I'm new to this forum and very new to hanging. I purchased a super cheep gathered end hammock from a local hardware store to see what all the fuss is about. I set it up in my back yard when I got home and prepared for the most comfortable sleep of my life. The forecast was clear, the weather was beautiful not too hot not too cold just perfect. What could go wrong?
I learned several things that night. The first of which is that bug nets are important, coming from a background of tent camping my whole life this should not have been that big of a revelation, but I was caught up in the moment and overlooked that small detail. I spent the night with all kinds of new and exciting bed mates.
The second thing I learned\experienced was CBS, it was only supposed to get down to 53 that night so I thought my 40 degree sleeping bag should be fine. What I discovered is that 53 degrees is a lot like purgatory, not cold enough to kill you, and end your suffering, but not warm enough to let you sleep for more then 5 minutes at a time.
The last thing I learned was during one of those blissful 5 minutes of sleep. I'm sure you've read about people who gain extraordinary powers under stressful conditions, like a mother who is able to lift a car off a trapped child. Well I turns out that I can levitate myself. I had just rearranged myself into something akin to the fetal position and finally nodded off when something bumped into my underside and then proceeded to investigate what was inside of my thin nylon cocoon. I got my head out of my sleeping bag just in time to catch a glimpse of a rather friendly looking raccoon attempting to climb in and snuggle with me. None of this lasted very long because I don't think the raccoon expected to witness my new powers. I was suddenly hovering 6 inches off my hammock and the raccoon was nothing but a faintly smoldering trail through my backyard and into the treeline, leaving nothing behind but a slight odor of burnt fur and a mild heart attack.
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