View Full Version : ham in or with shelter
frequency
08-15-2006, 11:04
I recollect that someone erected their hammock in a trail shelter or used the trail shelter as a tiedown. This seems an impossibility or at least a stretch (not to mention the inconsiderate factor) ...
Can anyone debunk this?
Creek Dancer
08-15-2006, 11:22
Someone had put one up at the Campbell Creek shelter a few weeks ago. Yes, it was inconsiderate. We moved on to the campsite nearby.
Jack Tarlin
08-15-2006, 12:02
Hammocks, as well as tents, don't belong in shelters.
saimyoji
08-15-2006, 12:54
What reason would a person have for setting up a tent inside a shelter? I don't get it. Is there an honest reason, or is this just clueless behavior?
Drying it out? Seam-sealing? Cleaning? :-?
Frolicking Dinosaurs
08-15-2006, 12:57
Saimyoji, I think they do it to avoid mice and bugs.
sometimes it may be done for extra warmth or privacy also
basically I agree with Jack on this one but if given a choice of sleeping on the ground/platform or hanging my hammock in a shelter I know which way I would go - I hate sleeping on the ground - but it would be a very unlikely even to only have that as an option - hang in the woods away from other folks and you don't have to listen to the snoring
Just Jeff
08-15-2006, 13:24
Not impossible if there's a strong support to hang on. Hammocks put a lot of horizontal force on their supports, though (much more than the weight of the occupant) - I'd be very careful tying to a shelter.
Probably did it b/c hammocks are much more comfortable than a wood floor, and to protect from bugs and such, in addition to having a big dry place w/o having to set up the tarp.
But like Jack said - if they're intruding on others, hammocks and tents don't belong there. Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with either if space wasn't an issue that night (and the hammock didn't bring down the shelter, of course).
saimyoji
08-15-2006, 13:46
Hmmm.....don't like bugs, don't like sleeping on the floor/outside.....How the heck did they survive the hike up to the shelter? :confused:
Just Jeff
08-15-2006, 13:47
Bug spray and sleeping in a hammock, I'd guess. Maybe even a head net.
Jack Tarlin
08-15-2006, 14:39
The number one reason people hammock or tent in a shelter is because they don't want their stuff to get wet. You very seldom see folks do this when the weather's good. In any case, unless there's nobody else present, there's no way to set up a tent or hammock in a shelter WITHOUT inconveniencing other folks, which is why it's generally not approved of. (And this doesn't mean it's OK to set up like this if you arrive at a shelter and discover nobody is there......unless, of course, it's like nine o'clock at night and it's a good bet nobody else is coming).
Ramble~On
08-15-2006, 15:05
I set my tent up inside a shelter in Virginia. I had the shelter to myself which was an oddity in 1996. The bugs were really bad and it was late, the shelter was empty. The next morning I sat inside the tent and watched a group of turkey wander about all around the shelter...they couldn't see me through the mesh I guess. That was a really cool experience and I doubt it would have happened were I just laying in the shelter with my gear spread out. No, I wouldn't have set up if the shelter was occupied.
frequency
08-15-2006, 16:47
structurally - I thought I read it was impossible b/c you would collapse the shelter...thanks for the sanity check...wouldn't have the stones to try it myself
RITBlake
08-15-2006, 16:55
structurally - I thought I read it was impossible b/c you would collapse the shelter...thanks for the sanity check...wouldn't have the stones to try it myself
??? most shelters are pretty sturdy. Plenty of strength to hold up a hanger.
Kind of rude if there are other people around though.
Gills and Samoa MEGA 05 would set up their tent inside the shelter on a regular basis. Going south meant that we would generally have shelters all to ourselves and if taking up space became an issue they would always sleep outside or just sleep inside the shelter, sans tent.
The reason for this was just as someone said, keep the bugs and the mice away, a little extra privacy, and a chance to dry out the tent a bit.
:D i avoid shelter completely:cool: neo
they suck
Two Speed
08-15-2006, 18:56
??? most shelters are pretty sturdy. Plenty of strength to hold up a hanger.Gotta be careful about where you attach the hammock. The force developed by a reasonably taught hammock with an ordinary hiker are surprisingly high. Screw up your attachment points and you'll wake up on the shelter floor if you're lucky. If not you may catch a piece of flying shelter in the kisser. Aside from the etiquette issues it ain't a good idea.
Youngblood has posted the formula for this in an earlier post, 'bout two years back if I remember correctly. I'd recommend researching that before pulling this stunt.
frequency
08-15-2006, 19:00
Gotta be careful about where you attach the hammock. The force developed by a reasonably taught hammock with an ordinary hiker are surprisingly high. Screw up your attachment points and you'll wake up on the shelter floor if you're lucky. If not you may catch a piece of flying shelter in the kisser. Aside from the etiquette issues it ain't a good idea.
Youngblood has posted the formula for this in an earlier post, 'bout two years back if I remember correctly. I'd recommend researching that before pulling this stunt.
thanks...this is the thread I was trying to recall...
Just Jeff
08-15-2006, 19:06
You can download Youngblood's excel spreadsheet with to calculate the forces in the files section of hammockcamping. It's called "hammock forces calculator" or something obvious like that.
Slojourner
08-15-2006, 21:15
On a section hike in June 2005, we shared Spence Field Shelter with 2 kids just out of high school (their first backpacking experience too) who were headed to the Citadel in the fall. Evidently they had arrived at the shelter before anyone else that day and had strung up two (2) hammocks inside. Also included in their list of "non-essential items" was about four five pound bags of trail mix. And yes, they had other food stuff to eat. One of them saw me duck-taping blisters on my toes. He announced, "Hey, if you need anymore of that we've got plenty!" as he held up an entire roll of duck tape. They were hilarious! My hiking buddy, CoweeDan, said I got even with them for the hammocks in the shelter thing though. He said with my snoring, they couldn't have gotten any sleep . . .
Just Jeff
08-17-2006, 03:50
Here's a pic of a hammock in a shelter:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=9488&c=577
Alligator
08-17-2006, 08:13
The number one reason people hammock or tent in a shelter is because they don't want their stuff to get wet. You very seldom see folks do this when the weather's good. In any case, unless there's nobody else present, there's no way to set up a tent or hammock in a shelter WITHOUT inconveniencing other folks, which is why it's generally not approved of. (And this doesn't mean it's OK to set up like this if you arrive at a shelter and discover nobody is there......unless, of course, it's like nine o'clock at night and it's a good bet nobody else is coming).I occasionally set up a tent in the shelter in the winter, late at night if no one is around. For those wondering, it's warmer when it's real windy. I found a better option though is to simply use my groundcloth as a wind break.
I set up my hammock once in the shelter because of bugs and rain. All the thrus had already tented and there were four bunks free and clear in the shelter with nobody present. No one would have been inconvenienced in the two minutes it would have taken to remove it. I hung off an overhanging beam and the bunks. It still had a little too much sag. Not a lot of shelters with that design though.
Without question, I would have immediately taken the hammock or my tent down if anyone had showed. Not once has anyone ever shown up afterwards. Just as a note, I generally hike outside of thru hiker season.
DawnTreader
08-17-2006, 12:08
i don't understand why people are against tents in shelters.. anyone I've seen set up in a shelter use small tents anyway.. the tents are literally the width of their sleeping rolls, so no aditional space is needed.. nobody is going to sleep on top of the hiker who sets up a tent, so why should it matter?
a couple hammocks in Wise Shelter:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=367&catid=member&imageuser=132
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=366&catid=member&imageuser=132
FYI - Wise is a very well built shelter and I would not worry about damaging the shelter by hanging a hammock there but I personally would not bother hanging there when there are some excellent sites to hang over on the NF side just north of Wise just over the bridge.
This year My brother and I both hung our hammocks in shelters on 3 separate occasions. We were in baxter and the 100 mile wilderness. At Baxter, the ranger told us to because we were not allowed to put up the hammocks at the lean to site. This was a private site so there was only us anyway. The second time was at Cooper Falls Shelter. There was only one more person at the shelter, but there were about 30 kids there from 2 different youth groups. There was no where to set up except near the privy!No thanks! The third time was at Hurd Brook shelter. Again there was only one other person. We hung our hammocks from back to front in the shelter, to reduce the stress. The hammock only takes up one person worth of space, but lying at an angle in the HH, makes you take up 1.5 persons worth of space. We didn't hang them until after dark, and if others had come, we would have taken them down. We used them because the baseball bat floors of the shelters weren't comfortable even with a pad, and also because of the mass quantities of mosquitoes. Also, since we had been wet from rain for several days, it was nice not to have to worry about another rain storm catching us at a bad angle again.