"Can I borrow your hammock?" Is the most recent question that caused me to register here on Hammock Forums. But it's only the latest question in an interesting series. Here's the rest of the story...
My husband's 16 yr old 'pup' is no longer able to hike/camp with us, so I've been striking out solo for about a year. It's peaceful, it's wonderful, and I love the solitude.
Over the summer, for the solstice, I took off for my first overnighter by myself. My plan was to camp off the AT along a ridge where a few years ago I freaked out about camping there due to evidence of bear (I'm unreasonably terrified of bears). That initial adventure ended with tickets from the local authorities because we camped on watershed property. This time I was out to conquer my fears.
My pack was heavier than I thought. I had the tent, the pad, the sleeping bag, water, snacks...everything that would have been split two ways before. I hoisted everything on my back and up the mountain I went.
The way out to the ridge, to the spot I remembered, was difficult. I lost the trail, got caught up in some rodos, and scrambled over boulders. Then it got worse. Upon finding the trail I noticed...evidence... a suspiciously overturned rock, bear poo, a log destroyed by scratching... and then a recent path of paw prints through the stilt grass. The stilt grass alone was disheartening- it had erased places where I knew I saw old hunter's fire circles- the bear tracks were terrifying.
With the sun's light quickly fading from the sky and my heart racing I decided to get off the ridge and camp somewhere else. I was defeated- but not enough to go home. I hiked another mile and a half on the Pinnacle Spur trail (off the AT) hoping to find a level place to set up for the night. When I came to the border of the Game Lands my only hope was that a hunter maybe made a spot up in the woods. No such luck. But off the trail it started to level out and so I pushed up through the trees until I'd have just enough light to set up the tent before darkness fell. I couldn't get the pegs in quite right due to the rocks so I slept in a saggy tube all night. And it was wonderful.
The half moon peeked out from the clouds, the 17-year cicadas chirped, white tailed deer moved through and made annoying grunting huffing sounds (probably because I was in their level spot). I slept well enough cuddled up with a rock poking on my right side. In the morning I enjoyed the forest, the trees and all of it.
On my way home, I met an AT through hiker named Stripe. He had been naked hiking (for the solstice) until he freaked a local guy out at the Pinnacle. He was wearing a mere kerchief when I met him, but that's another story. He told me about a book he read about through hiking the AT. I can't remember the title even though I looked it up on Amazon. On Amazon I even read the first few pages of the book- it wasn't bad, just not something I was going to buy. The one thing I do remember was that the through hiker had a Hennessy Hammock. And I thought to myself... well, now isn't that a great idea.
And so here I am, on the eve of the equinox still thinking about hammocks.
I always, always, always research things before I purchase. I can't afford to buy more than one, and I want something that's going to work the best for me. Since I've never actually slept in any hammock of any kind this one has me spinning. Especially because I'm thinking about my next solo trip and imagining how great it would be to lighten the pack and set up for a comfy perfect evening under the stars.
How do I know if I'm going to like a hammock? What if it's uncomfortable? I like to sleep flat on my back if I can help it. I need a bug net. I hate velcro. I can learn to tie knots. I'm 5"2' 120 lbs- can I get away with a kid's version? Of course I'm thinking about a HH. Yes, I've read dozens of threads here and might even have some of the lingo down.
Here's the thing: Can I borrow your hammock? I'm neat, clean, organized and honest. I would be happy to pay shipping both ways to borrow your hammock just to try it out at home and send it back. Let me know if you're interested and we can work out the details.
Thanks for being part of the adventure!
Julie
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