Have you ever had to go to ground?

[flannery]

New hanger here. Have a WBBB and I have hammock gear top and under quilts on the way. But I have been doing a lot of reading here and it seems there are a couple of ways of staying warm in a hammock. One is the underquilt made of down but this is bad if you have to go to ground and is bad if it gets wet. Another is an ix or other synthetic underquilt which seemingly will still work when wet but still no good on the ground. Then there are pads which are reportedly less comfortable but no worries of getting them wet and they work on the ground. I'm sure there are other pros and cons but I am most concerned about getting the underquilt wet and about the potential of having to go to ground.

So, to help us Newbies, have you experienced hangers ever had to go to ground and if so why? Have you ever gotten your underquilt wet? What do you do to prevent that if you use down? What did you do once the underquilt was wet? I understand it can take some time to dry down quilts/bags.

Thanks for your information!!

Mike

Mike

[Cannibal]

Nope. Never. Not once. Unthinkable.

Seriously, since I started hanging, I've never had to go to ground. I've <gulp> chosen to go to ground because I was above treeline, but never been forced to ground. Big reason I haven't started planning a PCT or CDT thru; too much desert with not enough trees.

Almost broke my spine one night hanging in a shelter; set the hammock right back up and went back to sleep. Been in the negative 20s with winds, stayed warm and happy in my hammock. Underquilts, quality ones, will give you a little bit of a buffer against wet. Unless you are submerging your quilt, or it is exposed to water over a long period of time, the outer shell will prevent the vast majority of moisture from getting to your down. Won't be 100% dry, but certainly dry enough to keep you warm in most situations. Below freezing might be the exception, but it's going to be hard to find enough liquid water to do much damage at that point anyway. Still, proper storage, site selection, and tarp deployment will protect your quilts from Mama Nature.

As has been said before, the ground is for walking on, not sleeping.

[Shug]

Since starting to hang I have never had to go to ground. Lucky maybe.
Even is strong storms my UQ has never gotten wet thanks to good tarp pitches. The use of a weather-shield will help any moisture stay off the UQ in most cases.
Shug

[fourdog]

Here in MN I've never had to go to ground. Just to many trees here and if it gets windy I just go deeper in the brush.

Once one develops good field craft using down under or over quilt and not getting it wet is not a problem.

fourdog

www.fourdog.com

[Bigdumbman]

The fact that you can put your tarp up first and then hang your hammock and only then pull your quilts out of their dry bags makes it super easy to keep both your quilts and your hammock dry.

I have had to go to ground one time when I found myself above the treeline and a storm was coming, but I carry a 1/8" foam pad, ground cloth (used under the hammock to hold my gear normally), and pitched the tarp close to the ground with hiking poles. With a carefully chosen campsite and using some natural materials (pine needles, grass, etc) to help add some insulation under your ground cloth it is possible to make it through the night in reasonable comfort.

[Law Dawg (ret)]

Nope. I am newer at this but if I do I am going to punch myself for poor planning. Especially when there is an 800cc motorcycle to accelerate to the next set of trees under me.

I belong to a motorcycle site that is almost entirely about this concept. One member (when I did a pic demo it with on a Beyer stand) actually asked how the stand was going to fit on the bike. Told him I was going to bring my dehydrated tree pills. He did not get it...

[BillyBob58]

..................................
So, to help us Newbies, have you experienced hangers ever had to go to ground and if so why? ......

Yes! Once. Because there were no trees.

Nope. Never. Not once. Unthinkable.

Seriously, since I started hanging, I've never had to go to ground. I've <gulp> chosen to go to ground because I was above treeline, but never been forced to ground. Big reason I haven't started planning a PCT or CDT thru; too much desert with not enough trees. ....

Well, maybe it depends on def of "had to". I had arrived at the base of Texas Pass in WY's Wind Rivers, after an all day hike, and it was nearing sundown. Some in my party had gone ahead, and I could see them (or some one )topping the pass. But I was bad sick. It would have been unlikely that I could have climbed another 800 feet to top the pass and then descended 1400 down to the trees at Lonesome Lake, before darkness, even in peak form. Hopeless with me being sick. So we went to ground right there. Fortunately, I had pads with me.


Much happier next night at Lonesome Lake:


Now, I could have turned around and probably made it back down the trail to some trees before sundown. But it had been so much work covering that ground that neither one of us even considered it. We just set the tarp up with hiking poles and crashed.

Have you ever gotten your underquilt wet? What do you do to prevent that if you use down? What did you do once the underquilt was wet? I understand it can take some time to dry down quilts/bags.

Thanks for your information!!

Mike

Mike

I have gotten the UQ wet from ground splash up. The shell was pretty soaked, but the down's loft was not affected and it dried quickly on the hot day. That has happened once, and I really could have had the tarp pitched better. A big problem with wet quilt shells is having to pack them up, which then seems to get the down wet. Using a dry pack towel on the quilt's shell can help with that.

Or, you can use synthetic, and just not worry about it in my experience. But that will cost you weight, bulk and longevity of insulation.

[Doctari]

the closest I have come, since ONE car camping trip is 2 nights in "The Place" hostel in Damascus as the bunks did not have mattresses. The only pad I have is a 1/4" x 13" x 24" CCF pad that is the "Frame" of my Pack. It helped, but not much. Never again! Took me 2 nights in the hammock just to get the pain in my back to go away.

[R00K]

I went to ground on a trip through the MD portion of the AT last January. It was 7* - and we still didn't have the right gear for hammock camping.

Exhausted, frozen, unprepared, and at a shelter.

Now that we're prepared it wont happen again. I'm too stubborn and in love with hanging.

[Knotty]

Nope. Here in the wooded northeast hang locations are abundant.