Neat trick: inprovised vestibule

When I was looking to buy a backpacking tent, I searched far and wide for the best deal. After sifting over numerous reviews, prices and designs, I settled for 1. It's the size of a coffin that I can sit up in. I'm a little on the tall side and the tent I ended up going with has just enough room for me and only me (no gear). Until this weekend, I always just left my pack and shoes exposed to the elements. Mistake.

Most high-end tents you buy these days have a vestibule. It's an extension to your tent for storage of dirty boots, gear and if you have a small stove, you can usually cook in it.

This past weekend, I went backpacking in the Slickrock Wilderness. Starting about 3:00am, it started to rain like hell. I thought it might get a little wet that night, so I really wanted a way to keep my stuff dry. As I'm setting up my camp for the night, I'm dwelling on the fact that my tent doesn't have a vestibule and brainstorming something that I can do to compensate. Luckily, I hike with poles and with an external frame (something I'll be discussing in a later entry). Here's what I came up with on the fly:

It's pretty much a lean-to using my poles as supports and a pack cover as a water barrier. It didn't work too bad. It kept my shoes dry as well as a few other things that I was too drunk to put away before bed. If I had a smaller stove, I could have cooked under it, but I wasn't about to risk lighting my pack on fire.

This is getting my brain cooking on how to make one that is a little more in depth that I can add to my tent, but this will do for now.

DIY project: canoe dolly

My dad has a canoe being stored at his house that he uses time to time and decided that he didn't like carrying it from 1 place to another. After a little design work and a little time in his wood shop, he came up with a way to temporarily add wheels to his canoe to make for easier portages and to make those far off put-ins a little more accessible.

You can buy these things for anywhere between $50 to $200 or you can make your own. I'm sure dad didn't spend more than about $20 on this.

Tools required:
-Saw
-Drill and bits for pilot holes

Materials:
-All lumber 2X4
-Foam pipe insulation
-Hardware as noted
-ratchet type straps
-Wheels- whatever you can find, old bicycle, wheel barrow, high wheel lawn mower, etc. at least 12" in diameter, but not much more. Too large and it is hard to get the dolly under the canoe. Too small and one end drags the ground when you pick the other end up.

Border Collie and step mother approved