[pct-l] Re: More about tents and tarps

[agrestis9@hotmail.com (Richard Winterstein)]

>From: John Mertes <jmertes@gte.net>

>     Some of us have a simpler system with out tents. I have a Stephenson
>WarmLite which does not use a separate rainfly. Also per Jack
>Stephenson's recommendation, I have my 'ground cloth' attached to the
>bottom of the tent so I can spread everything out at once and the ground
>cloth is in position. Then I stick in the poles, set a couple of stakes,
>and I've a dry shelter.

This sounds like a good system but I'm curious about one thing.  How do you 
have your ground cloth attached to the tent floor?  Is it removeable (in the 
field) so that you can store the tent and the ground cloth separately?  Even 
after letting the ground cloth dry in the sun and shaking it clean, there's 
bound to be some dirt and debris stuck to it, no?  If the ground cloth and 
tent aren't separable, I'd be worried about some of this stuff rubbing 
against the tent fabric as I jam the whole unit into its stuff sack.  Or is 
this really not as serious a problem as I'm imagining it to be?
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