This has been an enlightening thread re tents. Me? I'm like lbs-not-miles. When I'm out, I rarely spend more than a night or two in one spot. My favorite setup is a waterproof ground sheet, a 3" self-inflating pad (like him, I'm getting older and need more padding nowadays), and a tight-weave canvas cover sheet. I haven't used a tent in years.
It's like this. The waterproof ground sheet is about 5X7, just enough to keep the sleeping bag off the ground and give a little space for my clothes, boots, hat, and gun on it. The sleeping pad not only gives me a little padding, but adds insulation from the cold ground. I use either a summer or winter sleeping bag, depending on the temperatures I expect. The cover tarp is a treated 7X8 or so tight-weave canvas. That covers everything and allows enough space to reach out over the edges of your ground sheet. If it rains, the canvas tightens and stiffens up. You simply kick up a little under it and it forms a dome over you and runs the water off. You have to make sure the edges of your ground sheet are under it, or the water will run off the tarp and onto it, wetting your bag and clothing. The cover canvas also doubles as a pack cover for our pack saddles. We try to minimize our gear by making things like ropes and tarps to double duty as much as possible.
If we expect wet weather or snow, we will tie up a plastic tarp, about 12X12 or so, and make a lean-to type cover of it, so we can keep a fire an cook, keep our gear, packs, and saddles dry, etc..
Having said all that, I have to disclose that most of my packing has been in Arizona, where we don't have a lot of rain most of the year, and my pack trips are not normally above 9,000' like Painted horse. I have, however, experienced hail, sleet, snow, rain, wind, lightening, and occasionally sunshine and clear nights with my setup with satisfactory results...at least to my satisfaction, anyway. I'm easy to please when I'm out with my horses and dog.:lol:
