Has anyone ever been attacke dor harassed by wildlife in a hammock?
I have heard tent stories of mice and raccoons and the occasional, yet terrifying, bear intrusions, but I haven't heard of any hammockers getting messed with yet.
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
Sorry for the typo above. Fast mind... fat fingers.
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
i have not........
but last year, a kid along hazel creek in the GSMNP had an incident with a bear..............he was sleeping in a hammock----the kid and not the bear.....
I was hammocking on the hill above my back field a couple of years ago when I heard hooves approaching. A deer, I thought (there is a small herd in the neighborhood), and decided to see what would happen. Well, the deer actually bumped into the hammock, and was he/she ever surprised. I said, "Would you please get out of here?" and the deer snorted and ran off.
When we used hammocks, my wife was a wildlife magnet. Flying squirrels landed on her hammock more than once, and she had a bear walk under her hammock, snuffling around camp one night - it brushed against her back, moving her and the hammock.
Needless to say, she's more of a tent person now.
OMG!! That's exactly what I was envisioning!! I am a tenter, but my husband hammocks and I have been weighing the options and considering going above ground, but it feels like you would be such an easy target for just anything that wanted to mess with you. Imagine if Peachpeak had been in a hammock. Would the bear have totally ignored him or would he have been a kabob?Originally Posted by bigcranky
When we used hammocks, my wife was a wildlife magnet. Flying squirrels landed on her hammock more than once, and she had a bear walk under her hammock, snuffling around camp one night - it brushed against her back, moving her and the hammock.
Needless to say, she's more of a tent person now.
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
Yep those thin silnylon tent walls cannot be penetrated by bears. Of course the can sit on them and collapse them on you as one did mine years ago.
I am not young enough to know everything.
I think it's all in the illusion. I set my hammock up on a cool night in October and left the tarp way up in porch mode. I could see almost all the way around myself. It was really unnerving at first, but I got over it. If something wants you, it's coming in. I like the hammock in winter, I can get out quick if I want. I'd feel trapped in a tent.
Of course there is the video out there of the guy whose camping partner pranked him. Pretended to be a polar bear and started scratching one side of the tent. Dude in the tent slit an opening through the other side and ran off. Bear pranks could go really bad in the woods... some people have knives, some people have guns. Don't screw with people.
Please don't read my blog at theosus1.Wordpress.com
"I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Thank God for Search and Rescue" - Robert Frost (first edit).
I never even put up my tarp unless there is a chance of rain. I use a netless hammock and love the openenss.
I am not young enough to know everything.
Bears don't eat people. Black bears especially. There is always the odd exception, but unless you're on foot and startle a bear, or get between a momma and the cubs, the bear doesn't want anything to do with you. I know, the feelings are mutual. I would suspect that you're as safe in a hammock as you are in a tent.
Swarms of mosquitos have tried to attack, but so far the netting has kept most of them out. I purposely got the double layer Warbonnet because I understand the bloodsuckers can sometimes penetrate the single layer.
This was the entry from my thru a few years back...Bearfence shelter in SNP
Right before dark another SOBO thru named Nancy Drew showed up. He earned that trailname from other hikers by solving some mysteries back in Maine. He set up his hammock 50 yards above the shelter. He did not stay up there very long. About a hour after dark we were all rousted by Nancy Drew, he was having big time bear trouble.(bears #12&13) The half grown young bear had climbed the tree that one end of his hammock was tied to. When he got out with his flashlight the big momma bear was 10 yards away and stood up on her back legs. At that point he decided to come for help. Several of us with lights and a smoking stick from the fire went up to his campsite. I waved the smoking stick around and the others gathered up all his gear and we retreated to the shelter. I re stoked the fire while Nancy Drew set up inside the shelter.
Yep. Tents are fine.
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
Don't let these stories freak you out about hammocks. I've been using one for years and never had a close wildlife encounter, even in serious bear country like the NJ sections. I guess it all depends on how and where you hang. I hang fairly low, since I also use my hammock as my camp chair, so not much is likely to walk under me. I also look pretty closely to see that the site I'm hanging in isn't in a place where it's likely to be disturbed by anything, including wildlife. It's seems to work pretty well. Meanwhile, I sleep like a baby. There's nothing more comfortable on the trail than sleeping in a hammock.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
Not sure what difference a tent makes over a hammock. If something wants to get you a tent wall makes no difference.
Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, the Trail beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind, and soul of man.
I know... I will booby trap my tent! I will put jingle bells all around it so when I hear the bells ring, I know I have a visitor and I should start yelling, and hopefully I will discourage any further examination.
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
Along these lines I was questioned for leaving my tent's vestibule open recently. I am think if the bear can see you are you in any more danger than if he just sees a tent? That nylon is not going to keep him out if he wants in. Agree? or do you close up?
True, but a hammock just looks and feels way more exposed to me. Like a bear burrito. At least in a tent, there is the illusion of a wall dividing you from what's outside. The illusion is comforting.
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
I close up. Not to keep anything from seeing me, as much as me not wanting to see anything. No glowy eyes in the dark for me please. I do have a dog with me this time, so I am sure she will smell any visitors coming long before they get close enough to touch. Maybe the barking will deter any confrontations.
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
I set up too close to a wasp nest one time and got 3 stings.
Find the LIGHT STUFF at QiWiz.net
The lightest cathole trowels, wood burning stoves, windscreens, spatulas,
cooking options, titanium and aluminum pots, and buck saws on the planet
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
