eyewall
09-02-2005, 00:05
Hi,
First of all, I'm glad I'd be able to ride out a hurricane in the middle of Iowa with what is in my pack. I used to fly wx recon, and I can not believe a lot of people did not heed the warning that were able, but that is another story.
Got back from a 4 day backpack of the Superior Hiking Trail from outside of Two Harbors to Beaver Dam, MN about 38 miles. My first real test of the hammock. Wx was great...60-65 during the day and down to about 40 at night. I will never go back to sleeping on the ground. The first night I just slept in my bag in the hammock, since I had to stealth camp with an after dark setup. That was ok, no wind in thick pines. Temp got to about 55. The second night was turing out cooler, so I laid out my Big Agnes Insulated pad and crawled into my bag. What a difference. I could immediately tell when I had slide off my pad, with my backside getting cold. By the third and fourth day, I had the entry, layout, etc pretty well down with not much trouble sleeping. My bag was overrated for the temps, so I kinda oscillated from being to warm to a bit too cool when opening up the bag. But the key, was that I was very comfortable. Hung all of my equipment except for my pack from the hammock ropes. Had a 4 mil plastic sheet for a ground cover beneath. So, overall, a very good learning experience with new equipment. I will say, that I'd feel better with a much larger tarp. So, that will be my first improvement. Other hikers where interested in the hammock, since they had never seen one, but seemed reluctant to switch from what they currently have. Of course, they guys were 15 to 30 years younger than me!
cm
First of all, I'm glad I'd be able to ride out a hurricane in the middle of Iowa with what is in my pack. I used to fly wx recon, and I can not believe a lot of people did not heed the warning that were able, but that is another story.
Got back from a 4 day backpack of the Superior Hiking Trail from outside of Two Harbors to Beaver Dam, MN about 38 miles. My first real test of the hammock. Wx was great...60-65 during the day and down to about 40 at night. I will never go back to sleeping on the ground. The first night I just slept in my bag in the hammock, since I had to stealth camp with an after dark setup. That was ok, no wind in thick pines. Temp got to about 55. The second night was turing out cooler, so I laid out my Big Agnes Insulated pad and crawled into my bag. What a difference. I could immediately tell when I had slide off my pad, with my backside getting cold. By the third and fourth day, I had the entry, layout, etc pretty well down with not much trouble sleeping. My bag was overrated for the temps, so I kinda oscillated from being to warm to a bit too cool when opening up the bag. But the key, was that I was very comfortable. Hung all of my equipment except for my pack from the hammock ropes. Had a 4 mil plastic sheet for a ground cover beneath. So, overall, a very good learning experience with new equipment. I will say, that I'd feel better with a much larger tarp. So, that will be my first improvement. Other hikers where interested in the hammock, since they had never seen one, but seemed reluctant to switch from what they currently have. Of course, they guys were 15 to 30 years younger than me!
cm