Sunday, December 04, 2011

OK, so it's not exactly Walden II ...

... which, btw, wasn't nearly as isolated and backwoodsy as some who haven't read their Thoreau might have you believe ...

But it's still getting more and more fun by the day.

The next two nights will not be the coldest I've spent in the tent.

They will, however, be the first that have accumulating snow in the forecast.

As per an update to my last post on the subject, I found a great thrift store deal on a Coleman® mummy bag. I haven't hit any hard cold with it yet; it's warm enough that last night I had to open it to cool down.

And the day after that, I found a $65 Duofold® "union suit" for a little over $5 ($6.97, but it was another thrift store's 25% off day). Picked up a nice stuff bag (which doubles as one of those sling packs, but that's not my use for it) for about $1.50 as well.

For additional north wind and precipitation protection, today I doubled what was left of the old tarp I cut a piece out of for a ground cloth, anchored it to the ground with landscape timbers on the north side of the tent, then ran a sectional pole from an old tent through the other end to "hoop" it over the top center of the tent, and anchored it with two lengths of rope staked out a bit to the south, like so:


Sort of an improvised lean-to wind-break. I'm not confident that it will hold up in heavy wind or under large quantities of frozen water, but I'll adapt it as necessary. I've also got one of those cheap foil "emergency blankets" that I can tack to the inner tent wall for additional insulation if necessary.

Oh, and I bought a cheap rubber "Welcome" mat for outside the door.

The interior is actually getting tidier. Across the north end are my mat, mummy bag, pillows and wool military blanket.

Next to that and to one side of the door, I've replaced my "milk crate bedside table" with a slightly larger waterproof storage box. Additional blankets are in stuff bags inside that, along with books, cold breakfast food, etc.

On the other side of the door, a small trash can and a mini-broom-and-dustpan for housekeeping. And in front of the door, a "welcome" mat sized rag rug.

Book, flashlight, etc. in the cargo loft net, lantern hanging from one cord.

Oh, and I just downloaded Walden to Ye Aulde Tablet. I think I'd like to re-read it out there.

I still haven't figured out where to put a 50" plasma TV in there. Since I don't have one anyway, I don't see that as a real problem.

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