PDA

View Full Version : Shelters You Can Hammock In



Crash
02-02-2007, 18:30
I want to get a listing of the shelters that you can hang up in. It has to be a strong shelter - don't want to collapse it. Has to be big enough not to totally disrupt others.

Please keep it to the listing with details and not diatribes on why we shouldn't be in shelters.

Crash
02-02-2007, 18:31
In Pennsylvania:
-Tag Run Shelter- must bring your own hanging hooks.

-Cove Mountain Shelter south of Duncannon. (Thelma Marks) Has a strong center beam down the middle to hang from.

-New Darlington Shelter south of Cove Mountain. Same design as Tag Run - must bring your own hanging hooks.

-Peters Mountain - in the right rear corner- hang from the hook I left on the back of the stairs to the right rear corner.

The above shelters are big enough not to disturb most hikers giving them lots of room so they don't have to tiptoe around.

neo
02-02-2007, 19:31
I want to get a listing of the shelters that you can hang up in. It has to be a strong shelter - don't want to collapse it. Has to be big enough not to totally disrupt others.

Please keep it to the listing with details and not diatribes on why we shouldn't be in shelters.

i will list the ones i have hammocked in:cool: neo

cargousa
02-02-2007, 22:02
Dunno, I have this picture in my mind of shelter mice gnawing on my ropes

GRAVITY ATTACK! :D
--cargo

Coffee
02-03-2007, 00:20
I haven't in any AT ones. I actually only saw 1 AT shelter. One of the lunch box ones in the smokies.

I would think that you could hang in most of them. Ask me next fall and I'll list ones I don't think would work. ;)

Peter_pan
02-03-2007, 06:27
There are no ground dwellers here so I'll speak for them.....HAMMOCKS DO NOT BELONG IN SHELTERS...JUST AS TENTS DO NOT BELONG THERE.... basically it is selfish to take up the space, inonsiderate of others and in the case of the hammocks, structurally risky to the shelter...

yea I did it once...Mea Cupla!

Pan

Crash
02-03-2007, 20:36
There are no ground dwellers here so I'll speak for them.....HAMMOCKS DO NOT BELONG IN SHELTERS...JUST AS TENTS DO NOT BELONG THERE.... basically it is selfish to take up the space, inonsiderate of others and in the case of the hammocks, structurally risky to the shelter
Pan

Then You've never been in the shelters I listed. They are big enough to hang in without taking up space by laying on the floor.. giving room to others and their packs so I am not being inconsiderate... and the PA shelters are quite structurally sound to hold a hammock.

HAMMOCKS DO BELONG IN SHELTERS.

Crash
02-03-2007, 20:51
The new shelters are all coming with bunks. These take up space, are not movable. Hammocks used to be used on ships not just because of the rocking of the ship. They were used because it didnt take up space on the floor.

I am not talking about the old style shelters that you cant stand up in. The new shelters are huge and can handle the small space that hammocks take. I can hang up and leave my pack on the floor under me which takes up a lot less space than those laying on the floor with their packs taking up space that someone coming in late could use.

Lumping Hammocks in with tents is comparing apples to oranges.

Peter_pan
02-03-2007, 21:42
Crash,

Hate to put it to ya this way.... but there is a world of hostility towards hammockers hanging in shelters...even large new ones... it sets an trend that will extend by the less informed and less skilled hammockers to the inappropriate old shelter...upwards of 700+ pounds of draw force can be extended by a hammock and it will pull out 2x4s and old beams.... You will meet much resistance and bad blood over hanging in shelters.... Even your fellow hammockers will cast desention on you for hanging in shelters.... Don't start the notion that this is OK.... IT IS NOT OK...Hammocks are not welcome in shelters.... You can find plenty on this subject in the WhiteBlaze archives... Again, HAmmocks do not belong in shelters.

Pan

neo
02-03-2007, 23:30
There are no ground dwellers here so I'll speak for them.....HAMMOCKS DO NOT BELONG IN SHELTERS...JUST AS TENTS DO NOT BELONG THERE.... basically it is selfish to take up the space, inonsiderate of others and in the case of the hammocks, structurally risky to the shelter...

yea I did it once...Mea Cupla!

Pan

:D says who:cool: neo

Joe
02-04-2007, 01:21
I want to get a listing of the shelters that you can hang up in. It has to be a strong shelter - don't want to collapse it. Has to be big enough not to totally disrupt others.

Please keep it to the listing with details and not diatribes on why we shouldn't be in shelters.
To avoid a diatribe as you have requested, here is an idea. Why don't you contact the hiking clubs which build and maintain these shelters and ask them which ones you can hang in. I assume you must have already done so for the ones you know you can hang in. I am glad to see that you do not want to totally disrupt others. :rolleyes:

Coffee
02-04-2007, 04:21
Joe, welcome to the forum.

slowhike
02-04-2007, 07:22
good to hear from you joe. i saw your name in the member's list<g>.
hope your'e doing well. ...tim

Crash
02-04-2007, 13:49
Crash,

Hate to put it to ya this way.... but there is a world of hostility towards hammockers hanging in shelters...even large new ones... it sets an trend that will extend by the less informed and less skilled hammockers to the inappropriate old shelter...upwards of 700+ pounds of draw force can be extended by a hammock and it will pull out 2x4s and old beams.... You will meet much resistance and bad blood over hanging in shelters.... Even your fellow hammockers will cast desention on you for hanging in shelters.... Don't start the notion that this is OK.... IT IS NOT OK...Hammocks are not welcome in shelters.... You can find plenty on this subject in the WhiteBlaze archives... Again, HAmmocks do not belong in shelters.

Pan

Pan - You are wrong!
but thanx for the diatribe.

Peter_pan
02-04-2007, 15:11
Crash, et al.

For your info here are some threads about hammocks in shelters, pasted from Whiteblaze.... Please consider them before you decide to hang a hammock in a shelter.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16748

Here is one where Crash posed the question in 2003 on Whiteblaze...http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2668... This thread of two pages and 32 posts rather strongly says it is inconsiderate, in appropriate etc.

Another related thread about hammocks and shelters... http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6764

One more thread...http://http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5613

For all.... this is an oft debated subject... If you want to further the acceptance of hammocking as viable mainstream approach to camping, especially backpacking please read all of these threads.... The greater backpacking community is definately opposed to hammocks in shelters... there are even shelters with notes/signs in them that state no tents,etc to be pitched in them....

Remember on this forum we are almost all hammockers ... These threads are attached... so we don't go off half informed with just a hangers bias ... we are members of the larger hiking community...Our future hangers will come from the larger hiking community....And, our future hanging options will be influenced by the larger hiking community and the clubs and/or organizations that maintain trails and facilities....

Pan

Hangman
02-04-2007, 16:02
I've never thought of hanging in a shelter. when i heard of tenting in a shelter it did not sit well with me. i thought it would be inconciderate of others . evan if you were the only person there you would never no when a late arrival would come. i hope that hammockers who choose to hang in shelters don't make it bad for the rest of us who are prepared to hang our tarps first in the rain then set up our hammocks. if it was life threating then i would use my hammock in a shelter, but not to hang, but to wrap my self up in as an extra layer! i think this is probally only a minor few who would do this anyway so hopfully it wont put a bad tast in other hikers mouths.

blackbishop351
02-04-2007, 16:09
Crash, et al.

For your info here are some threads about hammocks in shelters, pasted from Whiteblaze.... Please consider them before you decide to hang a hammock in a shelter.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16748

Here is one where Crash posed the question in 2003 on Whiteblaze...http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2668... This thread of two pages and 32 posts rather strongly says it is inconsiderate, in appropriate etc.

Another related thread about hammocks and shelters... http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6764

One more thread...http://http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5613

For all.... this is an oft debated subject... If you want to further the acceptance of hammocking as viable mainstream approach to camping, especially backpacking please read all of these threads.... The greater backpacking community is definately opposed to hammocks in shelters... there are even shelters with notes/signs in them that state no tents,etc to be pitched in them....

Remember on this forum we are almost all hammockers ... These threads are attached... so we don't go off half informed with just a hangers bias ... we are members of the larger hiking community...Our future hangers will come from the larger hiking community....And, our future hanging options will be influenced by the larger hiking community and the clubs and/or organizations that maintain trails and facilities....

Pan

Why would someone even think to hang (or tent) in a shelter when it's generally posted VERY CLEARLY that you're not to CAMP at ALL within 500 yds. of the shelter? Besides - if you're already carrying your shelter (whatever it may be), why use a shelter at all except maybe for some socialization time? I may be in the minority here, but part of what I like about being in the woods is the ability get away from people...

Specifically for hammocking, like Pan says, there's already enough animosity toward us in the general hiking community. Hammocks aren't allowed in many places because of the misconception that we damage trees. At least part of this image we've gotten HAS to be due to inconsiderate or uneducated hangers who DO damage trees.

The same thing applies here. We don't need "They tear up the shelters!" or "There wasn't any room 'cause some guy had a hammock hung in there!" showing up in trail logs. Just like with tree damage, our community as a whole has the responsibility for setting a good example. If we slip, it puts out an image that encourages others to do the same. Just like with LNT, we're trying to protect our ability to continue doing something we all love!

Just my .02 .

stoikurt
02-04-2007, 16:42
Welcome Joe,
It's nice to see another home town guy on here. That's 3 of us now.

eric_plano
02-04-2007, 18:11
I first saw these topics on Whiteblaze...tenting or hammocking in a shelter.

Aren't tents and hammocks shelters in themselves? Why the hell would anyone put up a tent or hammock in a shelter? It defies logic lol.

Risk
02-04-2007, 19:20
I'm an outlier here.

I have hung my hammock in dozens of shelters. I tend to hike the trail when others are not around, in the fall, and away from the main group of AT hikers. I have hung my hammock outside the shelter something over a hundred times.

I usually don't hang my hammock up in the shelter if there are others around, and I don't hang up usually until after dark.

Almost always, I have hung my hammock in the shelter when it was raining or windy or both.

Someone has asked why hang a hammock up in a shelter:
The reason is simple: It is comfortable. I sleep better, and that means that I hike better than sleeping on the floor. I've done that enough (dozens of times) to know that I would always prefer to be in a hammock if I can.

I am very careful about how I hang in a shelter. I have never pulled anything apart or broken anything, so I guess that my engineering analysis (thumb sight) has been OK.

More often than not, it is not rain that I am trying to avoid by hanging in the shelter, it is wind. And the walls of the shelter keep me warmer than hanging out away from the shelter.

My advice is to not inconvenience others, to not cause damage, and to not be dogmatic about any point of hiking. I don't remember ever hanging my hammock up without asking anyone else there if it was OK and I looked in their eyes as well as listened to their verbal answer. The very few times I have hung up in the shelter with other hikers who were sleeping there, I never got the idea that it was offensive to them. I never heard later that they were inconvenienced or bothered.

And I think that the small number of times that I have hung in a shelter with other hikers is perhaps offset by the large number of times that I have arrived to a shelter with 3 or 4 other people in the shelter and they have been overjoyed to hear that they would not need to move their stuff for someone else to come in. They liked the fact that I was going to camp outside the shelter.

Part of the reason that I seldom hang my hammock in a shelter with even one other hiker not hiking with me is that I hate, really hate, to wake up at night with a snorer. So my own selfishness keeps me from inconveninecing others...

I will not get into an argument about this issue. I don't mean to be offensive. But my experience is that is sometimes is OK to hang a hammock in a well designed shelter, without carrying any hooks or other equipment. And that sometimes leads to a better night's sleep.

slowhike
02-04-2007, 23:21
it may be a little like using straps or webbing on a tree instead of rope.
a person who knows what they are doing may be able to use rope at times, on certain kinds of trees with out causing damage, but as others start doing the same, problems are sure to arise.

Coffee
02-04-2007, 23:25
When I did it I had the whole second floor of the lodge to myself. The caretaker also gave me his approval. The LT shelters are a little different than the AT ones. Most of them are more like a small cabin or lodge then the standard 3 sided AT ones.

I think that as long as you are not damaging the shelter or inconviencing anyone else, there isn't anything wrong with it. If there are other people around I would hesitate to hang there.