Cliff Jacobson

[PaddlingPitt]

I wasn’t aware of this controversy until yesterday. Just read CJ’s concerns about putting a tarp beneath the tent. Even before commercial “footprints”, Kathleen and I always put a tarp beneath the tent to protect its floor. We always cut or folded our homemade tarp to ensure that its edges never extended beyond the edges of the tent. We believed that this woulp help prevent water from running/accumulating between the tarp and the tent floor. We have been using this approach since 1977, both as backpackers and then canoeists. We have NEVER had water wick up into the tent from below. We have fairly recently, since we bought our MEC Wanderer 4, also been putting a tarp in the tent, hoping to add greater protection for the floor, not to keep our sleeping bags above wicked water. Again, we have NEVER had water in the tent because of wicking from below. And we have definitely experienced some extended, hellacious, very unpleasant, unrelenting monsoons. Perhaps we’ve just been lucky, despite our apparent ignorance of proper tenting techniques!

 

[ppine]

Controversies are you what you make of them.

Bill Mason was very inspirational for me as a canoeist. But I learned the most about paddling overnight and the nuts and bolts of how to do it by reading Cliff. I have always enjoyed authors like Col Townsend Whelen, Calvin Rutstrum, Brad Angier, Sig Olsen and some of the other Northwoods and Maine guides. Old ways are the best ways.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I only disagree with Cliff on innie groundcloth for one reason... Slidey.. I don't like crinkly slidy things. A huge yoga mat might be fine..but heavy

Most of his advice is built on his considerable experience and not theory.. There was an exception.. He advocates mosquito netting rather than no seeum netting since the latter is hotter in the bug season.. He gave a presentation at Maine Canoe Symposium on tent selection and said since no seeums don't exist you don't need the smaller mesh. Silently and in force ( it was at dusk) the no seeum brigade advanced and were true to their word.. And really annoyed Cliff as he had never met them ( the audience. all from non seeum country was rolling with laughter)

Then there was the demo of the one match fire.. Which failed to work as Nature decided ,after the careful arrangement of twigs and wood and bark , to let loose rain( Lots). He no doubt would have persevered had he had to but golly a big camp hall was right there.

He took it all in good stride and , in person is a most congenial fellow.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

When I was growing up in Sacramento, California, my father would take my sister, me, and my childhood friend on several backpacking trips every summer into the Sierras, and into the coast mountains. We never took tents at all, so the discussion of where to place the tarp never arose. In fact, we didn’t even take a tarp for cover from potential rain. In those days, summer rain just didn’t occur in California. Seems very goofy to me now.

 

[jdeerfoot]

I would agree with Paddling Pitt. I have always used a ground cloth under my tents - all of them have an innie and outie packed with them. I have always preferred 6 mil plastic which lasts a long time. And I usually use small sticks under the outer edges of the grd cloth to lift the edges, especially on any upslope sides. No problems. Also agree with yellowcanoe that plastic indies are devilishly slippery and noisy but a few times they have been useful.

I remember a 2 wk trip on the Albany Rv where it rained every day. No matter what you do eventually everything becomes sodden. When you do get the occasional sunny and breezy day to dry yourself and your gear great - on that trip we didn’t.