So, I scavenged about 120ft of 1/2inch mule tape after a wiring project where I work. Would it work as bear rope for a full crew at Philmont, I wondered??? … certainly weighs less than suitable nylon rope!
I anticipated that we'd normally be hanging the food over permanently installed cables … somewhat abrasive. So I rigged a setup that hung a carabiner from a length of muletape plus a 10 ft long nylon rope "leader" on the end that hung over the cable. Another caribiner and more muletape hang from the first biner in a block&tackle arrangement .. 2:1 mechanical advantage.
What I didn't know was the "Philmont way" is to use two ropes over the cable, each tied off to its own tree … not enough mule tape to do that.
On the first day, it was clear that my concerns about pulling mule tape over a cable under load were well founded …. lots of abrasion.
Fortunately, a previous crew had managed to get a rope tangled on the cable at that first campsite, providing our scouts with a team building game (salvage that rope without climbing trees) and also providing us with enough extra rope to "be legal" without risk of wearing out our mule tape.
