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  1. #1
    New Member monkeyboy's Avatar
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    Gila National Forest

    Went to Gila National Forest in NM last weekend to tryout my new hammock. Here is what happened. I have a HH Ultralight Backpacker w/ 2QzQ modifcations. I AHE Suspension and I use a KAQ Under Quilt.

    The tempurature at night got down to around 28 degrees including the slight wind chill. I attache myKAQ and afte I got in the hammock I could start to feel the wind coming up throught the quilt. After that, I decided to put my emergency blanket between the quilt and my hammock. Then as I was getting out, the hammock started sliding and eventually, my butt hit the ground.

    I fixed the hammock, tied half-hitches in the webbing so that it doesn't slide anymore (which it didn't), and put my e-blanket between the KAQ and the HH.

    I slepted lke a baby.

    The tarp/rainfly....is another story/issue. The HH rainfly, in my opinion, doesn't work. I woke up in the morning to find out that the rainfly came undone and made my HH a caccoon. My suggestions is to get rid of it and replace it with a lightwieght tarp. Maybe like the tar I'm using for my groundcloth (its nice to step out on something dry in the morning).

    At the end of the campout, I had issues rolling up my HH. The snakeskin is really giving me problems. It could be lack of practice but I am thinking about getting a stuff sack/compression sack and using that to store my UQ and HH (and maybe the ground cloth).

    And that was the trip. Any comments/questions?
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    The HH fly is what it is, a minimalist approach. It honestly can be made to work great and it's effective at keeping you and your hammock dry, but not much else. Practice with that tarp and you'll see the value. You'll still probably end-up getting another tarp that provides more coverage and set-up options, but the HH tarp works well when deployed in the proper manner.

    Snakeskins = personal peference. I, personally, don't use them very often. I think I've got one, maybe two, hammocks that have Snakeskins on them. I MUCH prefer the BishopBag concept. I don't have to fold anything, just stuff. But again, practice with the Snakeskins will go a long way.

    This is the really fun part about hammock hanging IMO. The time where you play with all the different options and find out what is the best fit for you.....for now anyway.
    Trust nobody!

  3. #3
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Was that your first hammock trip? If so, not bad results at all! Did a tarp stake come loose? Trying to figure out why you were cocooned. But if it is because a stake came loose, that can happen with any tarp. You might want to place a big rock or limb over your stakes, or tie taro side lines to tree, root or bush if available.

    Are you wrapping hammock and tarp up in the snakes skins? There is a learning curve, but it can be done VERY quickly. Some folks carry only the tarp, or tarp and hammock separately, in skins. I have done it both ways. It is very fast

  4. #4
    Senior Member sir_n0thing's Avatar
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    I too had a bit of trouble with snake skins at first, so I modified the stock Hennessy stuff sack that came with my hammock and turned it into a bishop's bag. Works great!

    Thanks for the trip report!
    "I know the feeling - It is the real thing - You can't refuse the embrace!" | "Go n-éirí an bóthar leat."

  5. #5
    New Member monkeyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyBob58 View Post
    Was that your first hammock trip? If so, not bad results at all! Did a tarp stake come loose? Trying to figure out why you were cocooned. But if it is because a stake came loose, that can happen with any tarp. You might want to place a big rock or limb over your stakes, or tie taro side lines to tree, root or bush if available.

    Are you wrapping hammock and tarp up in the snakes skins? There is a learning curve, but it can be done VERY quickly. Some folks carry only the tarp, or tarp and hammock separately, in skins. I have done it both ways. It is very fast
    The stakes did come loose.Sometime during the night, I guess the wind and me rolling around made it come loose. I am wrapping the tarp and hammock in the same snake skin. One suggestion that I've been reading up is keeping those 2 seperate. It makes sense, for instance, if it rains I don't want my wet tarp to get my dry hammock wet. Something I will definitly keeping playing with.

    Thanks for all the help. I have a lot of ideas I can't wait to try out now. I wish my free weekend gets here soon.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Festus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by monkeyboy View Post
    Went to Gila National Forest in NM last weekend to tryout my new hammock. Here is what happened. I have a HH Ultralight Backpacker w/ 2QzQ modifcations. I AHE Suspension and I use a KAQ Under Quilt.

    The tempurature at night got down to around 28 degrees including the slight wind chill. I attache myKAQ and afte I got in the hammock I could start to feel the wind coming up throught the quilt. After that, I decided to put my emergency blanket between the quilt and my hammock. Then as I was getting out, the hammock started sliding and eventually, my butt hit the ground.

    I fixed the hammock, tied half-hitches in the webbing so that it doesn't slide anymore (which it didn't), and put my e-blanket between the KAQ and the HH.

    I slepted lke a baby.

    The tarp/rainfly....is another story/issue. The HH rainfly, in my opinion, doesn't work. I woke up in the morning to find out that the rainfly came undone and made my HH a caccoon. My suggestions is to get rid of it and replace it with a lightwieght tarp. Maybe like the tar I'm using for my groundcloth (its nice to step out on something dry in the morning).

    At the end of the campout, I had issues rolling up my HH. The snakeskin is really giving me problems. It could be lack of practice but I am thinking about getting a stuff sack/compression sack and using that to store my UQ and HH (and maybe the ground cloth).

    And that was the trip. Any comments/questions?
    What part of the Gila NF were you in? Up around Mogollon or Rapid River (Glenwood)? Part of my family lives in the town (wide spot in the road) named Gila. As a kid I would swim (wade) in the Gila Rvr.

    Beautiful country down there. Not many people know the southern part of NM is as wild and untouched as it is.

    Festus-99

  7. #7
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    Ah, love the Gila National Forest!!

    Last time I was there the area was loaded full of rattlesnakes though. I grew up in the Majove Desert so I was use to Majove Greens, but, at some point, too many snakes is just too many snakes.

    What was the temperature like on your trip?

  8. #8
    New Member monkeyboy's Avatar
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    I was camping about 3-4 miles away from the Cliff Dwellings. I think it was trail #160.

    The temperature was amazing...about 87-90 during the day (You're in the shade for most of the trail) and around 30's at night. I would say around 2200 is when the temp really dropped and the wind started to pick up. That's about the time that I actually got into my sleeping bag.

    And yes, it is extremely gorgeous up there. I went there 1 weekend and got hooked. I believe that it is worth the 3 hour drive for me to get there.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Poppabear's Avatar
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    I have never made it the Gila National Forest. I've done some time in the Lincoln National Forest though. They all have their own drawing points. You can not go wrong visiting any of them.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Mustardman's Avatar
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    In my opinion, snakeskins are awesome for a tarp, terrible for a hammock.

    I'm with Cannibal - a bishop bag is the best thing for a hammock. In my summer setup, my sleeping bag, UQ, and hammock all pack into one bishop bag - makes setup really easy and straightforward.

    I always pack my tarp separate, both so it doesn't get my hammock wet, but also so I can choose whether to set it up or not, and have the option to set up the tarp first if it's raining. Snakeskins are brilliant for those nights where I'm not expecting rain, and want to sleep under the stars, but want the tarp ready to go "just in case".

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