Had a house full for Christmas so to make room I volunteered to sleep out back in my hammock; I know, a huge sacrifice
So three nights and 4 days and it was the worst continuous weather I've ever hung in. Steady to heavy rain the whole time. Wind gusts above 40 mph and the ground was completely saturated. I learned a few things and was reminded of the importance of some of the basics.
Pitching the tarp low helps! Initially my tarp ridgeline was almost a foot higher than my hammock ridgeline which means my butt was hanging below the tarp; a 10ft ridgeline, Hammock Gear cuben fiber with doors. I was using hammock gear full length quilts, zero degrees the first night but they were too warm so switched up to 20 degrees. I learned there’s a real difference in fabric. The zero degree bottom quilt wasn’t affected by the wind but with the 20 degree set I could feel the wind right through the quilt which destroys the insulating properties of the quilt. I think an UQ protector that was also windproof could have really helped in this situation! I ended up moving the tarp down one foot so the tarp was right over the ridgeline of the hammock and that kept the wind from getting to my butt. In the past I had a 12 ft ridgeline tarp with my standard 10ft hammocks and I couldn’t hang my tarp this low because the tarp ran into the hammock suspension. Learned the value of a shorter tarp ridgeline or at least one that is a good match to your hammock so you can pitch low!
Next lesson, Dutch tarp worms come with shock cord but too much of it! When pitching low and “steep” the tarp worm was almost on the ground; I’ll be cutting the shock cord in half or even more. If you’ve never tried tarp worms, they’re fantastic. They just come with too much shock cord.
Titanium shepherd hook tarp stakes. I’ve used them for many many years. For weight, they can’t be beat but in the saturated ground, they started to loosen up after a day and a half and by day 3 a couple corners had pulled out resulting in a madly flapping tarp and a wet under quilt. Not soaking to the point of not working but still too wet for my taste. Lesson remembered; if the weather is going to be that wet, take your more significant stakes!
Lesson remembered; cuben fiber tarps in high winds are noisy, even when pitched really taught! The noise kept me up; not much you can do about it but earplugs and Tylenol PM might help
I’d switched out to a 1.0 mm reflective dyneema cord for my tarp tie outs and ridgeline; I wondered how they’d hold up and they did just fine! Bought this line from a guy in Hong Kong and absolutely love it. It lights up well at night, is the lightest/thinnest stuff I’d ever want to use and held perfectly used with a Dutch flyz on each end of my tarp.
Lesson learned; it’s easier to predictably pitch a tarp with end tie outs versus a continuous ridgeline. With a CRL; you get a distinct “bow” in the tarp which makes it a bit harder to pitch it really close to the hammock ridgeline. The individual tie outs for a tarp suspension eliminate this and make it easier to pitch the tarp in perfect relationship to the hammock. So a definite plus for individual end tie outs on tarps. I hate to admit it but I’m starting to think that end tie outs on tarps are better that a continuous ridgeline…can’t believe I just said that! One way to minimize the sag on a CRL is to order your tarp with a “D” ring in the middle of the tarp ridgeline and to run your CRL through it.
Another lesson remembered was that anything left on the ground under the hammock in weather like this got wet! I have to admit that I get lazy sometimes and just lay my pack or other things under my hammock/tarp. In nice weather that’s not a problem but in rough weather, it’s better not to leave anything on the ground. Even shoes can be tied together by the laces and hung over the hammock ridgeline so they’re up off the ground, dry and secure.
So it was a great experience dealing with high gusty winds and tons of rain while in my own back yard. It reminded me of a few things but the main thing is that in order to really stay dry through prolonged severe weather, you need to be able to set up everything “just so” and there are a few details that we shouldn’t ignore. It’s easy to think that it’s “easy” but it’s not! I remember when I started and used a Hennessey hex fly without doors! I managed but everything had to be perfect or you got wet. I never used that set up in weather as severe as I faced the past few days and nights. My recommendation? Get a tarp with doors, at least on one end, and practice pitching for severe weather!
Gideon
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