Frothgar and Nemo's camp

For discussion of knowledge of the wood; this means camping, tracking, and other outdoor pursuits.

Moderators: Eric C, Greg

Post Reply
Nemo of Calh
Dúnadan
Posts: 77
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:24 am
Location: Souderton, Pennsylvania

Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Nemo of Calh »

This weekend was a Dagorhir event, Siege of the Azure Castle. It was an amazing event, tons of great fighting in a paintball arena complete with a castle and a village. Frothgar and I took our period kits to camp in (there were cabins available, but who wants to sleep in a cabin?), and we found a nice spot to set up camp that was away from all the hustle and bustle of the typical night life at a Dag event. Unfortunately, there was no place anywhere on site to set up where there wouldn't be anything glaringly modern, plus there was a definite lack of trees.

Image

Image

Here was my setup. Because there was only this one tree in the area to use (it was so old and rotten it was hollow), I improvised how to set up the end away from the tree. I ended up using my long upright pole tensioned out and braced in the front and back with guy lines. To keep the end closer to the tree in place, I used a clove hitch to attach one of my extra tent stakes to the line. Half my oilskin tarp is under me, and I shoved my pack frame in the back to tension it and give it a bit more of a slope. For bedding, I cheated and used a Therma-Rest, with the excuse that, if I wasn't at a campground, I would normally be able to make a bed of leaves or pine needles. On top of that were two wool blankets folded in half, then me, then two more wool blankets not folded, then a hair-on cow rug. I had an additional wool blanket/cloak that I used as a pillow but could have broken out if I needed it.

The bedding was perfect. It got cold enough for there to be frost on the ground and for my water bottle to start to freeze last night, but I was still warm enough to sleep. If I'm even the least bit cold, I can't sleep at all, so the fact that I slept while frost was forming makes the setup I used amazing. The cow hide isn't something I would normally take with me rangering cause it's so heavy, but if I think it's going to be cold I always take it with me. It doesn't necessarily provide a lot of warmth on its own; the fur is really patchy and thin and the leather itself isn't particularly thick, but what it does do is block the wind from cutting through my blankets and, probably most importantly for my personal comfort, it pins all of my other blankets down with its weight. That way my blankets stay sealed with the ground and don't fall of of me when I move. With the Therma-Rest, I probably could have dealt with only one blanket under me and and moved one on top of me, but what I did was fine. In terms of the shelter setup, I was expecting to be able to build a fire so I left it open (and accidentally set it the right way for where the wind picked up later on). In the future, I'm going to do less than half under me so that I can lessen the area rain can accidentally hit and pool on underneath me, and so that I can add an overhang to the top.

Image

Here was Frothgar's setup, complete with the abandoned RV that was sitting next to a burned out building. I guess a lot of the property the paintball place used was an old farm and some of the buildings just aren't usable. Anyway, I'll let him tell everyone about his setup if he wants to.
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
User avatar
Farodel
Dúnadan
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:56 am
Location: Ithilien (Pittsburgh, PA)
Contact:

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Farodel »

You gentlemen aren't going to Gates of Fire this upcoming weekend, are you? It'd be nice to see some fellow people from the forum.
"Few now remember them, yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."
User avatar
Greg
Urush bithî 'nKi ya-nam bawâb
Posts: 4496
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Eriador; Central Indiana

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Greg »

I've been wondering if you two knew each other through Dag. Nice to see a few forumites meeting up!
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
User avatar
Elleth
êphal ki-*raznahê
Posts: 2925
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 5:26 am
Location: in the Angle; New England

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Elleth »

Sounds like a grand time!
Historical accounts are full of soldiers camping out in front of residences on campaign, so you're in good company. :)
In terms of the shelter setup, I was expecting to be able to build a fire so I left it open (and accidentally set it the right way for where the wind picked up later on). In the future, I'm going to do less than half under me so that I can lessen the area rain can accidentally hit and pool on underneath me, and so that I can add an overhang to the top.
this was an excellent observation - thank you!
Persona: Aerlinneth, Dúnedain of Amon Lendel c. TA 3010.
User avatar
Taurinor
Amrod Rhandir
Posts: 614
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 9:06 pm
Location: Virginia
Contact:

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Taurinor »

Wow, nice set-up! Dag needs more folks like y'all who are willing to go the extra mile with camping gear.
Nemo of Calh wrote:Because there was only this one tree in the area to use (it was so old and rotten it was hollow), I improvised how to set up the end away from the tree. I ended up using my long upright pole tensioned out and braced in the front and back with guy lines. To keep the end closer to the tree in place, I used a clove hitch to attach one of my extra tent stakes to the line.
It's always tough to pitch a tarp at campgrounds meant for tents/trailers. If I'm not packing in to a site out in the woods, I throw a few extra poles in my car for situations like the one you ran into. Dave Canterbury made a video a little while back showing how to quickly set up a tripod using three poles and a steel ring of the sort you can buy from hardware stores - that might be something you could consider using at future tree-sparce Dag events.
Nemo of Calh wrote:For bedding, I cheated and used a Therma-Rest, with the excuse that, if I wasn't at a campground, I would normally be able to make a bed of leaves or pine needles. On top of that were two wool blankets folded in half, then me, then two more wool blankets not folded, then a hair-on cow rug.
No shame in cheating if you're limited in choosing your site the way you were, and you do NOT want to sleep on the ground without some sort of insulation - I made that mistake once (just once). By my count, you were using 4 blankets and a hide - if you don't mind my asking, how much did all that weigh?
Elleth wrote:
In terms of the shelter setup, I was expecting to be able to build a fire so I left it open (and accidentally set it the right way for where the wind picked up later on). In the future, I'm going to do less than half under me so that I can lessen the area rain can accidentally hit and pool on underneath me, and so that I can add an overhang to the top.
this was an excellent observation - thank you!
I've usually seen folks put a third or a quarter of the tarp on ground to use as a ground cloth and use the rest as a wall/roof. If you want your entire sleeping area under the wall/roof, you need to do it that way - you're making a right triangle, effectively, and the wall/roof is the hypotenuse.

For an overhang, an easy way to divide the tarp is 1/4 floor, 1/2 wall, 1/4 overhang, and use a set-up like one of these (taken from this image of possible tarp origami):
c tarp configs.jpg
c tarp configs.jpg (8.03 KiB) Viewed 18869 times
Nemo of Calh wrote:I shoved my pack frame in the back to tension it and give it a bit more of a slope
If you don't want to use your pack frame in the future (althought it looks like it worked well!), you could use a pebble or coin to make a tie down point in the wall like this (I've shared this before, but it's really quite handy!) -

Image
- Ned Houndswood, Breelander
Richmond Fantasy-Inspired Hiking and Camping (on WordPress and Facebook)
User avatar
Kortoso
Haeropada
Posts: 822
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:37 pm
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Contact:

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Kortoso »

Wonderful work, gentlemen! It's always fun to have a chance to experiment with shelter.
There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.
Nemo of Calh
Dúnadan
Posts: 77
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:24 am
Location: Souderton, Pennsylvania

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Nemo of Calh »

Farodel, we're not going to be able to make it out to another event so soon. We both work for the same company, so it's already tough to get the same days off, and there's a huge event this weekend. We might be able to make it to Rag, maybe.

Taurinor, all of the blankets and the hide are very heavy. I almost certainly would not try to carry the hide with my pack. The five other blankets I can carry if I have to. It's not particularly comfortable. I'm going to do a breakdown at some point of my kit as it stands now, but I normally keep one blanket in my pack (which is my oilskin wrapped around everything and lashed onto the pack frame) so it's always dry, two blankets rolled together and lashed to the top of the pack, and my cloak rolled up and lashed between the blankets and the pack. That's not too bad in terms of weight. During the summer I don't even have to open, and thus re-make, the pack; I can just use the two blankets and the cloak and leave the pack packed. I can roll the non-cloak blankets together in one long bundle and drape it across the top and sides of the pack like a horseshoe, which makes the pack very heavy and kind of unwieldy, but it works. Since it's for the winter anyway, I'm thinking about having the extra 2-3 blankets and the fur not be part of my wearing kit. Instead, the stuff I keep in my car and have to unload directly at camp is going to be stuff my character would keep on a sled or sledge that would be dragged behind him in the snow.

Believe it or not, this is actually the first time I've used such a simple setup, so I didn't know simple things like making the floor smaller than the wall were important. My normal shelter is free standing:
Image

Using my pack frame worked perfectly, since it isn't doing anything while my shelter is set up. It stretched the oilskin in just the right way to give me more room and keep the rain that I knew wasn't coming off of me. I think I'll use this shelter style more often from now on when I can, mostly because I can easily get in and out and reach everything inside. I like the privacy of my normal style or a diamond fly, but this one was considerably easier to use.
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
User avatar
Taurinor
Amrod Rhandir
Posts: 614
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 9:06 pm
Location: Virginia
Contact:

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by Taurinor »

If you like free standing shelters that offer a little more privacy, but want something with a floor that's a little more open, you might like this configuration -

Image

It's sheltered on three sides and has a floor, but goes up with one pole (and a stick or tree to tension out the back).
Nemo of Calh wrote:Using my pack frame worked perfectly, since it isn't doing anything while my shelter is set up. It stretched the oilskin in just the right way to give me more room and keep the rain that I knew wasn't coming off of me. I think I'll use this shelter style more often from now on when I can, mostly because I can easily get in and out and reach everything inside. I like the privacy of my normal style or a diamond fly, but this one was considerably easier to use.
It certainly looks like the packframe (and the whole setup) did the job quite well! If you decide to try it with a smaller floor, it might help to use tie-outs rather than internal framing to maximize your usable space, though.
- Ned Houndswood, Breelander
Richmond Fantasy-Inspired Hiking and Camping (on WordPress and Facebook)
LegenGary
Wayfarer
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:24 am
Location: Tampa, Florida

Re: Frothgar and Nemo's camp

Post by LegenGary »

Taurinor wrote:If you like free standing shelters that offer a little more privacy, but want something with a floor that's a little more open, you might like this configuration -

Image

It's sheltered on three sides and has a floor, but goes up with one pole (and a stick or tree to tension out the back).
Nemo of Calh wrote:Using my pack frame worked perfectly, since it isn't doing anything while my shelter is set up. It stretched the oilskin in just the right way to give me more room and keep the rain that I knew wasn't coming off of me. I think I'll use this shelter style more often from now on when I can, mostly because I can easily get in and out and reach everything inside. I like the privacy of my normal style or a diamond fly, but this one was considerably easier to use.
It certainly looks like the packframe (and the whole setup) did the job quite well! If you decide to try it with a smaller floor, it might help to use tie-outs rather than internal framing to maximize your usable space, though.
Now, that looks sturdy and well-made.
Post Reply