So, this is embarrassing.
Hammocks have been my hobby since high school. As I went through university I would spend ages on the forum, procrastinating about this and that and dreaming about camping in a hammock. It never really worked out to go camping beyond the back yard- any expeditions seemed to be at places without trees. I haven't been able to hang out here so much as I've moved to a rural town, not much internet and a full time job.
Finally I have a free day and time to go out to Kurth Kiln regional park in Victoria, and as I struggled to set up the hammock in the dark, I had to give up and sleep in a tent.
So, what went wrong?
* not being familiar with my gear.
* darkness.
* tree selection: arriving late at the campsite didn't help. Lots of dead branches. Trees that were safe were too far apart.
* hard to centre tarp properly over hammock.
once I'd stuffed around in the dark- I was too fed up to get my nest and bug net (no ridge line) working properly. The hammock was too tight.
What went right?
*As always, the wonderful JRB goodness was toasty and warm, even as I was in the tent.
*Whoopie slings and remembered the marlin spike hitch. Worked really well.
Next steps
Hoorah, more hammock tweaking!
I need to find my dynaglide ridgeline (missing, grr) and I think I need to indulge in some dutchware and the kind of ridgeline for the tarp so that I can move the tarp around more easily.
Anyway, it's pretty humbling to get out in the field and to find that your skills aren't up to where you think they might be.
TH
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