I went to St. Croix state park in Minnesota this weekend for an adventure race. The weather was nice in Minneapolis when we started, but by the time we got there well after dark it was dumping buckets and buckets. Since we didn't know when/if the rain was going to stop, my teammate and I decided to make camp. We had an 8:30 am start and good night's sleep generally enhances one's ability to survive the course.

He had a Eureka A frame tent, and it got soaked. He had to invert the corners to pour the water out. His camp pad was wet. I think his sleeping bag stayed dry.

I had a Hennessy Hyperlight with the large Hennessy poly fly. I set the fly up first and then, while under its protection I set up my hammock, pulled my sleeping bag from the plastic covered compression sack, pulled my clothes out of their bag, and got everything ready. Nothing got wet but my rain jacket and my boots which I was wearing.

Just after we had set up, the rain stopped, the clouds vanished and I spent the next twenty minutes staring at the Milky Way. Awesome.

I slept really well.

I love my hammock and I love the separate fly.

By the way, I am now on my fifth or more hanging session with the panther cleats first identified by ALHikerGal. I still haven't been dropped on my head.

FreeTheWeasel

I love hearing of ground dwellers having a miserable night while in the company of a hanger. I bet your friend was looking at your setup with envy.

I love hearing of ground dwellers having a miserable night while in the company of a hanger. I bet your friend was looking at your setup with envy.

I too would rejoice in this, even though he is my friend and I was counting on him for the race the next day, but, alas, he did not have a miserable night.

He suffers from insomnia on good nights; so, he took a sleep aid on Friday and slept well despite the weather. Oh well. I can only hope that he'll suffer next time :)

I like to call that the Time of Conversion. It's the perfect chance for a ground dweller who is miserable and wet and whatever else to see how wonderful and comfortable hammocks really are and make the choice between comfort and continuing in their poor, miserable ground dwelling ways. Personally, my conversion wasn't so extreme, but I'd probably wager that it's safe to say more than one hammocker has been converted like that.

I like to call that the Time of Conversion. It's the perfect chance for a ground dweller who is miserable and wet and whatever else to see how wonderful and comfortable hammocks really are and make the choice between comfort and continuing in their poor, miserable ground dwelling ways. Personally, my conversion wasn't so extreme, but I'd probably wager that it's safe to say more than one hammocker has been converted like that.



playing devils advocate here :p but a hammock had nothing to do with it :eek: The tarp is what kept him dry. I know lots of folks who carry a lite weight tarp just for those sudden downpours while setting up camp. Also most folks who use just a bivy carry a tarp

playing devils advocate here :p but a hammock had nothing to do with it :eek: The tarp is what kept him dry. I know lots of folks who carry a lite weight tarp just for those sudden downpours while setting up camp. Also most folks who use just a bivy carry a tarp Good point. And to that I would say if he hadn't had a hammock, he very well may not have had a tarp. He may or may not, we'll never know. I'm just glad the man was comfy in his hammock just like all the world should be.

playing devils advocate here :p but a hammock had nothing to do with it :eek: The tarp is what kept him dry. I know lots of folks who carry a lite weight tarp just for those sudden downpours while setting up camp. Also most folks who use just a bivy carry a tarp

The tarp protects equally only for water from above, ground-dwellers also have to worry about ground water ( does that make me a devils advocate deviler?) :)

The tarp protects equally only for water from above, ground-dwellers also have to worry about ground water ( does that make me a devils advocate deviler?) :) No, it just makes you correct. :D

if it keeps raining! If you have a tarp, and a spot with really good drainage, and the tarp is big enough and tight to the ground, and the sideways wind driven rain isn't too bad or from the wrong direction--- you'll probably stay dry. I know I have. If the drainage is poor or some other problem from one of the above and you are on the ground, you might have some of the same problem as Freetheweasel's tenting buddy. BUT, If the downpours had continued thru the night, I think FTW would have had an aditional advantage by being off the ground. At least, if a creek decided to start flowing thru the camp or a little pond apeared! Of course, I realize none of us smart experienced backpackers would ever chose a site without superb drainage! ;)

i remember the last time i used a tarp on the ground & had heavy rain.
i had carefully choose a slightly raised area to put the tarp over, even though the whole area around us was a fairly flat, open wooded area.
the ground was mostly sandy, at least on top.
but it rained so hard that the ground became completely saturated & began to puddle.
the water began to rise around my raised mound, under the edges of the tarp.
i could see that it would soon reach my stuff if i didn't do something.
as i looked around, i could see that the ground on one side was still slightly lower, so i moved my ground cloth & drug a narrow trench in the sand that allowed the water to run through from one side to the other side & off to lower ground.
soon the rain slacked off so it was no longer forming a lake on top of the ground.
never had that problem w/ a hammock<g>. ...tim

The tarp protects equally only for water from above, ground-dwellers also have to worry about ground water ( does that make me a devils advocate deviler?) :)


never had a ground water problem, you have to chose a good site just like you do for a hammock :cool:

i remember the last time i used a tarp on the ground & had heavy rain....tim

thats why you had problems, you don't put the tarp on the ground :p

thats why you had problems, you don't put the tarp on the ground :p

yeah, yeah, i hear ya. that's cute<g>.

If there's a real deluge, you know I'm nearby, camping.

I've been considering a lightweight tarp for setup shelter. Maybe get a fancy one or a simple 3-mil plastic sheet.

I am planning a 50 mile hike along the quachita trail, the last time I did it, I was on the ground in a tent and it rained all day, everything was wet, I was so miserable I went home early. Now with my tarp and hammock I know that going home early or beig miserable will not be a problem :)

This weekend we were supposed to go camping with our friends, last weekend of the summer. It was scattered thunderstorms for most of the weekend. We were the only people to go out, and we were dry as a bone. The tarps went up first, came down last, and my wife never actually put on a rain jacket!

I like to call that the Time of Conversion. It's the perfect chance for a ground dweller who is miserable and wet and whatever else to see how wonderful and comfortable hammocks really are and make the choice between comfort and continuing in their poor, miserable ground dwelling ways. Personally, my conversion wasn't so extreme, but I'd probably wager that it's safe to say more than one hammocker has been converted like that.

I actually had no conversion at all. I had NO camping experience, and I was researching what type of shelter system I wanted for my upcoming 09 trip to CO for an archery elk hunt. Despite several less than encouraging posts on archery forums that hammocks are too cold for high elevation, in Colorado, in September, it seemed to me that hammocks are far superior to tents for several reasons.

I found this site, and have since purchased both a Clark & a Claytor. While I'm still refining my system, I have little doubt that I'll easily be as comfortable, or more so, than my ground dwelling hunting partner. We're supposed to go on a couple of gear testing camping trips this winter to cold weather test gear prior to our trip. I'm wondering if I'll make a convert during that time.

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I found this site, and have since purchased both a Clark & a Claytor. While I'm still refining my system, I have little doubt that I'll easily be as comfortable, or more so, than my ground dwelling hunting partner. We're supposed to go on a couple of gear testing camping trips this winter to cold weather test gear prior to our trip. I'm wondering if I'll make a convert during that time.

You just might. You can see from the reports here about real use of hammocks in some pretty cold environments, that it is still a great way to go... as long as a person is realistic in how he chooses & uses his gear.