hammock camp Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

3 Tarp Ridgelines: Tied, Toggled & Hardware

November 24, 2015 by Mike 1 Comment

3 Tarp Ridgelines: Tied, Toggled & Hardware

A ridgeline is a line connected between two points used to suspend a tarp. Ridgelines can be built into the tarp, and all you have to do is attach a line to either side of the tarps peak, via grommets or rings. Where as other tarps require a continuous ridgeline, where a single line is attached between two points or trees and then the tarp is connected, typically using two prusik knots. There are several methods to set this up so lets start with the most basic, tying it up.

Tied Ridgeline

We begin by tying a bowline hitch, feed the working end around an object then form a loop on the standing part of the line with the working part on top, and then feed the working end underneath and through the loop, then wrap it under and around the standing part and then back through the loop again. I tuck a bight instead of feeding the line completely through making it easy to untie later.

On the opposing point we are going to tie a Truckers Hitch. First I wrap the working end around a tree and then form a loop in the standing part of the line by feeding in a bight from the working part, now then feed the rest of your working line through the loop, creating a 3 to 1 pulley and then finish it off with a slippery half hitch.

To finish this off we are going to add two Prusik Knots. Cut two pieces of line about 8″ long and create a loop, then wrap the two strands 2 or 3 times inside of itself and pull down on the inner strands, while making sure everything stays neat. Then attach the strands to your tarp using a simple overhand knot. To adjust this knot alone the ridgeline, grab it by the knot and slide.

As a bonus tip, if your tarp has torn out or is missing a grommet or tie-out, you can quickly remedy it with a non-jagged creek or river stone. Simply tuck the stone into the part of the tarp where you want to attach a line, and wrap a loop or prusik knot around the stone and attach it to your ridgeline.

Toggled Ridgeline

Now we are going to cover toggles. I start this one out with a figure of eight loop, but any non-slip loop knot will work fine. Feed the line around the tree and then feed a bight from the standing part of the line into the loop and add a toggle or a strong twig between the two, pull tight and lock it into place. On the opposite side you can get creative with a toggle setup but a truckers hitch works just as well.

Again we are going to add two prusik knots but this time we are going to add toggles to each prusik using a girth hitch, which is like a prusik but you’re only making one loop and then attaching the toggle. For this to work you’ll need loops at either end of your tarp, I use soft shackles which are basically rope carabiners. Feed the toggles through your tarp’s loops and slide the prusik to add tension to your tarps ridgeline. The nice thing about this setup is taking it down is as simple as pulling the toggles out of the knots.

Hardware Ridgeline

Finally, let’s finish this off with hardware. The point of using hardware is to provide quick attachment or detachment, improve adjustability and to reduce the friction caused by knots. Hardware such as carabiners or Dutch Hooks can replace anchoring knots like the bowline hitch or they can be used on prusik knots to quickly attach or detach your tarp. Products like the Nite Ize Figure 9 or DutchGear like his Tarp Fllz or Wasp can be placed anywhere on the ridgeline and used to replace a trucker’s hitch. There’s a few different products on the market to choose from, but you may want to avoid products that are overly complicated, heavy or have sharp edges. You can get Dutchware from his website www.dutchwaregear.com.

Hammock Consideration

For those of you who are hammock campers, you may want to consider leaving a gap at either end of your tarps ridgeline. This is because your hammock is usually set up higher then the ridgeline and this will allow your hammock straps to hang in-between the ends of your ridgeline, reducing any stress added to either line. But it is not completely necessary.

One way of doing this comes from, Derek Hansen from theultimatehang.com. On one end, attach a carabiner to a fixed loop knot and then clip it to both the line and the peak of your tarp. On the opposite side attach a prussic knot to the working part of the line and a carabiner to the prusik, then clip it in the same way as before, adjust the line to where you want it, and then add tension to the line by pulling the excess slack through the prusik.

5 Knots You Need to Know

November 7, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

The 5 Knots You Need to Know

The five knots we are going to cover are: the bowline hitch, the marlin spike hitch with a truckers hitch variation, a half hitch, a prusik knot and a figure of eight loop.

Bowline Hitch

Let’s start with the bowline hitch, which is used by bowyers to tie loops onto bowstrings and it’s been used by many others as an anchoring point for ridge-lines. The knot is simple to tie; form a loop with the working part on top, then feed the working end around an object then underneath and through the loop, now wrap it under and around the standing part and back through the loop, I tuck a bight instead of feeding the line completely through making it quick and easy to untie this hitch later.

Marlin Spike & Truckers Hitch

The next knot is a marlin spike hitch, simplicity at it’s finest. To tie, basically form a loop and feed in a bight of the line next to it, then tighten. If the line is already attached to an object and you use the standing part of the line as the bight in this hitch, you can lock items into place such as tent stakes that can be used to pull out tent or tarp guy-lines. But, if you use the working part of the line, tightening it up, but still leaving a loop, you can feed the rest of your working line around an object, then through the loop and now you have created a 3 to 1 pulley known as a truckers hitch, great for tightening the slack in any line.

Half Hitch

To finish off this truckers hitch and many other hitches, I use a either a half hitch, or two half hitches. The purpose of this hitch is to lock other hitches into place. To tie you simply tie an overhand knot and then tighten it into place at the base of whatever hitch it originated from. Like the bowline hitch I tuck a bight instead so that I can easily untie this knot later. Occasionally I’ll add another hitch for a little extra security.

Prusik Knot

Sometimes you need a knot that is completely adjustable. Something that will slide along another line and lock into place where ever you need it. That is where the prusik knot comes in handy. Tying this knot is easy; cut a piece of line about 8” long, tie it into a loop using a double or triple fisherman’s knot or just do a simple overhand knot, then wrap the line 2 or 3 times inside of itself and pull down on the inner looping part while making sure everything stays neat. This knot works best if the line used to make the prusik is thinner in diameter than the line you’re attaching it to, but i’ve used the same line before with minimum slippage. To adjust the line, grab it by the knot and slide, pull tight and lock whatever you need into place.

Figure of Eight Loop

Finally the Figure of Eight Loop, a climber’s favorite and one of the strongest knots out there. It’s perfect for when you need a strong, non-slip, loop at the end of a line. There are two ways we can tie this. The first is by doubling the line into an extended bight, then form a loop, and twist the bight behind and around the standing part then over and through the loop. Before completing this knot it should look like the number eight. The other way to tie this knot is to tie a normal, figure of eight knot, then wrap the excess working end around an object and retrace the path of the knot. I’ve found this knot handy for a lot of uses and I’m sure you can to.

Now that I have covered these five knots there is one last thing you should know. Excluding the Figure of eight loop, all of the other knots are simple to untie.

Keep Your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Tying a Dutch Hook into a Brummel Eye Splice

October 30, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

A Dutch Hook is a small, titanium, hook designed to be attached to either; the end of your ridge-line or a Prusik knot, making for a quick setup of your tarp. They weigh only .4 grams and can be tied or spliced onto 1.75 mm Zing-it or Lash-it line. All you have to do is wrap the line around a tree and clip the hook into place. You can get these great quality Dutch Hooks from DutchWare Gear.

To set this up, first we are going to need some materials: I am using a single braid, 1.75 mm, Lash-it line, a Dutch Hook, some very thin jewelry wire stolen from my wife, and a multitool with pliers.

Let’s begin by feeding the working end of the line through the eye hole of the Dutch Hook, and decide how big of a loop you want, but leave 2-3” of line beyond the point where you want base of the loop to be, for a stronger splice.

Now push the Lash-it line together, like a Chinese finger trap, on the standing portion of the line where you want the loop to be, and feed the loop of the wire, created by folding it in half, through the hole and place the working end of the line into the metal loop, then pull it back through the hole, and readjust the loop to where you want it to be.

Next we are going to do the same thing to the working end. Push the line of the working end together, just below your first pass on the standing part, and feed the wire through to the opposite side, grab onto the standing end and pull the entire standing part through the line. These two passes through the standing part of the line is called a Marlin splice.

Now we are going to finish this off by tucking the excess working end into the standing part of the line for a stronger splice that looks clean. Stretch the lines out, parallel to each other, and find a point 1/4” to 1/2” beyond the end of the working end, on the standing part of the line. At this point, squeeze the line together like you have before but this time feed the wire through the inside part of the hollow braided line towards the loop, coming out just below the point of your second pass. Grab the excess working line and pull it back through. I found it to be easier if I keep the line of the standing part scrunched up while I pushed the wire through and pulled the working end back, tucking it into place.

Finally, starting at the base of the loop, I used my fingers to work the line and stretch it out, covering the working end and completing the splice.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Earthworms

August 21, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Earthworms, Lubricous terrestris, a fisherman’s favorite. This little creepy crawly has been used around the world as a food source and medicine. You can eat it raw but it is suggested to prepare them first by purging then boiling. Medicinally, it has been used for a large variety of ailment. Currently it is being studied as a treatment to dissolve blood clots, boost the immune system and prevent cancer.

Recipes:

DEEP FRIED EARTHWORMS by Green Deane, Eat the Weeds

Chop a sweet apple fine then put in with worms for a day. Chill worms. Roll in flour with paprika, salt and pepper. Deep fry until crisp.

EARTHWORM SAUTE by Christopher Nyerges, Urban Wilderness: A Guidebook to Resourceful City Living, 1979

1 cup earthworms

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup water

1 bouillon cube

1 cup yogurt or sour cream

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup mushrooms

Flour for coating

Wash earthworms thoroughly and place in boiling water for three minutes. Pour off water and repeat the boiling process twice. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Roll the worms in flour, brown in butter, add salt to taste. Add bouillon and simmer for 30 minutes. Saute onions and mushrooms in butter. Add onions and mushrooms to the worms. Stir in sour cream or yogurt. Serve over rice or noodles.

EARTHWORM PATTIES (By Matthew Stewart, The Incredible Edible Wild)

1 1/2 lbs. ground earthworms (Place live worms in damp cornmeal for 24 hours to purify, boil for 10 minutes, then grind. Yes, they are used wet)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated

11/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup sour cream

Combine earthworms, melted butter, lemon rind, salt, and pepper. Stir in soda water. Shape into patties and dip in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in heated butter and cook for 10 minutes, turning once. Place patties on hot serving dish. Serve with heated sour cream on top.

Here is a recipe from cooks.com for the kids, NO REAL EARTHWORMS, I promise!

DIRT PIE

1 large bag oreo cookies
1 c. 10x sugar
1/2 stick softened butter
1 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese
2 boxes instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 c. milk
1 (12 oz.) container cool whip

Chop Oreo cookies in food processor until cookies look like dirt.

Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.

Blend pudding, milk and Cool Whip together.

Combine pudding and cream cheese mixture together until lumps are smooth.

In 9 X 13 pan, layer cookie mixture then pudding mixture, leaving enough cookie mixture for the top. Decorate with gummy worms on top.

Submitted by: Rita

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Earthworms Sources:

Another Health Blog. Earthworm as A Great Natural Medicine. Web

Cooper, Edwin, Ph.D., Sc.D., Lumbrokinase Has Anti-Platelet, Anti-Thrombotic Activity, an Oxford University Press journal

Deane, Green. Earthworms. Eat the Weeds. Web

National Geographic, Common Earthworm. Web

Olson, Miles. 11 Edible Insects and How to Eat Them. Mother Earth News. Web. May 30, 2013

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Earthworm.Web

DIY: Thera-Band Tarp Tensioner

August 11, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Today, we are going to learn how to make a very heavy duty tarp tensioner for high winds or for that droopy silnylon tarp.

You may be asking yourself, what is a tarp tensioner and why would you need one? Good question! A tarp tensioner is basically a piece of rubber or elastic attached to your tarp or tent’s guy lines that allows tension to be taken off of your grommets during high winds or tension to be added when silnylon tarps begin to sag due to water exposure.

So far comparing this tensioner to my old shock cord ones, I can safely say I see a lot of promise in this new up comer. The elasticity of the Thera-Bands can definitely take a beating and offer twice the workforce. The real test comes this fall and winter when we add freezing rain and wind into the mix. I’ve heard that it may freeze to its stretched out length but hey at least I’ll still have a guy line.

Here is the materials you are going to need:

Thera-Band (this is the same elastic band you can get for workouts)
Guy Line Cordage (something thin and strong, sorry paracord is too thick!)
Cordage for whipping the ends of the tensioner.
Scissors
Marker
Ruler
Hammer and nails
A strong clamp
Pliers or a multitool.
Tough fingers after doing ten of these I started to feel it.

Basically you decide how big of a tensioner you’ll need. If I would decide to do it again I might make it six inches. The length of the finished band is 7.5,” the tensioner completely stretched out is 19″ with 2″ loops on either side and 15″ from knot to knot. Now the purpose of this device is to stretch so I made the inner static line twice the length as the elastic outer tubing, that is from knot to knot. The inner line is still used as a guy line and needs to be pulled taut. From there you are basically lashing the elastic tubes to the outer sides of the knots with a simple rope whipping or zip ties, but I did’t like the look of the zip ties and worried it would eventually lead to failure of the device. Once that has been done the tubing needs to be rolled back over itself. I believe this makes the tensioner look nice but also reinforces the lashed ends.

Well the only other thing I could think of to help you is a step by step instructional video on how to make one of these doohickies. Get creative and let me know what you think of this newish tarp tensioner. Also send in some tips as to things you want to see pertaining to camping, preparedness or wilderness living. Together we can learn a lot!

Keep you eyes and ears open, and your powder dry!

Double Fisherman’s Knot

April 15, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Double Fisherman’s Knot

Double Fisherman’s Knot is an essential knot to know for camping, climbing, fishing and for general purposes. I use this quite often to attach two lines together for those times when I’m just short of line. It’s easy to tie: Basically tie a double overhand knot with each line to the opposite line. Pull the lines apart and the two knots lock to each other.

Check out the video below for a step by step instructional on how to tie a double fisherman’s knot.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Overhand Bend

April 1, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Overhand Bend

The overhand bend is another quick fix to attaching two different lines. It has been used on everything from heavy cables to fishing line. To tie this knot we are going to tie a simple overhand knot in one line. Next, we follow the lead of the first line with the second line, retracing the line in the opposite direction.

Below is a step by step instructional video explaining how to tie an overhand bend.