Anti hammock ground dwellers

[GrizzlyAdams]

G

.... but your Fargo accent, wow, it's like you grew up in Bemidji......

Agreed. And I should know.... I DID grow up in Bemidji!


ah yup
Grizz

[AndyB]

I've been practicing setting up my gear in local city parks just getting used to my gear, setting up tarps, general preparation kinda stuff for a big trip this spring - I don't want to be out on that first night and be figuring out basic setup stuff with a storm approaching . It seems like everytime I'm out there in the parks playing around, folks just passing thru stop and ask questions. I enjoy the questions because I find most folks are just curious in a friendly way. You gotta admit, hammocks in the woods do look unusual (especially with the tarp setup over it).

They ask me about the knots I use, the materials, is it safe, is it faster than setting up a tent. Most folks think I'm a naturalist doing experiments (Can't figure out the association with hammocks and natural science). One guy saw my HH and told me a hiking adventure of his with an early Speer hammock - how great is that? I tend to do the compare vs. contrast thing so folks can relate a bit better to why I hang vs. tenting. Other than that, I just keep to myself.

We hang because in our own experiences, that is what works best for us. We shouldn't concern ourselves with the opinions that others may have of our "suspended" sleeping preference - it is, after all, just another way to sleep at night.

[GOLFER]

I love my hammock since I really got into it last year. Haven't slept in Henry Shires Tarp Tent since ... but I really like it and if that was what I had to sleep in in order to get out into the piney woods ... I sure would. When I would wake I would always have coffee laying in the TT and shimming myself to a kinda comfortable position on the ground using stuff sacks and stuff. Coffee from the hammock is a TRUE delight and I have been one to kinda brag about my newfound comfort.
It is human nature to expound on the joys of wonderful things we add to our own lives. Combine that with us forum types who are probably "more into" the whole of backpacking related niches than most woodsmen and you get some unbridled enthusiasm.
Never have I had an encounter of an ill nature but it is best to "lead by example" and say nothing unless asked.
In the unicycle community there are those that post about hostility towards their choice of ride. Someone makes a comment to me that is ignorant I just come back with an equally ignorant comment. Usually I take the high road and may stop and offer to let them "try" my uni. That shuts 'em up once they experience the difficulty! Maybe I get respect or they still think that I am a doofus.
This is a brilliant thread as it has us all thinking about how we will present our passion to others within the passion in the future.
Maybe now I will just hang and make no mention of my comfort, dryness and view......

OK ... Back to working on taxes!!!!!

hey shug I never mentioned before but I learned how to ride a uni in 1 hour when I was seventeen. Was able to ride for a straight mile around the block. It wasn't my uni so after I learned I never did it again.


TY

[Coffee]

I'm with gs on this one. I have seen hostility towards hammocks up close and very personal. I've never told this story here because there was never a need to stir up the stuff, but I've had my hammock suspension cut while off getting water; cut! Not like I was car camping either. I'm a pretty darn friendly person IRL if maybe a tad obnoxious . I knew who did it and let's just say that things were evened out during the wee hours of that night (no destruction of gear on my part). But yeah, there is real hostility out there. I've gotten some pretty nasty emails regarding my meetup.com group from people who call themselves outdoor types. I've even had people that didn't want to camp near one of "those people" and walk on, no loss there.

I couldn't care any less about how someone sleeps and I don't preach hammocks unless there is interest on their part first. WB is different, as Shadowmoss said sometimes its just fun to pick at folks.

Ewker, he's a horse of another color, but I love him. He likes to have 'discussions' about hammock and tents; all depends on who he's talking to . Still never known him to be hostile about it, just a friendly PITA.

You are a far calmer man than I. It was the unwritten rule that I saw on my thru. You didn't mess with someone else's gear. I can make no promises my response will be as calm as yours if that happened to any of my gear. Your gear is your every everything when your hiking. Most people I saw realized that.

Personally I had nothing but curiousity and good comments in person. I think all the negative online you see is from people that do too much online hiking and not enough real hiking, or online pack sniffers.

[guySmiley]

G

Agreed. And I should know.... I DID grow up in Bemidji!


ah yup
Grizz

I wasn't trying to single you out !

[Ewker]

I think the same goes for a tent dweller here.

Are you referring to me?

[Ewker]

Because you are our favorite resident ground-dweller, and make no bones about it, and can support your arguments. That's why we love you so much!

That's because I am probably the only tenter over here
But I have used a hammock before and will again but I still won't give up my tent either

It blows getting old, doesn't it?

Yeah it does but I just got back in a while ago from a nice 14 mile day hike on the Fiery Gizzard.

Hey, Eddie - I've done it - I've been one of those people to make derogatory comments about sleeping on the ground. My last couple trips sleeping on the ground were such miserable experiences (mostly because of the ground ) that I have a bad attitude when I even think about it. But I am one of those lucky people to whom a hammock is the perfect bed! If I could only get a sherpa to carry my gear, and then have it set up when I get to camp, hiking/camping would be perfect off the ground.

I apologize if anything I have ever said has made you, or anyone, think that I think I am better than them, for sleeping on the ground or otherwise. Sometimes we get carried away in the fun and revelry of our chosen interests, and forget to think about what the other guy may read out of our comments, or our exuberant exaltations of our chosen methods for sleeping outdoors. Sometimes, I can be a sarcastic a**. I am not a P.C. guy in any respects, but strive to be respectful of others, as long as they are respectful in return. But if someone cut my suspension like they did to Cannibal, their tent may burn down in the middle of the night. Or minimum, a container of human waste placed just outside their zipper for a nice midnight surprise.

There is a difference about making derogatory comments about sleeping on the ground vs making the derogatory comment about a person who sleeps in a tent. I haven't seen you do that

I think anyone would get mad if someone cut the suspension on a hammock or put a hole in a person's tent. That is something that shouldn't happen. You can run into jerks who tent or hammock. Yep something would happen to their stuff overnight

[guySmiley]

Are you referring to me?

Well, not in particular. I could, if you gave me some ammo to work with?

[Coldspring]

That's because I am probably the only tenter over here
But I have used a hammock before and will again but I still won't give up my tent either

I'm in the market for a tent with lots of mesh for the rivers.

In the next six months I'm going to pick up a killer deal on a used MLD or Oware tarp, like a 9x5 tapered one, and do the ultralight tarp/bivy thing for the cold months. It's not that bad, and is a lot cheaper than buying all those underquilts.