Details - Shelter

Your shelter must protect you from a wide range of weather conditions ranging from gale force storms with temperatures in the low 30's to hot and humid conditions with hordes of bugs and no wind what so ever.  Chose wisely from the following:

• A "backpacking tent" with a custom fitted rainfly meets the requirement.  A floor and groundsheet are highly recommended.  Sand fleas can be worse than mosquitos.  Note that most chickees require a free standing tent.
• A "camping hammock" with fitted rainfly meets the requirement.  The hammock must be completely enclosed with no-see-um netting.  The hammock must be usable as a bivy bag when trees are not available.  Note that the rainfly with all known camping hammocks (as of 3/20/2005) is not sufficient to prevent pooling water inside your hammock in all conditions.  A silicone impregnated tarp of 10' x 12' is very strongly recommended to augment the system.
• A silicone impregnated tarp combined with a waterproof and bug proof bivy bag meets the requirment.  It is highly recommended that the bivy bag be completely waterproof on the bottom and sides with GoreTex and no-see-um netting on the top.  Even if your bivy bag is designed to be used all by itself, you must have the tarp as well.  The tarp must have a minimum of 8 tie points sewn in along with 8 stakes suitable for soft dirt or sand.  More tie points and stakes are OK.
• A boat may meet the requirement if it provides protection similar to the above three systems - wind, rain, bugs, ventilation.
• ALL systems must provide enough room to stretch out.  For example, a seated position in a boat is not acceptable to satisfy this requirement.
• It is highly recommended that two or more systems be combined since suitable camping sites for any one system may not always be available.
• It is highly recommended that an additional silicone impregnated tarp be carried to augment all systems.