|
Tip On Setting Ranger Or Gypsy Tents
By Mitch
When we go for camping, it is very important not to forget to take the tent. There are many types of tent available according to the size and type. Find out more about the tents in this article.
You can be even more comfortable if you put up a ranger's tent, which requires very few materials. All you need is a rectangular piece of cotton cloth, 6 or 7 feet long. To waterproof it, make a brew from the bark of an oak or birch tree, and let the cloth soak in it for two days. The ranger's tent can then be used as a raincoat too.
In one corner make an eyelet large enough to run a thick cord through. At the other three corners, sew on small leather loops that you will attach to the tent pegs. With this cloth, a solid cord 10 to 14 feet long, and a few pieces of branches from which you can cut your own tent pegs, you will have sufficient equipment to sleep out pleasantly on even a cool summer night without having to worry about a cloudburst. Set the tent up as pictured in the illustration.
The way you pitch the tent is important. The entrance must remain open and the tent should narrow toward the rear, so you must always be careful to have the opening turned away from the windy or storm side. To keep out the cold, you can hang a raincoat or windbreaker in front of the opening, or put your rucksack in front of it. There's an even simpler way: gather some leafy limbs and branches and, after you crawl into the tent, close off the en trance with them, sticking
them in the ground like a fence in front of the opening. You can also do as rangers do. In cold weather they just light a fire in front of the tent entrance and lay a few thick, dry branches on the coals before going to bed. If the tent is set up right, the wind will carry the smoke away from it.
Gypsies also use similar tents, but they make theirs somewhat larger because several persons usually share a single tent. For two people the rectangle is about 7 by 10 feet. In this case too, the size and the addition of eyelets and leather loops depend on the particular needs. With this sort of tent, set up more or less like the ranger's tent, the open sides are closed off with bushes. A long branch stuck in a loose stone wall or in a wood pile stands as a roof beam to give the tent a solid support.
A tent of this type needs a little ditch around it just as more modern tents do. This ditch catches the rain water as it runs off the sides and carries it away. Without the ditch the water would seep into the ground around the bottom of the tent, soak it, and then run inside the tent.
Tents have come out with different design and colors. We can choose any type and size of the tent according to our need. If this is the first time for you to go for a camp, it is very necessary to bring the manual guide to build your tent.
|
