Looking for the ultimate groundcloth? Try a piece of Tyvek! Ahhh there is nothing like traveling west of the continental divide in Montana in the winter. 60 degree temps, no snow except above 6500 feet, and lots and lots of space to roam. I just ran out the door on Friday night and was able to cover a good distance with a really light weight pack....not bad for late winter backpacking. One way I accomplished this was by ditching the tent and taking a lightweight silnylon tarp and ground cloth. the ground cloth is made of Tyvek, or house wrap which is a durable nylon type material used to wrap houses before the siding goes on. It is available at Home Depot or Lowes and you can usually buy it off the roll for a set price per yard.
Make sure you run it through the washing machine to break it in and soften the material a bit. If you skip this step its kind of like lying on a crinkly sheet of paper all night.....not fun. If properly treated this stuff will last forever! I have about 3500 miles, give or take, on mine. It may look strange but you can use it for picnics, to sleep on, flag down a motorist...it makes a great sign just write on it with a marker, and in a pinch weather the occasional brief shower.
Cut it to be a little larger than your sleeping bag and let the cowboy camping begin!
Until tomorrow...see you UNDER WESTERN SKIES!
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