The ridge line is a critical, but fairly simple part of the tarp setup. I started with a 50’ length of reflective paracord. Some people use a 30′ long line, this one may become shorter in the future.
Some people don’t like paracord, but it’s a known quantity for me and I’m not convinced that the alternatives are significantly better.
My ridge line starts with a bowline. The bowline never gets untied.
The bowline goes around the tree and a marlin spike hitch is used to attach a toggle to the ridge line. Bowline goes over the toggle
At the other end, I use a truckers hitch to get the ridge tight. The truckers hitch needs a loop to start, I like the alpine butterfly. It’s easy to tie and more importantly, easy to untie after a load has been applied.
Pass a bight around the second tree and through your loop. Pull the bight tight and use it to tie a half-hitch around the three lines just past the loop. Hank up your remaining cord so you don’t trip over it.
I use Prusiks and toggles to attach the tarp to the ridge. The Prusiks will slide along the ridge when they are loose, but lock in place when a load is applied.
I put one of my toggles through the loops on the tarp, then loop the Prusik over the toggle, then pull the Prusik tight.
Another one
By attaching the tarp to the ridge line with Prusiks, you can put the tarp anywhere along the length of the line. If you’re hammock camping, this allows you to ensure that the tarp is centered over the hammock.
If the ridge line is under the tarp, I like to hang my empty stuff sacks from the ridge to keep camp organized.
When its time to strike camp, I hank up the ridge line (video instructions here) and put it into the stuff sack with the rest of the tarp kit.
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