Don Ladigin's "Bombshelter"

When in Florida I find myself some time to read and that invariably means a trip to Books-A-Million (BAMM) and the Vero Beach Bookcenter for "supplies."

This last trip found me at BAMM looking at magazines and the occasional book. On a previous trip I had found Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book and found it quite entertaining as well as educational. It's got lots of great tips buried within the other information I already knew.

This trip, I found a companion book, also illustrated by Mike Clelland, called Lighten Up! on the subject of ultralight backpacking. Again, the book is written and illustrated in an entertaining style and contains some tidbits I just couldn't pass up. The image above is scanned right from the book and shows a way to pitch a 9' X 9' tarp using a single piece of cordage that is similar to the style I use but different enought that I now want to get out and give it a try. They talk about the Integral Designs Sil-Tarp in the book but the tie-out configuration on the tarp pictured reminds me more of a Guide Gear or Kelty tarp.

I hope to give this a try sometime this weekend. Two knots, some cordage, a few pegs, and a tarp...sounds easy enough.

Thanks for reading,


B