Tent living in the Adirondack Foothills

[EastCoast315]

Hey, just wondering who here has spent considerable time living in a tent before? In June I'll be purchasing the tent from the link below and spending 1-2 years in it. Following that time, I may even end up bringing it with me to Alaska, where I'll live in it until I can get either a more permanent structure built, or another, larger tent, with a bigger stove.
Check it out:
Reasonably priced, too, I'd say. Cheaper than the montana canvas tents. I may be poor, but I never skimp out on gear like tents and packs.
Cabela's Big Horn™ III Tent

 

[BUMJUG]

holy shit that tent is pretty intense...with the stove and all......

 

[stove]

Hmm, good luck dude. I've spent a decent amount of time in and out of tents. In the 'Dacks, don't forget about bears and rangers- drunken rednecks can be rough too.

 

[Teko]

61 lbs just for the tent, 11 lbs for the stakes...72 lbs to get to a local, not to mention what other shit you got with you, plus that thing is fucking huge! i dont know, best of luck to what ever you decide.

 

[EastCoast315]

Abstracted, weight isn't really an issue. I have a real nice setup scoped out down in the foothills in the way south, where there isn't really anything, so I can keep camp set for months at a time. Plus, its close to some great fishing spots, so that'll cut food costs substantially!

I am looking at another tent right now thats a little more traditional. I contacted a manufacturer of Canvas wall tents about a custom 8 x 10 foot setup with frame and stove (thats everything I'll need). Thats a setup that would normally cost up to $1500. This guy says he'll give it to me for $1000. Something like this:

Pretty sweet, eh? 80 square feet of freedom.

 

[Wolfeyes]

Spent 6 months living in a tent. Here are my tips:

80 square feet(8x10) may seem like a lot of space... It isn't, especially when you're living in it full time. Learn to utilize your space as effectively as possible.

Always assume that your tent is NEVER as weatherproof as you think it is. You may have to suffer through a few miserable nights until you get everything figured out just right. Each location requires some thing different.

 

[EastCoast315]

Luckily Wolf, when given the choice between the 22 x 18 bedroom and the 8 x 10 bedroom at my parents house as a younger kid, I picked the 8 x 10. I'm pretty used to it now, small everything, everything packed away, that whole lot. So that way, it shouldnt be too too too much of a shock when I move into the tent.
Hopefully, as far as water goes, I can get some linseed oil from a friend of my grandmothers, an old SeaBee who fought in 'nam. Thats the ultimate canvas waterproofer apparently.

My one concern that dawned on me yesterday is, what do I do about food? Can I keep it in my tent, or does it have to be secluded? That would get old, bouncing from tent to food store a hundred times a day. I'm real far south in the 'dacks, and there's only been one bear here in the last 5 years. I'm more concerned about coyotes and coydogs. What do you think?

 

[Wolfeyes]

Careful with the linseed oil. When it's on a set-up tent, it's fine, but when you gotta pack it up, it has a tendency to randomly ignite. I don't know the specifics though.

On the food issue, there's really no way around it. You don't want any critter large or small associating your house with food. My advice, get one of those plastic totes and some heavy rope, rig it up so that the lid can't be opened while it's hanging, and hang it from a tree. Just because there's only been one bear sighting, doesn't mean there aren't more out there.

 

[EastCoast315]

thats actually a great idea with the ropes. They say to go .25 miles away from a camp with food, but I could cut that in half if it was a distance up. Great call.

 

[EastCoast315]

Just realized, could I just use a fly as a roof, and use straw bale/plastic tarp/pallet construction around the sides as walls? Its be about a third of the price

 

[Wolfeyes]

Forgot all about this thread.

I would, if possible, set up your hanging food cache about 100-150 feet away. Keep more than one, you know the whole "eggs in one basket" thing. If you really want to do this right and go off the grid, set up buried "satellite" caches at 300, 500 and 1000 feet from your "house", and a fall back point at least a mile from your house, well hidden, filled with some kind of shelter, and at least three days of non-perishable food and water. You never know what can happen. You could loose supplies in a storm, your shelter could burn down, someone could find your shelter and wreck it or worse, lay claim to it.

If you can get enough hay bales out there, go for it. Set some pallets down for a floor, stack the bales up like bricks as high as you want them, a few more to set a roof pitch, then throw a tarp(or two) down over the top and lash it down. Hell, if you have the skills and the materials, make a thatched roof. Just be extra damn careful with your stove/heater. On the other hand, you may not need a heater, them straw bale houses are pretty frikken warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

 

[EastCoast315]

Yeah hopefully one of my farmer friends can hook me up with a free 20-30 bales or so, if I double bale I'll be able to heat the damn thing with a single candle, no joke.
The cache idea is a pretty good idea, I think I'll make just one though, I'm pretty close to the road. You walk up a valley and take one left turn and your there. 3 minute walk from the road. But its in bush, and once the leaves grow up on the trees, it'll be easy hiding, and shady. Nice and cool in summer.

I've actually dug a little into the hill where my site is, that gives me an extra 2 walls. Its hard to explain, I'll post pics soon. Its a pretty cool idea.