Last night was my last night in it before our new
boot arrives to stay in it for the rest of the summer. I loved sleeping out there. Nights definitely got down in the 20s inside, but last weekend, with a lot of wood and milder temps outside (40s?), I had it up to 67F.
I had a little
cast iron pan I'd heat up my breakfast in on the stove top, and a kettle for my
water. Those were both about all I needed for simple breakfast/dinner fare.
I strung up a rope around the poles inside in a star pattern of sorts to hang things from (my backpack, boots, bibs, pants, etc.). If I wanted warm/dry clothes for the morning, I'd have my outfit hanging near the stove at night so it dried out (from the snow and mud) and warmed up after my morning fire.
With a lot of precipitation, I found the opening at the top allowed the moisture (melting snow etc) to drip on the foot of the bed. I had a waxed cape acting as a blanket tarp covering that area of the bed, but recently put up a stray rain fly overhead to see if that might help the next person.
It needs a full liner. The current one only goes about 3/4 of the way around. It also needs a taller liner; maybe get another one to overlap this one to be taller. There's a 6ft liner in there now, but 6ft on an angle is not 6ft tall vertically. A 9ft liner might work, but maybe two 6fts instead? An ozan would also make a big difference, I think. Having a lower ceiling to help retain Some of the heat would help. Eventually, new poles as well. The current ones are bowed in and are allowing the canvas to sag due to lack of tension. These things all cost money, of
course, so as funds allow I'm sure we'll get to this. If someone(s) wanted to sponsor the tipi
project it would probably get done faster.
All in all, I loved being in there and am kinda sad to move back to Basecamp. Waking up to hearing
deer and elk crunching through the snow outside has been a delight. 💖