i have a 3 year old boxer who loves to be outside, ive had this same dilemma of wanting her with on overnights but wanting to sleep in my hammock....I have used a thin fleece blancket as in isolated between her feet and the hammock so it wouldnt tear. This has worked, tho sometimes she just isnt comfortable in the hammock, when that happens i have a tyvek floormat type thing i lay down under the hammock for changing and sitting. In winter time a poncho liner keeps her warm if she wants to lay below me.
I think you are correct Karl.
Rick I know you love your dog, but if it were me, I would get my rig set up and working for yourself, then see how to go about fitting your dog into the setup. He may be happy to sleep under the tarp on a pad or just a piece of Tyvek. I am going to carry a piece of Tyvek to stand on under my tarp, And to make signs saying Hiker to Town or Hiker to trail. Four uses out of one piece of equipment. Good luck
Blackheart
my forth use is sitting on it.
Blackheart
yeah, Hes gotten big (40 lbs and only 6 months old)... So I pretty much abandoned the idea of him sleeping with me in my new skeeter beeter.
I'll try him on the ground/pad and see how he does with that
Me: Ricky
Husky: Jack
Skeeter-Beeter Pro Hammock.
From Dalton, Georgia (65 mi above Altanta, 15mi south of Chattanooga)
Having a dog sleep in a hammock is no problem. Just have to take the time before the hike to get your dog used to it. When buying a hammock consider the weight of both you and the dog. Worry about his nails? Cut em short. This too takes time. It will take a few months as well. Cut em short (dont make em bleed), after a few trims of and keeping diligent on keeping the nails short you will be able to cut em shorter without making em bleed. Having your dog in your hammock will help keep both of yall warm. A tent might be a better choice, as the weight might be less. But to be fair, after a long day of hiking a dog wont move much. As soon as he is comfortable, he ain't moving. Try it out. You might be surprised.
Read this book: The Darkness in the Light: A Spiritual Journey Along the Appalachian Trail, by Joey Shonka. He started his thru hike of AT with a dog and he would take the dog in his hammock. I don't know how it ended as i did not complete the book.
"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges. Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!" (Rudyard Kipling)
From SunnyWalker, SOBO CDT hiker starting June 2014.
Please visit: SunnyWalker.Net
Hi Guys,
I carried a Clark Jungle Hammock North American in 2006 and had my dog with me for the first 10 days or so. It was fun to sleep together in the hammock but we were used to cuddling on the couch. My dog Jack (RIP) was a bit of a couch potato. I found out years later than he was lazy because he had daily small strokes, which eventually took his life.
We were 300+ together, and I know the Skeeter Beeter and the like are thin parachute nylon. Even your dog's nails could rip one of those!
Check out my website, joeyshonka.com
Oh and thanks for reading my book Buckeye and Sunny Walker! If you want to send some trail magic my way, post an awesome review to Amazon and help me sell some books I need all the sales I can get, I am half-way through my attempted thru-hike of the Andes and am living on rice and beans.....
Check out my website, joeyshonka.com
Wet dog in a hammock? I don't think so.
The dog will get wet.
I think a floorless tent vestibule is more practical.
Last week I worked on this situation for tackling the AT in 2016. I purchased an Alcott explorer pup tent. I replaced the fiberglass poles (7.5 oz.)with two short sections of aluminium arrow shaft with automotive tubing caps on the ends (1 oz.). The tent can be suspended from either a tree or the hammock suspension to hold the tent upright. I also worked on an pad that has tyvek on the bottom and fleece on top and I can slip a piece of reflectix in between. The tent with arrow shaft poles weighs 14.5 oz. I have not weighed the tyvek pad. I am still figuring my options on what I will exactly take. I may just take the pad and have my Border Collie sleep under the hammock/tarp on the leeward side of my pack for shelter. She definitely likes the tent and will sleep in it even when there are other options for her to choose from. I am also open to abandoning the whole hammock idea and resorting to using my cuben fiber floorless hextent (same dimensions as a Golite Hex3).
My current plan is to give the hammock setup a go from Harper's Ferry heading south. My truck will be parked at a friends place down by Shenandoah (Elkton). If the hammock system isn't cutting it, we will go to ground in the hextent for the remainder. My dog must come, my dog must be comfortable, and the hike is secondary to her well being.
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Check out Fronkey's videos, he hammock camps with a husky. Dog sleeps on the ground on a pad under his hammock and tarp. Stays nice and dry.
Stays nice and dry. Hmmm, I would proffer that is quite a feat after being on the trail all day long in the rain, or days in the rain. I know I may be more accustom to MT and WY weather, but even though my Border Collies have excellent coats and undercoats, and spend considerable time outdoors, I know they like a wee bit o' shelter after grappling all day with the elements.
Case in point, after all day in the rain/snow these gals were happy to be curled up in the tent. Not too jacked about facing a new day of fresh snow and trail slush. Albeit, they also had to swim the Yellowstone and Thoroughfare rivers to get there. I suppose that would dampen, so to speak, some of my enthusiasm...brrrrr158878880.jpgLETSLEEP.JPGMILLE004.JPG