Instruction It is very important to select a good camp site. If possible, choose a place slightly higher than the surrounding area. Stubs, roots and stones should be removed. It is best not to camp directly under trees.
To pitch the tipi, select the three heaviest poles for a tripod. Lay aside another strong pole (the lifting pole) and two light poles (the smoke flaps). In order to hoist the tripod into position, lay it down on the ground(Fig. A), tie the poles together with a clove hitch (Fig. B). Leave several feet of rope and wrap it around three or four times and then finish with two half-hitches.
Erect the poles by placing the tripod as close as possible into its final position (Fig. C and D). After the tripod has been set, keep the rope in the perpenticular and set a peg in place where the rope touches the ground. Measure with a piece of cord to the door pole and to each back tripod pole. The distance from the peg to each tripod pole (N and S) should be the same, but the distance to the door pole (D) should be somewhat longer.
To put the other poles into position, lay the poles in consecutively , according to the numbers on the ground plan (Fig. D): 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 all in the front crotch; 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 on top of the first five, in the same crotch. This places two-third of the poles in the front crotch and in the smoke hole, ensuring the least possible bulk under the cover.Lay poles 11, 12, 13, and 14 in the rear crotch, skipping one space between 13 and 14, where the lifting pole, L, will eventually go. Even with a greater or smaller numbers of poles, they will still be grouped in the same way, with two-thirds of the poles in the front crotch. When pole 11 is in place, wrap the rope around all of the poles which are now standing. This adds to the sturdiness of the tent. Carry the rope to the outside of the framework, starting at pole S, and walk to the left around the framework four times (clockwise, or as the Indians say “with the sun”), whipping and snapping the rope up into place and drawing it tight as you go. After the rope has been wrapped four times, it must be brought over pole N and attached to a stout peg to serve as an anchor, approximately 3 feet long and driven in at an angle (Fig. C – P) If the area is not windy, the rope is merely spiraled down the north tripod pole, N, and fastened with a half hitch. The lifting pole, L, can be laid onto the cover along the same line on which poles N and S had been laid (Fig. A). The lifting pole can be measured at the same time as the tripod poles. After binding the canvas to the pole, fold the material on itself, so that the edges with the lacing-pin holes lie on the line where the lifting pole was measured.
The cover should form a long triangle about two feet wide at its base. Hoist the entire bundle into the last space in the rear crotch. Unroll the cover from each side and carry it around to the front. The canvas cover should be slack enough on the frame that it can easily be pinned, starting with the top lacing pin. After that, insert the smoke flap poles, push the other poles from the inside into proper position and start pegging down the tipi. To remove all the creases in the cover adjust the poles accordingly. This page can be downloaded as an Adobe-pdf-File. We welcome any questions and inquiries!
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