Quote Originally Posted by cmoulder View Post
As usual, it's location-location-location ... Many times those same rocks can be used as stakes so if you forget them there are options.

rock_stake_01.jpg
I love the photo! This is a great idea and I use this same stick & rock trick all the time. A lot of the places that I go backpacking in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and (particularly) Pennsylvania are really rocky, so I'll often save weight by not taking stakes at all.

I usually try to find flatter rocks though when I can. There have been several instances when I used a roundish rock like the one depicted (even a really heavy one) that just rolled right over the stick when a good gust of wind caused the tarp to suddenly jerk the guy line. Actually ... and don't ask me to explain the physics ... but I think the stick was actually pulled under the rock while the rock rolled over the top of it, sort of like the string pulling under a yo-yo. A heavy flatter rock and a fatter stick can help minimize that issue.