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PITCHING A TENT
    
         
    When pitching a tent, pick a spot that has a slight slope to it. Arrange your tent so that its front entrance is on the downhill side of the slope. The back of the tent should be uphill.    
         
    Erect the tent in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Due to the large number of tents on the market, it is impossible to give specific instructions on each of them.    
         
    When driving tent stakes in place, angle them so that the top of each stake leans away from the tent. This will position the point of the stake under the edge of the tent.    
         
   

Using an entrenching tool (portable or folding shovel), dig a small ditch around the outside of the tent. The ditch should be approximately six inches deep by six inches wide. Make this ditch close to the outer edges of the tent.

    
         
    Locate the lowest area of the trench. At this point, dig a drainage ditch leading downhill and away from your tent.    
         
    Pile the dirt that was removed during excavation, on the edges of the tent and tamp it down. This provides some protection against rain seeping under the tent floor.