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.