tarps and wind

[shannon stoney]

my partner and I recently camped in the Chisos Basin mountains of Big Bend National Park. It was very windy up there, and the wind whistled through our tarp, even though the windward side was pinned down. We made a Ray way tarp, and it has beaks at both ends. I could have pinned the foot beak down too, I suppose. Would this have helped? The wind came up during the night, so I didn’t do a lot to change the pitch. I am also thinking we should have defied the park service and camped at a slightly lower elevation, rather than in the designated area.

[Channing Sze]

how high did you pitch the tarp?

i guess the designated spot was exposed? nothing around to break the wind?

[Peter McDonough]

Pitch the tarp with one beak all the way to the ground pointing directly into the wind. This creates a tensioned wedge that offers much less profile than the side of the tarp does.

[shannon stoney]

Great idea. I'll try that next time. The site was pretty exposed, although I didn't realize it when we first got there. It didn't seem that high up above the "basin" campground: about 400 feet. The basin is rarely windy because it's in, well, a basin, I guess.

[Frank Deland]

Good question, Elizabeth. One still summer evening I pitched my beakless tarp olnly to be awakened in the night with the wind pouring in the front end. Rather than flutz around in the dark, I just turned around, sleeping with my head towarde the low end. This was not a good solution. My tarps now have beaks which means you can get a good low pitch, especially if you have the low end facing into the wind. Also, I use a square tarp that I built to go over a hammock, but I alos added tie-outs half way up the edges. In the photo, note that those halfway points are staked to the ground, keeping the end of the tarp that was facing the wind low to the ground. My daughter and I spent a comfortable night greeted by an October frost in the AM.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1198228962045831896KXVCDT

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