The Hilleberg House Project

[Max Dilthey]

Marc;

TONS of valuable information and enthralling photos. Thank you. I'll be reading this for days.

[Kenda Willey]

Max, my first reaction to your idea of living in a 1P tent was: No, don't do it! But you've already done it and I never have, so you know more about it than I do.
I've had an Unna for several years, and use it year-round. It stands up to wind, rain and snow. However, I think the vestibule created by unhooking a corner of the inner tent is unsatisfactory: it makes the tent floor sloppy and loose. I've rarely used that method, but I think that over time, it'll damage the floor. Otherwise, the tent's good and long, easy to set up, and downright cozy in cold weather.
Have you considered the tents with huge vestibules–huge enough to store your bicycle? There's the Wyoming Trail (from Big Agnes, I think), and Nemo has tents with gear sheds. My other Hillie is a Stalon Kombi–you can fit three bicycles in that vestibule, but it's huge, a real beast, and I can't recommend it. Hilleberg quickly ceased production, so you probably couldn't find it even if you looked.

[Anonymous]

"TONS of valuable information and enthralling photos."

While i generally agree, it's not as applicable to your situation in some respects. The Highlands are a different beast than what you will be experiencing, there are very few trees, it's often extremely windy and often wet, and the temps don't tend to dip as low as certain parts of the northeast, but because of the near constant wind and wetness can be more challenging when outside of ones shelter.

For a more specific example, where you are, a hot tent set up would be awesome. In the Highlands, not near as much stuff to burn, though there is peat.

[Susan D]

You wrote: “I cannot think of a good reason not to do this. GO!”

I don’t want to be a Negative Nellie, but… (Hint: I’m going to.)

Your plan strongly appeals to my ideals and sense of adventure, and I want to say “Go for it!” However, when I think of the practicalities, the allure lessens.

How much work is expected/required for your master’s? My first year in grad school entailed an average of 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week. Some people put in more than this. Those who spent less got the boot at the end of the year. Everyone in the program could probably have echoed your statement of being “in my element in academia”. I’d be a little cautious of equating an undergraduate Honor’s class with a graduate program. You might be right, but most people I know had to step it up a bit in grad school, no matter how easy previous classes and degrees had seemed.

You don’t appear to have built much study time in your plan (afternoons in coffee shops and the library, where you’ll also find time to do your writing work). If it is freezing in your tent, you probably won’t be able to work and study there very effectively (although it doesn’t sound like you plan to). What happens if you are dog-tired and need a rest before getting back to the books? You doze off in the library? Grab some shut-eye in the coffee shop? Not having your own “place” might take its toll eventually. What about food? With no kitchen, you could end up dumping a fair chunk of change in coffee shops and restaurants. One $3 coffee every day for a month is $90. Meals will be more, obviously. Or do you plan to primarily live off veggies, nuts, and granola in the tent? That might get old after a while.

I think the issue isn’t so much whether or not you can live in a tent, but whether or not you can live in a tent and still have enough energy and enthusiasm to succeed in what might prove to be a challenging master’s program. You say you’ve worked and lived in a tent before. I think that would be considerably easier than “doing” grad school and living in a tent. Depending on the demands of the program, grad school can take a significant investment of mental concentration, hard work, and time. By spending a fair amount of energy and time dealing with setting up, taking down, and hauling around your home every day, you might end up short-changing your studies, even if you do have some bad weather options in town.

+1 to the van/RV/car suggestions. For a year in grad school, I spent a couple nights a week in a VW van parked on campus to cut down on the 2-3 hr. round-trip drives to school. It would have been possible to do this nightly, as the van had lighting, privacy (curtained windows), a table with room to work, and ample places to store things like books and clothes. It was in California, and I didn’t have to worry about freezing temps, either. I also spent a semester sleeping in my office in a sleeping bag on the floor for one full month and then two or three nights a week before I got the van. I pretty much pushed the outer edges of my “living” limits while still meeting the demands of grad school. I don’t think I could have accomplished nearly as much or nearly as well had I lived in a tent. And I, like you, enjoy tent life – I spent over sixty almost-consecutive nights in a tent just two years ago. I just couldn’t have effectively worked on graduate-level studies while doing so…

Just my two cents. You could well thrive carrying out your plan.

[Max Dilthey]

Hard to decide how to proceed here. It's tough because I am missing a lot of crucial information.

I'm going to plan on splitting a studio apartment with my brother, and if I do have the opportunity to leave and set up a tent every night for a month, I won't pay rent that month. Sam will dig the extra space anyways.

We'll see how it pans out. I definitely don't want to shortchange my studies. If it is just a matter of 30 minutes of commuting and 30 minutes of setup/takedown a day for this plan to work, that's not much time. That's manageable.

My diet can include things like pre-repared pasta salad, hummus and veggie wraps, sandwiches of all kinds, 3-bean salads, soups and stews, etc. I think eating is a reasonable challenge here.

The library would be an ideal work environment, even for 5 hours a day or more.

But, still, my confidence is waning slightly from the beginning of this conversation (which is perhaps exactly what I need). I am going to tread carefully and practice in August and put a toe in before I commit fully.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

> You might be right, but most people I know had to step it up a bit in grad school, no matter how easy previous classes and degrees had seemed.

Susan, so true! Sorry for the OT post, I'll keep it short. It was only when I entered a truly competitive grad school (several hundred applications for 3 accepted) I started wondering if I was in fact a dullard. When your competition is notching two and three standard deviations above the mean IQ, and is highly motivated…wow, you really have to pedal to keep up. And there is an immutable pecking order that develops. Caught me by surprise. The first year was incredibly intense–type 2 and type 3 fun. I was shocked to find myself in the middle of the cohort, performance wise. Never been there before.

Of course, rigor in academic programs is highly variable, and even that is an understatement. So YMMV by a considerable amount. This is why I recommended you try your experiment your second semester, or second year. Make the best impression you can your first semester, because it will stick. In grad school you'll want to be known as "Max Dilthey, awesome intellect," not "Max Filthy, guy living in a tent down by the river." As you gain rank and stature in the program, your degrees of freedom multiply, and you can do as you like. If/when you become a tenured professor, then there are virtually no rules at all.

[Anonymous]

I was going to say Max, after reading Susan's reply and mulling it over some, i tend to agree with her. I have no experience base as far as graduate school though.

There is that old saying with much wisdom, learn how to pick your fights. This might not be a challenging fight you want to pick.

However, if you do go the tent route, i HIGHLY suggest the combo silnylon Mid/reflective cuben liner/small wood stove. Problem with that is, if you're on public lands, likely to get you in more trouble. Would increase take down and set up time some too, maybe 10 to 20 minutes if your hands aren't too cold and numb, possibly much longer if they are. (then add some time to forage wood, etc).

(But then again, i'm leaning to thinking that most American's are going to be living out of tents in the relative near future, but that's just crazy me talking ;) Might as well have some holistic preparation at least, though.)

[Ian]

"…about $12,000 for a 1-year program."

If it is a one year program, then it is safe to say that you are in for one hell of a ride. My wife's M.Ed. in counseling was spread out over two years and school still ended up being her full time job. I think you can do it but I also think you'd be better off staying in an apartment or RV for the first semester until you figure out your new routine.

[Woubeir (from Europe)]

Just a few comments (I haven't read all the posts so maybe some or all have already being made):

having seen a couple doing that for SEVERAL years, I know this: get something spaceous. Perhaps you now think that you don't need it or even want it, but a year is long and perhaps you start to wish at some point that you had something bigger.

Don't underestimate the cold. 30 or even 60 days seems plenty, but it is not necessarilly and it can be cold for an unexspectedly long time.

[Max Dilthey]

Yea, I'm leaning towards agreeing with Susan as well. No harm in waiting for second semester.

I am planning on doing the program in one year, but I have a meeting with the department head this month, so even THAT might change. From what I understand, it's a useful and fulfilling program, but NOT competitive nor especially rigorous. Environmental Studies programs don't have a reputation for being so.

[Kenda Willey]

Try it while the weather's still good (this in reaction to your "I'll wait till 2nd semester"). As you say, you've got your library, your friends…And if it doesn't work out, you can always sell the tent on gear swap. Or, if you get cabin fever in your little 1P shelter, you can upgrade.

[Max Dilthey]

Kenda, good point. I was counting on that. Though, part of me suspects that once you go Hilleberg, you never go back… I also dream of all the wicked winter camping trips I could do with a Hilly up in VT/NH…

[Dale Wambaugh]

I had a room mate who lived in a geodesic dome made with 2×4's and Visqueen. It was in a pasture next to a house rented by other students. He had a long extension cord from the house for lighting, etc. You might be able to make a similar arrangement with other students or someone who has unused pasture. With that sort of arrangement, you could get a big cheap Coleman tent and have enough room for a chair and to stand up.

A hammock would make a good nomadic shelter.

I bought a cheap camping trailer and parked it on my parents property for a year while going to school and then sold it for a profit.

Check out the athletic services that come with your ASB for shower options. I know folk who live-aboard on boats who get a cheap gym membership for the showers.

You might find a house-sitting arrangement if there are vacation homes in the area, or with "snowbirds" who head south for the winter. There are pet-sitting outfits who will actually PAY you to stay at someone's house to take care of their pets and watch the house. That might give you some weekend/holiday shelter.

You need a girlfriend :)

[David Chenault]

Max, I'll put in my vote as aligning with Susans.

I'm one of those folks who would have and still would say I do well in an academic environment. I went to a rather rigorous undergrad school, and found grad school quite challenging, which is as it should be. I think the tent idea runs a high risk of short-changing your investment, especially during a northeastern winter.

[Valerie E]

I think Dale W. had a couple of the BEST ideas:

House sitting; and/or pet sitting.

Imagine this:

1. You will be helping people who don't want to leave their house unattended;
2. You will be helping pets to live a happier life;
3. You will be living in some interesting, nice places (if you wanted, you could target the ultra-rich, and live only in mansions — although, in my experience, the middle-class folks pay the most for these services);
4. You will have lots of quiet time for studying;
5. You may even have access to a motor vehicle (should you need it for something); and
6. If you market your services successfully, you could actually finish grad school at a net profit!!!

Talk about "win-win"…

[Kenda Willey]

Valerie and Dale, you have excellent suggestions for squeezing through on a grad-school budget. In fact, petsitting was one of the options I considered, back in my grad-school days–turns out I didn't need it. However, I think Max WANTS to live in a tent.

BTW Max, you may be right about never going back once you've experienced a Hillie. I myself am a staunch Hilleberg fan. After camping only in Hillies for many years, I got a BA Flycreek 3 (for 2 of us) last year, cuz I wanted something lighter. It felt so flimsy compared to a Hillie! Still feels flimsy, but I've gotten used to it, though the Flycreek's absolutely **** in the rain (lucky it never rains here). I still prefer to use my Unna–either fly and inner, or just the fly as the nights warm up. As a bicycle packer, UL isn't that important, right? At least not for me–I even went bicycle camping with the Stalon!

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