SalParadise
09-03-2004, 15:17
I hiked last year with a 4-pound tent and want to cut that weight down as much as possible for my second thru-hike attempt. I don't want to buy a tarp or a hammock($) and don't have the sewing equipment to make one myself, so I'm trying to think of alternatives and would love some thoughts and opinions.
My current idea is to encapsulate myself in a bug net with a floor of either the bug net itself or attached (glued?) to some groundcover. I don't want the bug net to just rest on the ground so that mice and other buggers can't just crawl under it. I would raise the net off the ground with hiking poles instead of just draped over me for mosquito reasons, and I would sleep with pad and sleeping bag inside a bivvy sack, which would hold me from the wind and particularly the rain. I could also hold the corners down with rocks if needs be. I would keep it in a waterproof bag so it wouldn't get the inside of my pack wet, and I would probably keep a spare one at home that would be mailed to me in case the netting eventually starts to rot from the dampness.
Thoughts? Opinions? Do you think this might work? Any drawbacks I might be missing? This could save me a decent amount of weight, so I'm curious if you this this might be viable on the Trail. Thanks.
My current idea is to encapsulate myself in a bug net with a floor of either the bug net itself or attached (glued?) to some groundcover. I don't want the bug net to just rest on the ground so that mice and other buggers can't just crawl under it. I would raise the net off the ground with hiking poles instead of just draped over me for mosquito reasons, and I would sleep with pad and sleeping bag inside a bivvy sack, which would hold me from the wind and particularly the rain. I could also hold the corners down with rocks if needs be. I would keep it in a waterproof bag so it wouldn't get the inside of my pack wet, and I would probably keep a spare one at home that would be mailed to me in case the netting eventually starts to rot from the dampness.
Thoughts? Opinions? Do you think this might work? Any drawbacks I might be missing? This could save me a decent amount of weight, so I'm curious if you this this might be viable on the Trail. Thanks.