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  1. #1

    Has anyone thru hiked the Appalachian Trail using a hammock setup?

    I am planning a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. My attentive start date is March 23, 2016. I am taking my hammock, bug net and Superfly as my shelter and sleeping setup. I'm most concerned with staying warm. I have been using my hammock in the backcountry all year. It has gotten chilly at night, but not as cold as its going to be on the Appalachian Trail. I currently use a green closed cell sleeping pad in the bottom of my hammock when needed and it seems to work fine. I have contemplated using an under quilt and top quilt as part of my system but considering an extra bag and the weight, it doesn't make since to me.
    I welcome all thoughts, suggestions, comments. Thank You!

  2. #2
    Senior Member brooklynkayak's Avatar
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    Hammocks are very common on the AT. No need to go to ground unless you plan on camping above treeline in some sections, but I don't recommend camping above treeline.

    One of the most important items is a good insulation on the bottom. I find the lightest, warmest and most comfortable option is an underquilt.
    It is more important than your top quilt/sleeping bag when in a hammock.

    I have tried getting by using many sleeping pad options, but nothing compares to a well adjusted underquilt for weigh, pack size and comfort.

    Make sure you use your hammock setup a few nights in cold weather before you start your thru. You don't want be figuring out what and doesn't work in between towns.
    A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
    -- William James

  3. #3
    Senior Member Red Cinema's Avatar
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    Lots. See trail journals galore.
    //
    “Stories set in the Culture in which Things Went Wrong tended to start with humans losing or forgetting or deliberately leaving behind their terminal. It was a conventional opening, the equivalent of straying off the path in the wild woods in one age, or a car breaking down at night on a lonely road in another.”
    ― Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    There are lots of options that would work well. For example, the warbonnet yeti + mamba (underquilt and top quilt) weigh about 2lbs combined and will take you to 20*. That is about equivalent to an UL bag and pad. It is likely less bulk too. It does make sense

  5. #5
    Senior Member Loki's Avatar
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    here ya go...
    the entire trail by an HF member
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dG7...k7KfEPcmtgm3dA
    - Loki my videos
    "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
    Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
    The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy,
    while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." — John Muir


  6. #6
    Senior Member Rain Man's Avatar
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    I've hiked 1,600 miles of the AT so far, most of them with a hammock. I no longer use a sleeping pad, however. Only an UQ.

    The weight of a good tent system vs. a good hammock system is about the same.

    Rain Man

    .
    "You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." --Harriet Woods

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  7. #7
    rhjanes's Avatar
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    Currently on Trail Journals, Forest is SOBO in his hammock and Hammock Gear Cuben Tarp. He's in VA now.
    Past years, lots of good TJ's on Hammocks. Certain was a great one. every post she was evangelizing the ground dwellers....
    Call me Junior

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    "For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away" Bryan Adams....
    "Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes." - sargevining on HF

  8. #8
    Senior Member
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    Check out the "long distance travel with a hammock" sub-thread. There are a bunch of threads you might find interesting. https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...with-a-hammock

  9. #9
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    I just completed my AT thru this month and used a hammock from Damascus to Katahdin. You are going to want to be as comfortable as possible and an underquilt and top quilt are your best options in this case.

  10. #10
    gunner76's Avatar
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    Dutch the worlds greatest hiker
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

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