Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

48 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTand spread their legs until the tent just touches theground when ready to be pegged down (Fig. ii).One man can raise a rather heavy tent in this wayby working first at one end and then at the other.In the case of a wall tent w^ith fly, erect sideframes for the guys (Fig. ii) ; but if no fly is used,all that is needed is to lash side poles to the shearsand tie the eaves fast to them : this is the best rig fora small waterproof tent that is to be moved often(Fig. 15)-Sometimes the rear end of the ridge pole can belashed to a convenient sapling, or rested in the forkof a limb. Some campers plant a single crotchedpost at the rear, but usually it is easier to set upshears than to find a suitable crotch and plant itFig. 15.— Wall Tent with Side Barsfirmly. It is one advantage of shear legs that theycan be erected without diflficulty anywhere, althoughthe ground may be rocky or frozen.This rig has several other merits. It leaves thedoonvay unobstructed. The legs do not sink somuch in soft soil or sand as single uprights; if theyshould sink, they can be raised in a trice by drawingthe butts closer together. Similarly, when the tentshrinks, from wetting, the strain can be eased bysimply lifting one shear leg and pushing it a littlefarther outward. When the canvas sags, draw thelegs closer to their mates, and you stretch the tentas taut as a drum-head.An inside ridge pole is best for a large, heavy