Portable shelter

by Carl Rooker
(Michigan)

If you carry something for shelter when hiking or hunting, or in a survival kit, most people think of small tents. These are good, but most people also have to carry some kind of pad to keep off of the ground, for warmth and comfort.

I use a hammock. In a hammock I do not have to find the perfect level spot free of stones, roots, snakes, and ants. Jut two trees close enough together to tie up the hammock. My main hammock has a built in mosqueto net, so the only thing I need is a tarp to string up over the hammock for shelter. A "silnylon" tarp works very well. Just tie opposite corners to the trees, and stake out the other two corners. (If it rains, you can catch the rain water off of either of the two staked out corners). If your hammock does not have a mosqueto net, you can use a separate one.

This makes for a light weight, compact, and extremely comfortable shelter.