First Run: Non-plastic sleeping kit
2016-10-19
Angie and I, at the suggestion of our friend, recently did a float down the Current River in the Ozarks. For the first time I had a fully non-plastic shelter and sleep system and was able to use it all together.
Here we are, chillin out.
- The tarp is a simple 800 threadcount sheet 9x8.5', same one we've been using.
- The groundcloth is an 800 threadcount sheet, 6x8.5', treated with bees-wax, linseed oil and mineral spirits (When I finish and test my new poncho attempt I'll write up the proicedure for making this treatment really work well, but it's close to http://www.blog.smalladventures.net/2016/06/no-plastic-backpacking-continuing-quest.html ).
- I'm lying on my alpaca sleepingbag: http://www.blog.smalladventures.net/2016/09/alpaca-fur-sleeping-bag.html
- The string is a cotton twine I purchased.
- The poles are paddles, which yes, are plastic... but I could've just used branches, or wooden paddles :P
I've used each of these pieces alone, tested it, etc. But this was the first time it really started to come together. The gear shown here is a bit heavy for solo backpacking. I'm currently working on turning the ground-cloth in to a poncho. For solo backpacking my current plan is to use this 6x8 poncho/tarp as my shelter, and then use another smaller piece of treated fabric as a groundcloth.
This was a 3 day float trip, 2 nights, and it did rain one night. Everything worked great. We were quite comfy. Angie was using her more traditional (or is that less traditional? I'm not sure anymore) gear as you can see in the photo above.
In other news, we had an AWESOME float trip, here's some other photos.
Yes, we ARE in a cave while in a canoe! And yes, it is exactly as awesome as it sounds, well... maybe a bit more so, because it's also a spring and the water we were floating on was DELICIOUS!
We saw river otters, bald eagles, deer, and tons of king fishers.
We're finding that we really like the Ozarks.