest board. In this post I'll show a few options that I was exploring

As part of my evolution to more lightweight backpacking, over the last 3 year I've gone from a conventional double-walled tent (at a couple ounces more than 4 lbs)

Mountain Hardware Solitude tent in Los Padres NF - San Rafael Wilderness

To a single-walled tent (a Henry Shires' Tarptent Rainbow) at just shy of 2 lb.

Tarptent Rainbow at Upper Graveyard Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness

To a square flat tarp, weighing in at 15 oz., including guylines

Borah Gear 9x9 ft silnylon tarp (custom guyouts) at Thousand Island Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness

I decided on a square 9 ft X 9 ft silnylon tarp after doing research on Backpackinglight.com and a number of other lightweight backpacking sites. There are lighter (and more expensive) options, but this was a relatively inexpensive way to try it out. I had to consider the possibility that I would feel insecure without being enclosed safely behind a tent wall and mesh. Also, the simplicity, flexibility, and openness that were possible with a square, flat tarp appealed to me

I ordered the tarp from Borah Gear, and added additional tieouts interior to the panel, and two small loops to enable me to tie my bivy sack netting up and out of my face. The tieouts conform to those suggested by Ryan Jordan's excellent article on tarp camping (Tarp Camping Techniques for Inclement Conditions). You need a subscription to Backpackinglight.com to read the article but if you have any interest in backpacking techniques and gear, the yearly subscription is well worth the cost.

One of the fundamental pitches the tarp camper needs in his or her repertoire is a stormworthy pitch. I like Ryan's suggestion, which looks like this:

A few things to note: The tarp should be pitched such that the ridgeline of the tarp parallels the wind direction, with the low end windward of the entrance. The back corners and back center tieouts are staked low to the ground to help shed wind and minimize the dynamic load on the tarp. The panel tieouts are used in combination with one trekking pole to create more usable space within the interior and add to the overall stability.

The front corners and center of the entrance are configure to create an entrance with the desired height. In higher wind / heavier rain situations, the trekking pole can be lowered and the corners moved outward to create as low a profile as possible. The side tieouts can be used (or not) depending on whether they are needed to stabilize the tarp. Jordan recommends at least 14 stakes - I carry 9 Ruta Locura CF stakes (6 inches) and 6 Ti shepherds hook skewers. That allows me to stake out the front and back guylines with 2 stakes each (for extra holding power), all four corners, the back center tieout, and all six mid-edge tieouts along the two sides. The total weight of those stakes is about 100g (about 3.5 oz).

The next pitch is an A-frame. This one is great for conditions in which wind is not a significant concern.

For headroom, living space, or gear space, this is a great configuration. It's also simple to set up and doesn't require as large a site as some other configurations. With the 9 foot length, there's more than enough room for me to keep both my feet and my head dry (I'm 6' 1" tall, and plenty of single person backpacking tents by mainstream manufacturers simply do not give me enough room to sit up or straighten my legs without touching the tent walls). Although I have not had to do so yet, I can easily envision setting up my alcohol stove and boiling water for my dinner inside the tarp while it rains outside.

As I've practiced this pitch, I've gotten better at aligning the corners and the ridgeline to have a taut pitch that minimizes the flapping when a breeze blows.

I'll show two more pitches below that simply illustrate some of the flexibility available. Not sure I'd use the second one, but with the right weather conditions, the first would make for a nice view from my sleeping bag.