Hey Folks,
One of the questions I received via email after I recently posted my backpacking gear list concerned the tarp I carry.
1 Integral Designs sylnylon 8′ x 10′ tarp and MSR Groundhog stakes- Today we carry a teepee style tent of some kind, whether it’s no longer available) GoLite Shangri Las 5 or something from Seek Outside.
Why, if I’m carrying a tent, do I also carry a tarp or cook tent? Good question.
Backpacking trips in bear country, and particularly grizzly bear country, means not eating inside a tent. Not ever.
It doesn’t matter whether we’re hiking in Gates of the Arctic National Park or backpacking in Denali National Park, We cook, eat, do dishes and store all food quite a distance from where our tents are; the standard distance is 100 yards, but that can vary with the circumstances, IMO. Safe to say that’s a good distance to maintain. The further the better.
When the weather’s bad, the tarp feels like a life saver. That tiny little shelter makes the world of difference when you get to camp. I can get changed out of any wet hiking gear, put on all my dry, warm layers (including some nice warm, dry socks!!! 🙂 ), to go cook and eat comfortably, warm and dry rather than wet and cold and rained on. It’s particularly nice in the morning, knowing I can get up from my tent and go make coffee under the tarp. I wouldn’t go backpacking without a tarp (or similar).
I find 2 hiking poles, or sometimes 4, works well to build a nice shelter to eat under. This is one of the reasons I like the full-size hiking poles, those that max up to 140cm. Many of the more compact lighterweight poles aren’t really long enough to do effective double duty under the tarp – they’re too short. Headroom matters!
So, given that we just use trekking poles to hold the tarp up, what extra stuff do I have to carry for this setup? Not too much. Check it out:
Integral Designs Siltarp 2, and at 14oz, it’s not a heavy additional load. I carry a small stuff sack with some MSR Groundhog stakes (Note, on their website, Cascade Designs/MSR only list the “kit”, but most retailers will stock individual stakes). Weighing 0.71ounces each, 8 of them come in at under 6 ounces.
I also have lengths of cord tied to each corner of the tarp, 2 points in the middle on the sides, and at least 2 points on the ‘back‘ of the tarp for additional tiedown options. I use Kelty Triptease Lightline. 50′ of cord weighs just one ounce. Just to give myself some flexibility with setting the tarp up, I use 100′.
So for a total of about 24oz, I have a shelter that can comfortably seat 5 people to cook, eat and rest under in inclement weather. It’s one of those little things that really makes a huge difference to a trip. Setting up to cook, eat, cleanup and wait around in the rain or snow without a tarp is a drag.
I also own and carry a smaller 5 ‘x 8’ tarp for solo trips, or trips with just a couple of people. Every little bit of weight we can shed from the pack helps make backpacking easier, so it’s worth it to shave a few more ounces when I can.
I’ll write a more detailed writeup later of the Integral Designs tarp. Suffice it to say for this post, it’s a great piece of gear.
Stay dry – bring a tarp.
Cheers
Carl
