Has anyome hiked the ENTIRE with only a hammock system?

[Cheesewhiz]

yeah give 'em time I think he's out on the Flordia trail now

[Reality_check]

hey guy's i was just searching around and came across this post. I thru-hiked the AT in 05 using just the hammock. If memory serves I only slept in the shelters like 8 times and most of that was in the dam state parks. there was also a few others along the way that switched over and never went back. Strider did more then 1/2 the trail out in his hammock that year also. so it can be done. and is so much better then using a tent. I saw very few tenter's or tarpers out there that didn't sleep in the shelters most of the time. if your going to sleep on the ground its allot easer to just sleep in the shelter most nights and not set up a camp. I personally don't like sleeping next to smelly people that snore and wake me up. i also never had a problem finding trees to hang at along the trail. I Usually set up around the shelters for the company and water but always slept far enough away not to be bothered by anyone.

now my advice for anyone that wants to do this is:

#1 YOU NEED AN UNDER QUILT !!!! You can survive just fine every night by sleeping on your pad tossing, adjusting, sticking!! . But trust me on this ... Spend the money and upgrade to an Under quilt. I am not up to date on who is making under quilt options these days, but i used a jacks R better set and it worked awesome. I never had a cold or uncomfortable night on the trail .. in the beginning and starting at the Whites up i carried a set of fleece pants, top, socks , and hat that i would wear on really cold nights.

#2 BIGGER TARP !!!!! Again you will survive every night just fine with a tiny little tarp. But because of the fact that you can't do anything besides lay down in your hammock you are going to need some room for the "other things" when the weather is nasty. i use a MacCat deluxe tarp that was worth every gram. I only wished it was a little bigger! I slept out during all hurricanes and rain storms that year and never had a problem keeping dry. Because your off the ground only your tarp gets wet and that is easy to dry out.You will also notice that all the tenter's like to hang out under your nice tarp when the weather is bad. sometimes that was a bad thing now that i think back on it , lol ...

The rest is up to you .. i like the HH hammock's but the other ones out there will do just fine as well. Although i highly recommend full bug net. Nothing is worse then swatting horse fly's off your face all night. I also used the snake skin things and loved them .. umm what else .. ohh use a carabiner (the real climbing ones !!!) between the tree huggers and the main hammock lines .. saves allot of friction wear on the ropes when your trying to get it set up tight. i never untied the head end off the carabiner. just clipped it to a tree and adjust the foot end to get everything right. I think all my sleeping/shelter gear together runs about 6 lbs summer 10ish for fall, but i could be wrong.. the sleep i got in the hammock was worth everything on the trail. More people need to get off the ground and into the trees.

Reality Check GAME 05

[peter_pan]

yeah give 'em time I think he's out on the Flordia trail now

Cheezewiz,

Your being too modest.... You also thrued with a hammock, in 2006.... Well done.

Pan

[FanaticFringer]

Michele over at hammock forums is currently attempting her thru-hike with a hammock. Caution, the following is highly informative and entertaining:
http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=4316

[BillyBob58]

Wow, the 13th (of all days) she had a REALLY close call with lightening(sp?)! Quite the epic!

http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=187833

[stoikurt]

Michele over at hammock forums is currently attempting her thru-hike with a hammock. Caution, the following is highly informative and entertaining:
http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=4316

And lengthy, but a great read! You also get a good picture of some of the mental aspects of a Thru Hike.