{"id":3589,"date":"2010-04-28T15:45:17","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T22:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/?p=3589"},"modified":"2013-11-27T10:38:28","modified_gmt":"2013-11-27T17:38:28","slug":"the-a-frame-tarp-shelter-simple-lightweight-and-effective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/the-a-frame-tarp-shelter-simple-lightweight-and-effective\/","title":{"rendered":"The A-Frame Tarp Shelter: Simple, Lightweight and Effective"},"content":{"rendered":"
by Leon Pantenburg<\/a><\/div>\n

It was a bad time for the weather to get really nasty. The angry, black clouds threatened snow and boiled over the nearby mountains\u00a0as they\u00a0headed toward us. My brother Mike and I were on an elk hunt, and had backpacked miles back from any road into Idaho\u2019s Clearwater National Forest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> This emergency tarp shelter is quick to set up and the components are easily-carried. In an emergency, you will probably not have the time and necessary skills to make a waterproof shelter out of native materials.<\/div>\n

Because we had to go light, our only shelter was two blue plastic tarps. We looked around quickly, tied a line between two trees that were about 15 feet apart, and quickly set the 10-by-12-foot across it in an A-Frame fashion. We set the tarp so the uphill tree\u2019s dripline would hit it about two feet downhill. We anchored the edges and corners with rocks.<\/p>\n

The other tarp was placed inside as a ground cover. The uphill edges were raised with rocks, so water would flow around the sleeping bags, backpacks and rifles that were stacked on it.<\/p>\n

TV survival shows to the contrary, \u00a0it is virtually impossible to make a waterproof shelter out of natural materials, even if you have the time, tools and practice! Even with a tarp, you must have some idea or plan\u00a0on how to\u00a0fashion a\u00a0refuge from the elements.Eureka Tetragon 5 Adventure 7-Foot by 5-Foot Two-Person Tent<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Setting up\u00a0our tarp shelter took less than five minutes, and then the wind and rain hit. For the next 15 hours, as the rain fell steadily, we slept, snoozed and talked. There was no interior condensation problem, and we could cook without danger of asphyxiation. Neither of us got wet or cold at all, and I doubt a tent could have served us as well.<\/p>\n

I hiked the\u00a0more than 200\u00a0miles of the John Muir Trail; two weeks and 100 or so miles through the Yellowstone backcountry, and completed several shorter mountain trips with only a tarp as my shelter. On these trips, my choice of shelter\u00a0was made deliberately to lighten my backpack.<\/p>\n

If you decide to go tarp camping, and use the A-Frame style, here\u2019s what you need to take along:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> A tarp, 50 feet of parachute cord or light rope and four aluminum tent stakes are the basis of a quick shelter.<\/div>\n