Home Sweet Tent

Of course, what would any hunting trip be without a base of operations, a place to cook your meals, a place to warm from the elements and a place to lay your head? In our case that would be a 16x20 canvas tent. All the amenities of home were right at your fingertips. Well, except for a toilet. That was 30 yards behind camp, just brush the snow off the seat before you use it. Inside the outfitter built us a table in the 'Kitchen' area of the tent. You must level the stove, though, so your eggs don't gather at one side of your pan. Nice modern stove with dial controls that allowed for heat management as long as off and high are the only setting you need. The bottom picture is a panorama standing at the doorway. Left to right you see our wood stove (settings on it were off and barely on) What you wouldn't give for some white oak or hickory, aspen wood burns quickly to a fine powder. Firewood was stored between the stove and the door. The fire wood rank also served as clothes dryer. Two 5.6 gallon water containers. Water was from a stream 75 yards straight out and 50 feet lower than the tent. We boiled water every night for our canteens. Back corner was my cot. It was cot, blanket, sleeping bag with a sheet liner and two doubled wool blankets on top. I've sleep comfortably in 15 below zero temperatures in the past. Center rear was my brothers cot, right back corner was my nephew's dorm. On to the right we built a gun rack. Right of that was the kitchenette. Under the kitchen counter was tub and box storage for pots and pans. Center, by the post, was a roll-up camping table for all table activities. Nails in the post served as a coat rack. The buckets were our constant companions, these were or chairs. Mine would cut off your circulation when I'd lean over to tie my boots. Under the table was the tub we stored food in so mice would get to it. (We had no mouse problems this year). This was home for a week. Keep the snow off the roof, keep water on the wood stove pan and make yourself at home.