Lean-to with peak Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

Poncho Shelter: Rectangular Stall & Flat Roof Lean-To

June 23, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Flat Roof Lean-To and Rectangular Stall Poncho Shelter
Continuing with the series on poncho shelters This week we are going to cover the flat roof lean-to and the rectangular stall, two more shelters that you can add to your arsenal of bush skills. The rectangular stall is limited on space, decent in light rain and great for setting up next to a long fire. The flat roof lean-to will provide more space, is fair in light rain, adequate with a fire, but great for shade under a hot sun. And as usual I will be showing how to set up each structure using a ridge line and poles.

Rectangular Stall (Ridge Line)
Here is what you’ll need to setup the rectangular stall with a ridge line: four stakes, two guy lines, two poles, and a ridge line. Choose a ridge line, and set it up in-between two trees, attach the center of the tarp to the ridge line and stake down the two lower corners. You can either stake the tarp straight down from the ridge line or angle it out for more room. Attach the poles to the corners of the tarp and run out your guy lines.

Flat Roof (Ridge Line)
The flat roof lean-to is set up the same way. Attach the center of the tarp to the ridge line, and stake down the two lower corners. Decide if you want to stake the tarp straight down or angle it for more room, attach your poles to the corners of the tarp and run out your guy lines keeping the roof as flat as possible.

Rectangular Stall (Poles)
When setting up the rectangular stall or flat roof with poles you will have to either borrow a set of trekking poles from your hiking partner or improvise with whatever is available. To set this up you will need four poles, four guy lines, and six stakes. Start by staking down the two lower corners, attach one set of poles to the center points of the tarp and stake out the guy lines as you would a normal lean-to, add the second set of poles with guy lines to the outside corners, stake them out using your preferred rigging, and reposition the center pole’s guy lines out to the sides to add tension to the tarp’s ridge line.

Flat Roof (Poles)
Rotate the tarp 90 degrees and setup the flat roof just like the rectangular stall. Stake down the two lower corners, attach one set of poles to the center points of the tarp, stake out the guy lines as you would a normal lean-to, add the second set of poles with guy lines to the outside corners, stake them out using your preferred technique and reposition the center pole’s guy lines out to the sides to add tension to the tarp’s ridge line.

Links:

Setting up a tarp with poles

http://plighttofreedom.com/trekking-pole-tarp-setup/

A Comprehensive Guide to Tarp and Tent Guy Lines

http://plighttofreedom.com/guy-lines/

Tent Stakes & How to Use Them

http://plighttofreedom.com/tent-stakes/

3 Tarp Ridgelines: Tied, Toggled & Hardware

http://plighttofreedom.com/3-tarp-ridgeline…toggled-hardware/

5 Knots You Need to Know

http://plighttofreedom.com/5-knots-you-need-to-know/

Poncho Shelter: Lean-to with Peak

June 16, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

Poncho Shelter: Lean-to with Peak
In this week’s video on poncho shelters we are going to focus on the Lean-to with a peak and its longer counterpart, including ridge line and pole setups.

Intro
The basic lean-to is a great way to start out but sometimes you need a little variation. Add a peak to your structure for a little more coverage from above and a little more space underneath.

Regular (Ridge Line)
To set this up you will need a poncho, a ridge line, two guy lines, and four stakes. Choose a ridge line and set it up in-between two trees, then attach the tarp to the ridge line leaving a quarter of the tarp draped over the line, stake down the two lower corners, and run out your guy lines. If you don’t have grommets at the peak, then just stake down the two lower corners first and drape the tarp over the ridge line and then run out your guy lines. Remember you can add more space under the tarp with a hood pull. Twist and tie the hood into a knot, lash your guy line onto it, then clove hitch the line onto an elevated pole, and stake it out using your preferred method.

Long (Ridge Line)
You can add some variance to this structure by rotating your tarp 90 degrees. The setup is identical, attach the tarp to the ridge line, stake down the two lower corners, feed out your guy lines from the peak, and add tension while staking down the line. Add the hood pull if desired.

Regular (Pole)
You can’t always rely on trees being everywhere you need them so having a set of trekking poles at you disposal can be extremely useful. Setting up this structure with poles will require six stakes, four guy lines, and two poles. Begin by staking down the two lower corners, then three quarters of the way up the tarp attach your two poles, leaving the last quarter to be used as the peak. From the poles run your guy lines out the same way you would a normal lean-to, using the corners to point out the way. From here stake out the peak’s guy lines and then readjust the pole guy lines to the sides which will add tension to the peak of this structure.

It can be difficult to set this shelter up using poles without grommets but not impossible. Find a small, smooth, river stone and clove hitch it onto the tarp where you need to attach a guy line and then proceed as usual. Again you can do the hood pull if you can borrow an extra pole from a buddy or find one in the woods.

Long (Pole)
The longer version is set up the same way. Stake down the two lower corners, attach the poles three quarters of the way up the tarp and stake it out as you would a regular lean-to. Run out the peak’s guy lines and then readjust the pole guy lines to add tension to the peak. Add a hood pull if possible.