Hanging in the rain...

[MrClean417]

I hung in the rain yesterday, course it just necessitated opening my window. Nothing better then hearing the rain patter on the fly and some gentle, distant rumbling ever so often. Well, if I'm out hanging or in a tent maybe we can keep the lightning out of the picture.

I've watched a ton of Tube videos. Man do the hammocks and tarps fly up and back down into stuff sacks. I think it would be easier to feed worms aldente spaghetti then stick my hammock back in the bag. Just like getting to Carnegie Hall, you take a cab.

[millergear]

"So, when I get to a place I want to camp, I hang my pack from a nearby tree (Or even one I'm going to hang from) with the pack leash"

So what is a "Pack Leash"? Sounds interesting, @ 72 MY back isn't as happy being bent either!

[oldsoldier]

oldsoldier is pretty smart by practicing his rain skills even when it isn't raining. :cool:

not smart-I learn my lessons the hard way . From years of being outdoors, I learned to keep my craft as simple as possible-and, getting shelter up first works for me, every time

"So, when I get to a place I want to camp, I hang my pack from a nearby tree (Or even one I'm going to hang from) with the pack leash"

So what is a "Pack Leash"? Sounds interesting, @ 72 MY back isn't as happy being bent either!

I dont know what he uses, but I usually just take a length of Triptease & loop it around a tree, or branch, and hang mine from that. Its quick & simple. I think I have a pattern going here....

[Doctari]

"So, when I get to a place I want to camp, I hang my pack from a nearby tree (Or even one I'm going to hang from) with the pack leash"

So what is a "Pack Leash"? Sounds interesting, @ 72 MY back isn't as happy being bent either!

Viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwuKSl7esTo

My leash is made with the same Amsteel as Whoopies, so does double duty as a suspension extension if need be.

[James102]

Hammocking in the uk I always put my tarp up first. Then put the kettle on then put up my hammock, underquilt then sleeping bag by then the water has boiled and I can sit and have a brew.

[myles to go]

You have been given good advice about the order in which you need to set up camp in the rain. Hammock camping has a great advantage over the groundlings in the rain because of the ability to set camp under a tarp and being of the ground. One of my best moments camping in the rain was a trip that 3 of use hiked all day in pooring rain and when we got to camp I set up and sat in my hammock under my tarp(porch mode) and listened to my friends get there gear out to dry inside a wet tent while I had a hot supper high and dry and watched it rain

[OutandBack]

Up to now I have been pretty lucky and almost always had dry weather while setting up my hammock. But recently, it has become a lot more rainy. Usually I hang the hammock first, ensure that the angles are right etc., and then I put up the tarp. I'm still an amateur with regards to hammocking, so I spend quite some time gettting it right. No problem in fair weather - but not good if it's raining.

Are there any tricks for setting up while it's raining? How can I make sure that the tarp is in the right place? Even with getting up the tarp over the hammock already hanging, I often have to readjust. Also my ridgeline often slips if I set it up with the "v" so it doesn't get in the way of the suspension.

I use a ridgeline for my tarp and attach the tarp to it with a short length of cordage and a prussic knot.



This allows me to adjust the tarp position up or down the ridgeline to center it over the hammock with out untying any knots.

hth

[David904]

I guess I don't really have anything significant to add, but I'll throw in my .02

My latest foray into the piney woods found me in conditions that were less than hospitable - Heavy rains, temps in the 30s, and winds so high that the rain was not only falling sideways, I thought that my tarp might very well come unstaked in the night. It was AWESOME! What a great time!

It was the trip where I christened my WBBB and Superfly. Fortunately I had repeatedly pitched and broken camp so as to attain a comfortable level of competency with my gear.

The importance of doing this cannot be overstated.

There is a world of difference between slinging a hammock and tarp in warm sunny conditions, and a high winds rain storm. However, the practice enabled me to do what needed to be done (though it certainly wasn't impressing any onlookers at the time).

Here's what I learned:
1. Sling the tarp first and make it the last piece of gear you break down when striking camp.

2. Stow your tarp and hammock separately. It keeps things clean and dry.

3. Keep your sense of humor. When you find yourself in the midst of a nasty storm and you find your tarp and lines flailing about in the winds like... a tarp and lines in a wind storm, just remember that you WILL get it set up. So relax.

4. Under these conditions, your hammock might get a little wet. Get over it. That's why you keep a packtowel or a sponge. Sling it and then get yourself squared away. Relax. Smile. This is part and parcel of getting away from modern civilization. At least you're either out with your buddies or getting away from everyone. Life is good.

5. The doors on the Superfly made a believer out of me. If you are expecting heavy weather or really cold conditions, this is one fantastic tarp!

Anyway, hope this helped. Hopefully it rains on me again on my next backpacking trip! Good stuff!

[David904]

I still haven't decided though whether the CRL is better above or below the tarp. Any thoughts?

[lizzie]

You have been given good advice about the order in which you need to set up camp in the rain. Hammock camping has a great advantage over the groundlings in the rain because of the ability to set camp under a tarp and being of the ground. One of my best moments camping in the rain was a trip that 3 of use hiked all day in pooring rain and when we got to camp I set up and sat in my hammock under my tarp(porch mode) and listened to my friends get there gear out to dry inside a wet tent while I had a hot supper high and dry and watched it rain

Indeed. Setting up a tarp & hammock in the rain is fun - setting up or breaking camp with a tent in the rain is just downright miserable. So is cleaning off all the mud on the inside and outside of the tent floor.

I recall one horrible night on the California coast when a friend and I quite literally slept in a puddle in freezing rain inside one of those two-pole canvas tents. Ugh. We were cold and miserable, and in the morning had to pack up the awful mess.

Thank goodness those days are behind me