Knots

Tying good and secure knots is a must-have skill when out on the hills and mine have often been a bit dodgy, to say the least. In particular, I've always had a problem with securing the end "beaks" of my tarp to the supporting poles so thay have become loose in the night and flap around. At the weekend, I put my tarp up in the garden at home and endlessly practiced clove hitches for this and for tent pegs. I also perfected the art of a taut-line hitch for guys and a sheet bend, in the event of ever suffering a damaged corner of the tarp. As the tarp can be used in soft ground where pegs may pull out, I also need to practice attaching the guys to other objects, such as logs, rocks, etc. I ran out of time to do this.