My back packing tarp is a 9x11 Little Shop of Hammocks Sil Poly Tarp. My Canoe Tarp is a 10x12 Cooke Custom Sewing Sil Nylon tarp. Rest in Peace Dan Cooke. I use Lawson Bear line for ridge lines and Lawson Glow Wire for guy outs.

In that Otter Creek trip report I was being a bit of a smart ass (I'm known for that). Smedleyco put that tarp up. I was just taking credit. It was a good one! Still, I do like ropes and tarps. I briefly had the nickname rope because i have got my knots pretty much figured out.

I love Wintertrekkers Tarpology and I emulate some of his tips. If you watch Glens video in Shawn's post above, that will tell you most of what you need to know about setting up a tarp anywhere. Another good tarp tip, use a pole! A well placed pole in the middle or end of a tarp will help keep you dry and allow a tarp to drain properly.

Also my single bag bear hang is called a PCT hang. Google it, there's a million videos.

Last edited by MartinG (11/21/2024 7:14 pm)

Another issue I run into when setting up my tarp is that whenever I tension the guy lines on the corners, the ridgeline tends to drop by 2–3 feet from its original height, no matter how tight I make the ridgeline or what type of rope I use.

I suspect this might be due to the ridgeline’s length—sometimes it needs to stretch 40–50 feet between trees, depending on the site. However, long spans are often unavoidable in many setups.

Does anyone have tips or techniques to reduce this sagging issue? Is it purely a matter of the ridgeline's material or setup, or are there tricks for better anchoring and tensioning? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 

Well, not always, but I rarely use ridge lines.  Suspend by the corners and with a single line attached to the centre point of the tarp and attached that to a "sky hook" above.

MartinG wrote:

I wouldn't say that's a similar bear hang. The distinguishing feature of a PCT hang is the rope holding the bag up is not tied off to anything. The bag isn't held up under tension. It's not tied to a tree where a bear could chew through the rope, or a knot could be worked loose. The bag is resting on a stick (or tent peg, or some other dowel) that's held in the air by a Clove Hitch. Other than a bear breaking the branch, there's no way anything without a thumb could bring it down.

I was mistaken - I use a modified version of the hang suggested in the LNT booklet and mistakenly read your post as that. I was not aware of the PCT hang until I watched a video last night. What a great method! I guess it doesn't solve the issue where you can't find a suitable branch that extends far enough from a tree trunk. The only time I couldn't find a suitable branch in Algonquin was on Cork Lake a couple years ago.

Bampot wrote:

This looks like a pretty good pitch to me! You are right, over long spans ridge lines will sag. Even if you are using a static line and truckers hitches they will still deflect when you tension the guy lines. The way to counter this is to mount the ridge higher. Use a sky hook like Bob suggests. Or use a pole. 

I pretty much always use some form of ridge line. Not because it is always the right pitch. I do it because it's easiest for me to deploy and pack up. My lines are always connected to the tarp. Ridge line connected with Prusiks. Corner and side guys with Girth hitches. The ends of the ridge line can come out of the bag. while the tarp is still inside. Siberian hitch to one tree. Truckers hitch to another. Tarp slides out of the bag without touching the ground. Same for packing up. Tarp rarely touches the ground.

MartinG wrote:

This looks like a pretty good pitch to me! You are right, over long spans ridge lines will sag. Even if you are using a static line and truckers hitches they will still deflect when you tension the guy lines. The way to counter this is to mount the ridge higher. Use a sky hook like Bob suggests. Or use a pole. 

I pretty much always use some form of ridge line. Not because it is always the right pitch. I do it because it's easiest for me to deploy and pack up. My lines are always connected to the tarp. Ridge line connected with Prusiks. Corner and side guys with Girth hitches. The ends of the ridge line can come out of the bag. while the tarp is still inside. Siberian hitch to one tree. Truckers hitch to another. Tarp slides out of the bag without touching the ground. Same for packing up. Tarp rarely touches the ground.

Thanks for the additional tips. I also have the tarp connected to the ridgeline with prusik loops. However, I suspect it is taking me 2-3x longer to set up my tarp right now than it should by having to reconnect it to the ridgeline and deal with tangled guy lines each time. You have convinced me to get a ridgeline stuff sack. I have also ordered some of the Lawson ropes you suggested for my ridge line, guy lines, and food bag hang.