This past weekend I went on my first backpacking trip with a hammock. We went out for three days and two nights and completed the 22 mile Mischa Mokwa trail grouping in Cumberland Gap National Park. It was a great time and fun was had by all (pictures here: http://forgue.smugmug.com/Vacation/C...14251734_VuR98). Since this was my first time out with my hammock, I learned quite a bit and wanted to share some of my new found knowledge with every one. Perhaps some of these tips will come in handy for others who are just getting started with hammock camping... Enjoy!
Lesson One: It's Just the Wind, Stupid.
It was quite windy the first night. With every strong wind that came through, the trees would sway and their branches would bump into each other sending small "tremors" down into the hammock. As a first time hammock camper this was unexpected and felt a lot like some one (or some thing) shaking my hammock. After pooping my pants, I finally realized what was going on and breathed a sigh of relief.
Lesson Two: Your Memory Ain't That Great
When breaking camp after the first night, I made the mistake of removing all my lines from the ground stakes first, then going back later to retrieve the stakes. This was a silly mistake to make in October when there are fallen leaves covering everything. I spent 15 minutes sifting through the leaves trying to find all six stakes that I had used. The next morning I made sure to pull out the stakes and put them in my pocket as I was removing the lines. Simple solution.
Lesson Three: I'm No Gumby
While lying on my back during the second night, I kept having a problem with my knees slightly hyper-extending due to the upward curvature of the hammock. I'm not really sure why this didn't affect me the first night, but I was able to remedy the problem by placing my neck pillow under my knees. This made a huge difference in my comfort level and I slept nicely after the fix.
Lesson Four: Vapor Barriers - Those HammockForums Guys Weren't Kidding!
On the first night, my feet got a little chilly - not terribly cold, but enough to annoy me throughout the night. On the second night I decided to wrap the bottom of my sleeping bag with a space blanket to retain some heat. This idea worked great: my feet were warm and toasty all night long, however, the bottom of my sleeping bag was soaked in the morning because the space blanket acted as a vapor barrier. Luckily I was using a synthetic bag, so it wasn't a big issue. I'll need to do a little more research to figure out the solution to this moisture problem, but I suspect that moving the space blanket *inside* the sleeping bag might have helped.
Lesson Five: The Segmented Pad Extender (SPE) is Brilliant
In the days leading up to the trip, I constructed a homemade, modular SPE (pictures here: http://forgue.smugmug.com/Hobbies/Ho...14269335_2kxVu). There are two parts: a sleeve that basically just slips around my pad(s) (for this trip I put a self-inflating pad and a 1/4" Gossamer Gear ThinLight pad inside the sleeve) and a second (smaller) sleeve that has the wings attached to it. This modularity allows me to scrap the wings if I don't feel I need them. The wings are made with four pieces of a WalMart blue CCF pad. This worked out great and kept the chill off my shoulders and sides. My only complaint is that carrying the four wing pads was a bit annoying. I might try just using the ThinLight horizontally next time to see if I can achieve the same warmth without the extra bulk.
Bonus Lesson: Relief Without the Hassle
On a previous trip a fellow brought along an empty drink bottle to use at night when he had to pee. This idea was even more epic for me at the time because we were backpacking in 4-5 inches of snow. Relieving myself at night meant getting out of my warm sleeping bag, pulling on my boots, stumbling out of the tent and into the snow, trekking out a few dozen feet away and exposing my little buddy to the freezing temps. It was at that moment that I decided to give the bottle idea a try on my next trip. I used a bottle on this past trip in my hammock and it was life-changing. I didn't even have to unzip my sleeping bag - I simply stored the bottle in my ridgeline organizer before and after use. Just make sure you are careful and accurate though!
One final thought: I couldn't have had as enjoyable and successful of a trip as I did without the helpful advice from every one here at Hammock Forums. Thank you all so much for the great information you provide - it is truly invaluable!
Aaron
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