Tent stakes are troublesome things at best. Generally when you go to driving them you find stones or roots in the way. They do not hold well except in favorable soil and in dry weather. When guy ropes get wet they shrink and engage in a tug of war that loosens the stakes.

Fig. 11. Wall Tent on Shears with Guy Frame.

If poles grow near the camp site it is more satisfactory to drive four heavy crotched corner stakes and lay a stiff pole across each pair of them at about the height of the tent w7all and parallel to its sides, to which the guy ropes are made fast (see Fig. n).

If a fly is used, lash a rather heavy pole to each edge and drop these poles over the guy rods. Their weight automatically keeps the fly taut at all times, wet or dry.