You're right, we come from very different places. Where I come from, the air can kill you in winter. And our soil is low clay, high organic matter, it's basically a sponge until it is supersaturated.

Without intending to throw stones, anyone can stay alive at 50 degrees unless they are unlucky (ie, eaten, struck by lightening, tree limb falls off and hits you in the head) or stupid (ie, cleaning game in camp, eating poison ivy, petting a rattlesnake). That's why I snickered at your comment about Les Stroud saying he was hungry- you've obviously never seen a beaver pond after the beavers have moved on, at 40 degrees- not much life in it that isn't dug half a foot into the mud. (Good luck finding it.)

You're right, I want to see this 20'x20' lean to of yours. And when you take pictures, I will take them at face value. But I want to see it. And for one reason- I don't doubt that it can be built, but I don't believe the "few minutes" claim, becuase I've built that type of shelter and it takes longer than that if you factor in your time to gather materials. I agree it takes only a few minutes to put up the major frames, but the cross pieces and the roof, I've got to see this. I also question the point of a leanto that big, unless you are using it to store, say, firewood and lots of it.

The reason why I have a hard time beliving your claim that you use pines is mostly based on your time factor. Pines, at least every kind I've ever met, has long skinny needles that cluster on the end of the branch. Sure, enough of it would make a waterproof roof, but there are so much better options that don't require as much time, effort, or materials- even grass bundles work better. Maybe "pine" is a generic term for all conifers in your usage, much like "coke" can be a generic term for all carbonated soft drinks south of the Mason-Dixon line. If you had said you were using spruce or fir or even tammarac, I could see it. If I see a picture of what you are using, I may grant you the quality of being ignorant (a correctable character flaw) rather than a con.

Oh, and FYI, I've spent an entire summer in high school living as you are proposing. My first mentor spent time on Mindano, in Tailand, and in Liberia, living and working with the indigenous peoples (who were mostly iron age cultures then), and those techniques are what he taught me (all REALLY rainy places). My second mentor was an archeologist and anthropologist specializing in the nations of the Iriquois Conferederacy and it's technology, along with the first whites to settle in thier territory (which I live in and am decended from). Those are the techniques I used that summer, and every other time. And guess what, in a hostile climate, the roof leaks- thatch, sod, anything but skins gets issues with a driving rain. But maybe you don't have driving rain.

As for your humidity, I didn't see that in your post. If it was in the initial one, I owe you a partial apology becuase that has been part of my questioning, but I have to ask- if was that hot and humid, why were you using a sleeping bag? Put out your pad, and sleep on top of it, and keep your bag well away from you. And if you are having condensation issues in a tent due to humidity, open the vents. It really is that easy- no small part of why I've been so incredulous is a tent is basically a lean to with two leans, and if you can make a lean to drip proof, then you should have applied the same principles of ventilation to your tent.

As for why I try to leave few traces, there's a lot of reasons. First and foremost, I see myself, as a land holder, as the temporary steward of the land. The land isn't going to end when I die, I hold it in trust for other residents of the land, current and future. That, and if I use too much of a resource in practice, when the stuff hits the fan, it won't be there when it is needed- renewable and short term are not the same thing. But I can already see you may already be beyond understanding the ethical and long term survival issues associated with stripping the limbs off the number of pines that would be required to make what you have proposed work.

Part of the reason I am dubious of long term living with primative techniques has to do witht he points AROTC aluded to- you are trying to use the techniques of cultures that had nearly 100% mortality by 40. The biggest issue after illness was exposure. No one lived in lean tos except on a temporary basis, due to the open sides. But then again, maybe your climate doesn't have exposure as an issue, although if you don't, I'm baffeled as to where you are getting your pine boughs, or anything else.

But the biggest reason I've taken acception to you, is your questioning of my knowledge of the natural enviroment, and science in general. I'm one of those annoying genius type people who tutored various maths (including geometery, so I know what a square is, boy), enviromental science, physics and chemistry while working on my engineering degree. On top of spending every summer until my sophmore year of high school outside, although every vacation until I graduated college was pretty much a sans-house experince. I sorta know a lot about the natural world, both the theories and the practices, along with the world of man.

That's why I say, color me unimpressed, you couldn't stay dry in a tent- it isn't rocket science. This equipment is designed to be as idiot proof as possible if it is quality, and only an idiot would try to use trash gear.