Sunday I lost my hammock Virginity (Blood mtn in a monsoon)

[Suckerfish]

I took the plunge, I left my tent at home and packed my hammock, tarp and I bought a bug net to just go over my head. I parked at lake Winfield Scott and hiked up to blood mtn. From the lake it is 6.7 miles. Fog rolled in around 8pm as the sun was setting and then the rain started around 10:00pm. Then the monsoon rain kicked in high gear around midnight and it rained steady and heavy for the next 2-3 hours. I’m not sure when the rain stopped however because I was out cold, I drank some whiskey and took a Tylenol pm to help me sleep and I don’t think I needed either of the two. Without a doubt the most comfortable set up I have ever had backpacking. I stayed warm and dry all night, the temp. Dropped to 55 with the fog and rain and a steady wind of about 5-7 MPH it felt like anyway. Rain water ran all down the mtn too, I don’t know if there was a dry spot on the entire mtn other than the shelter where rainwater wasn’t a problem with runoff.

I have some kinks to work out but overall I love it and will never take my tent on a trip again. I lose a good 2.5 lbs of weight by ditching the tent, rain tarp, poles and stakes.

I call a tent or hammock your sleep system. A sleep system is everything that is related to your sleep set up. Sleeping bag, pad, tent or hammock etc and I lose a good 2.5lbs of weight for my set up plus I sleep more comfortable and I stayed dryer.

Equipment so far…
1. Grand Trunk Ultra light hammock.
2. Byer Amazonas Micro Rope
3. Eno Pro Rain Fly
4. 4 aluminum Steaks
5. Marmot Aspen Minimalist 40 degree sleeping bag
6. Big Agnes insulated Air core mummy pad
7. Two pieces of string
8. Sea to summit headnet

My sleeping system is pretty light, I need to weigh this entire out so I will know but my entire tent is a good 2.5lbs heavier.

Positives


Very comfortable
A nice chair for eating and cooking
Overall a nice camp set up once set
Use trekking poles to make a vestibule
Don’t need a dry high ground for tent, can set up anywhere there are two trees.
No worry about flooding
Easy to get in and out, not hard on the knees getting off the ground.


Negatives


No where to store gear, in my tent I just throw it all in there and not worry about bugs or rain, in a hammock set up you have to be more careful with your gear. Ziploc everything FYI, my book I was reading got soaked the next morning


I will gladly give up the gear storage option to gain everything else.

Overall this set up is perfect for me, so perfect I will be an advocate to convert any other curious hiker.
I stayed warm and dry in very horrible summer conditions (Heavy rain)

It feels like a camp set up, during the rain in the morning I ate my breakfast read my book, brushed my teeth all at my camp. I had the shelter set up and had plenty of room, much more room than if I were confined in my tent during a rainstorm.


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[T-Rx]

Welcome to the hammock club Suckerfish. I converted to a hammock about a year ago and I have never looked back. As I got older the ground seemed to get a lot harder and my joints got stiffer. I get up in the mornings from my hammock feeling much better. I store my gear under my hammock as you show in your photo. I also bring a small piece of plastic to set my gear on. This helps keep it dry. Other folks may offer better options than this so I will be watching this thread and maybe I will learn something as well. Enjoy your hangs!

[HikerMom58]

Nice pics Suckerfish. I'm glad you are pleased with ur set up. My hubby likes to "hang" as well for the same reasons as T-Rx. :) This post is so refreshing and eye catching 2... thanks for sharing!!

[max patch]

I'm not going to debate the pros and cons of hanging, if you've found what works for you then thats great. I will say that if your new setup saves you 2.5 pounds then you were using too heavy a tent in the first place.

[msupple]

If you add a ridgeline to your hammock it gives you a place to hang lots of gear. There are commercially made pouches that attach to and slide along the ridgeline. Also, many of your better hammocks have gear pouches built into them. If you are unfamiliar with ridgelines go to hammockforums.net and do a search. Welcome to the fold.

[Hairbear]

i also made the choice not too long ago to go to the hammock.im glad i did.since i have, ive now been weighing everything.be careful the hammock fever has side effects,it will make you a gram weenie, at least it did me and my back loves it even though ive got a lot to learn .good luck

[kayak karl]

some suggestions. you have the hammock pulled too tight between trees which should be15-18 ft. apart. hammock should be tied off above the tarp line, especially when rain is expected. last, ALWAYS use tree huggers when attaching to tree.

as far as storage don't get to involved. you have a small bag on that hammock. use it at night to put things in.
at night i hang food and cook gear. i use an oversize cuben stuff sack.
rain gear is my pillow (packa)
there is not much left in pack (5lb tops) i hang that from bottom end of hammock and clip hipbelt around hammock.
i hang my boots from head end of hammock.
i only hang 12" off ground and nothing has ever gotten wet.

hope you get another chance to hang.

KK

[Deadeye]

Bonus: since you're using a sleeping pad, you can still sleep comfortably on the ground, either in a shelter, or under your tarp on top of a bald or in a field. Just learn to setup the tarp without trees - takes about 5 minutes.

I put all my stuff in my pack at night, and hang it from the knot at the end of the hammock. My food's in a bear can, stored away from camp, so there's not much left in the pack, weight-wise.

[Buffalo Skipper]

Welcome to the dark side. I crossed over 22 months ago, and I have not slept in a tent or on the gound since (80ish nights in the hammock). Unlike the tent camping we all grew up with, hammocking requires a slightly different mind set. Hammockforums.net has many like minded people, and a thousand ideas you may have never considered, both to improve you comfort and to keep you warm in cooler weather. It is worth a look, at least.

Headed out to hang this weekend, next weekend, then on the AT for six days and again the weekend after that. I just love the sleep I get in my hammock.

[LadybugPicnic]

Welcome to the wonderful world of hammocking - it's the only way to go in my opinion! :)



17314

[JJJ]

Kudos. Sounds like a great first hang. If you get below 50° you may want to beef up your butt side insulation.
+1 on the whiskey.

[Wise Old Owl]

Welcome to the dark side! Great post & pics,

[Tinker]

A large, lightweight trash bag can hold your pack and gear that you want to keep dry. Just keep it under the foot of your hammock, and make sure if it's windy that you put something on it when it's empty or you might lose it or have to chase it out into the rain. If you have a pack liner, you might just opt to let your pack sit on the ground with the suspension facing up. I would spray it with permethrin based insecticide if you choose to do that (of course, I permethrin nearly everything to keep ticks - and mosquitoes - away).

[Suckerfish]

Bonus: since you're using a sleeping pad, you can still sleep comfortably on the ground, either in a shelter, or under your tarp on top of a bald or in a field. Just learn to setup the tarp without trees - takes about 5 minutes.

I put all my stuff in my pack at night, and hang it from the knot at the end of the hammock. My food's in a bear can, stored away from camp, so there's not much left in the pack, weight-wise.

Deadeye, great point, i thought about this when I hiked in. Being my first night and knowing the rain was comming hard, forecasted anyway i knew the shelter was close by. I could always bail and sleep in the shelter with my pad. I was very shocked how warm it kept me.

I have already figured out how hang the tarp using my poles, I put them upside down and put the ends through these slots in the tarp, when I steak it and pull it tight it isnt moving, it shakes some but I know it could hold up in rain or wind. I feel like I graduated to another level Saturday night. I was afraid of the unknown heading into it, why I took the whiskey and tylenol but man the next morning I felt alive, as if I just glitched mother nature. Some guys in tents below me were miserable said their tent leaked in the middle of the night and they had little to no sleep.

I know it isnt for everyone, tall guys or fat guys might have a problem in it.

I am a fan for life. Will never tent again unless it's carcamping with the girlfriend. She loves her hammock, just gets in it during the day to read and she always zones out to sleep. She always says how comfortable it is once in it. If i can get her to backpack with me we will take the hammocks now.

I got most of my ideas in planning from reading the hammock forum on here. Thanks for all the strange hangs on here. Fight the tent tyranny today.

[Suckerfish]

some suggestions. you have the hammock pulled too tight between trees which should be15-18 ft. apart. hammock should be tied off above the tarp line, especially when rain is expected. last, ALWAYS use tree huggers when attaching to tree.

as far as storage don't get to involved. you have a small bag on that hammock. use it at night to put things in.
at night i hang food and cook gear. i use an oversize cuben stuff sack.
rain gear is my pillow (packa)
there is not much left in pack (5lb tops) i hang that from bottom end of hammock and clip hipbelt around hammock.
i hang my boots from head end of hammock.
i only hang 12" off ground and nothing has ever gotten wet.

hope you get another chance to hang.

KK

Thanks so much Kayak Karl for the advice, ignorance is bliss, I am a novice at this but go tthe fever for sure. So I should have my hammock stretched between two trees that are roughly 15-18 feet apart?

I tried to tie my hammock line above the tarp but when I did my hammock line was rubbing against the tarp so I moved it down.

I will get something to use against the trees to prevent the cord from cutting into the trees, I noticed the next morning there was some damage to the trees, unforseen on my end of course.

I hang my food using the PCT method, I never eat dinner at my campsite if I cam cooking a hot meal. ALways a mile or 2 before I set up camp. After I hang my food the only thing left in my pack are my clothes and stuff sacks (empty). Everything else I put in my little pouch. I thought of putting my boots in my pack inside the pack liner. I could hang my pack on the tree and put my pack fly over it, I am still toying with this. I liked using it as a table Sunday night during the rain, I just sat my book and water on it. I don't like thinking of ticcs and stuff getting on my pack though, why I loved having it in my tent. Another thought was to just get some bug netting to put around the pack to keep ticcs and bees out of it, sounds a bit over the top I know but I did get stung by two bees once when I sat my pack down overnight, the last time I have done that.

This is so much fun, I can't wait to do this again. Will continue to set up near a shelter in case I do get drenched one day in a down poor I can always run to the shelter. But so far so good.

thanks again for the advice.

[Suckerfish]

BTW I have seen 5 bears this summer hiking the AT in Ga. I have a friend who has thru hiked and has tons more experience than I do and has yet to see one bear. why I hang my food, it is more mental than anything, I know the bear probably isnt going to attack my pack next to me to grab my food but I would be thinking of the grizzly attack in alaska and then just picture a big black monster bear waking me up as he is dragging my pack away then I startle him when I awake and he flips out and goes off on me, first time in a long time... Paper reads next day...."Hiker mauled by bear on AT in North Ga" Hiker was in hammock with food next to him. Every local would be saying that dumbass got what he deserved.

Why I hang my food.

I also met a woman and her daughter who were staying at the shelter on springer mtn and they went down the privy, got back and a full grown black bear had gotten in their tent, tore it to shreds and had their pack out ripping it to get to the food in it.

Bears will come and get your food if you leave, they were gone for 15 minutes.

Why I hang my food. But that's another topic.

[Stir Fry]

Welcome to Hammocking.
For gear storage I use my pack liner. I put a two sided strap through the center of my liner with a small hook on the inside to hold my pack. I then hook the outside strap to the same tree I'm hanging from. Double strap is so rain can't get pack wet through the hole in liner. Liner is made of .33 cuben fiber and weighs less then 1 oz. 1/2 the weight of trash compactor bag. In morning I have a dry pack. Shake of the bag and use it to line my pack again.

[kayak karl]

Thanks so much Kayak Karl for the advice, ignorance is bliss, I am a novice at this but go tthe fever for sure. So I should have my hammock stretched between two trees that are roughly 15-18 feet apart?

I tried to tie my hammock line above the tarp but when I did my hammock line was rubbing against the tarp so I moved it down.

I will get something to use against the trees to prevent the cord from cutting into the trees, I noticed the next morning there was some damage to the trees, unforseen on my end of course.

I hang my food using the PCT method, I never eat dinner at my campsite if I cam cooking a hot meal. ALways a mile or 2 before I set up camp. After I hang my food the only thing left in my pack are my clothes and stuff sacks (empty). Everything else I put in my little pouch. I thought of putting my boots in my pack inside the pack liner. I could hang my pack on the tree and put my pack fly over it, I am still toying with this. I liked using it as a table Sunday night during the rain, I just sat my book and water on it. I don't like thinking of ticcs and stuff getting on my pack though, why I loved having it in my tent. Another thought was to just get some bug netting to put around the pack to keep ticcs and bees out of it, sounds a bit over the top I know but I did get stung by two bees once when I sat my pack down overnight, the last time I have done that.

This is so much fun, I can't wait to do this again. Will continue to set up near a shelter in case I do get drenched one day in a down poor I can always run to the shelter. But so far so good.

thanks again for the advice.

you'll like this link :) http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11700&highlight=illustrated

[gunner76]

Suckerfish...there will be a group hang at Grayson State Park 28-30 Sept. Conme join us and you will get a chance to see lots of different hammock set ups and types of gear

[jcavenagh]

I, too, enjoy sleeping in a hammock more than a tent. Many folks prefer the tent over the hammock. Whatever...but my back feels so much better when I get up in the a.m. There are arguments ad nauseum about which system is lighter, is a hammock even considered a shelter, yadda, yadda yadda. Those arguments make for some fun while stuck in town and looking at the compooter, but when the rubber meets the trail its HYOH.

[Altarboy]

Awesome, but please don't mix tylenol and alcohol. It can put undue wear and tear on your liver.

[scope]

I'm not going to debate the pros and cons of hanging, if you've found what works for you then thats great. I will say that if your new setup saves you 2.5 pounds then you were using too heavy a tent in the first place.

Probably so Max, but I'm glad he spent his dough on this setup rather than a glorified bivy.

p.s. from the looks of it, you have plenty of storage. I just throw everything on some Tyvek under the hammock. Basically, everything under the tarp is storage area.

[JaxHiker]

Welcome to better backpacking!

Is that rain on the inside of your tarp in that last shot or do my eyes deceive me?