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David S.
12-30-2004, 02:34
I am just curious as to how well most people sleep outdoors. I personally tend to be a very light sleeper...waking up every hour or so and sleeping very very light in between.

peter_pan
12-30-2004, 05:08
Post 50 bladder = one nature call. Otherwise it is straight thru in my hammock...

In fact, I bet that amoung the post 40 hikers, there are more "thru-sleepers" (nature calls only don't count) in hammocks than on the ground. :-?

Jaybird
12-30-2004, 06:53
same here...POST 50 bladder...other than that...i fall asleep fairly quickly.


i usually hike 6 to 8 hours per day...so, its not a real ordeal for me to "ZONK OUT"...rather quickly after a little bit o' grub in me.

will be section-hikin' this Spring 2005 (April 28-May 21) Hot Springs, NC to Carvers Gap,TN (w/ "the Model T crew") & Damascus to Pearisburg, VA (solo,NOBO). :D

The Hog
12-30-2004, 09:07
For me the quality of a night's sleep depends in part upon the quality of the sleeping pad and what it's placed on (and also on how tired you are, what you ate for dinner, etc). A thermarest on top of cushy pine needles does a lot better than an ensolite pad on rocks and roots. My best sleep on the A.T. was in a hayloft next to the Mt. Cube Sugar Shack.

Since I was carrying a heavy movie camera, I decided to jettison a lot of other gear, including a flashlite. Before it got dark, I would try to commit the landscape around the shelter to memory. When it came time for the inevitable nighttime relief run, I managed to feel my way through the darkness and get back in bed without stepping on anyone's head.

SGT Rock
12-30-2004, 09:11
I would pass out fast, but I like to take that time in my hammock to write in my journal and reflect on the day. Then I usually get a nature call at least once during the night. There have been those nights in the hammock where I pass right out and wake up to daylight, and there are those nights in the Smokies where I have to sleep in a shelter and I can't sleep for ****.

Skeemer
12-30-2004, 09:42
Slept best on the Trail alone in my tent or a shelter in that order. Never really got use to sleeping right next to others. I'm not going to blame it on snoring...which obviously can be annoying to many. The hiker population in general can be pretty hard on snorers...like they should not be allowed to sleep in shelters.

I used the lightest pad I could find...a Zrest which I actually came to like, especially in my tent.

At first I thought I was lying awake all night. I even heard a mouse in my backpack on the wall of the shelter. As time went on, my quality of sleep improved immensely, but I would always wake up at least several times.

Footslogger
12-30-2004, 10:10
Post 50 bladder = one nature call. Otherwise it is straight thru in my hammock...

In fact, I bet that amoung the post 40 hikers, there are more "thru-sleepers" (nature calls only don't count) in hammocks than on the ground. :-?====================================
Me too ...had to water the lillies at least once ever night but otherwise I got good sleep. Exceptions would be a few really rainy/stormy nights when the shelters were wall-to-wall and hikers were coming and going.

'Slogger
AT 2003

Dharma
12-30-2004, 10:23
I chose "My nights are more like a series of short light naps" because nothing was closer to what I experience. I fall asleep right away and wake up probably once an hour to shift my body to a new position. My sleep is deep though and I do dream every night.

grrickar
12-30-2004, 14:43
It takes me awhile to fall asleep, and if I'm in a shelter the snoring usually deprives me of a decent night's sleep. I snore too, so I can find fault with others. Earplugs are an annoyance to me. I have ringing (tinnitus) in my ears and earplugs dampen outside noise and makes the ringing more noticeable. I'll carry an MP3 player next time.

Tent camping is more desirable to me. I can setup my tent away from others if I want. Max Patch was so windy my tent flapping all night (along with the one next to me) woke me up a few times.

I may even take some of those Simply Sleep pills that Tylenol makes, or some Tylenol PM.

Kerosene
12-30-2004, 17:43
...wake up probably once an hour to shift my body to a new position.That's one of the great things about a hammock, you don't have to shift your body position since there are no pressure points. I'm a side sleeper, but the only time I've ever been able to sleep on my back -- for hours -- is in my Hennessey Hammock.

Spirit Walker
12-30-2004, 17:46
It depends on how many miles I've hiked and how much I hurt. Also, how long I've been out on the trail. The first few nights of a trip it can take me a while to get used to sleeping on the ground and I'm usually fairly sore, so getting to sleep and staying asleep can be difficult. After a while I am usually so tired I sleep like a rock. Unless I've done more than 20 miles that day, in which case sore feet and restless legs can make it hard to go to sleep. I'll usually take Ibuprofin before bed, but if we've hiked until dark, there isn't time for it to go to work. If we stop earlier, and I take some Vit. I before dinner and again before bed, I sleep like a baby. It's amazing how some times I can sleep for 12 hours a night and others sleep only four hours, but either way I am happy and feel rested enough to hike the next day. I think I get energy from the earth, so even when I don't sleep, I feel fine. (Just as I can drink a gallon of coffee at the office and I still don't feel awake, even after a good night's sleep.)

FatMan
12-30-2004, 20:57
When on the ground I am up nearly all night wishing I could sleep.

When in the Hammock I am fall asleep fast and only wake up when nature calls.

mdjeeper
01-01-2005, 17:14
anytime I am out in the woods I am out like a light once I lay down and about the only thing that will wake me before morning is a noise that shouldnt be there

djessop
01-01-2005, 18:00
I find that I usually sleep more deeply when hiking than at home and that also I more frequently have very vivid dreams when I am lying on the ground rather than on a bed.

art to linda
01-01-2005, 19:51
I sleep well in the woods but do need to make the midnight walk once in a while ;)

titanium_hiker
01-01-2005, 21:45
Hammock all the way!!!

ahh.... the new titanium's hammock first night trials... lets see how the sleeping bag stays put.

titanium_hiker

Doctari
03-22-2005, 22:18
Yea, that damn "Post 50 bladder" 03:00 AM every night.

Still, I sleep MUCH better than at home.

The dreams are a bit weirder trailside, oh well.

Doctari.

Stumblefoot
03-23-2005, 13:46
Love my hammock. Less than 10 minutes after climbing in I'm asleep. Other than the normal post-50 bladder wakeup call, I sleep like a baby. Hope that I never have to sleep on the ground again.