View Full Version : Any Issues on the AT?
kristin1065
10-15-2008, 01:14
I'm planning an AT thru-hike this coming spring/summer and am excited to have swapped my tent for a HH hammock!! I just returned from a 3-night adventure in Pisgah National Forest (North Carolina) and am happy to report that the hangin' was excellent!! I am very happy so far with the new hammock lifestyle. I had a basic question, though: are there any issues that I should plan for with a hammock on the AT?? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks all! :D
You will get plenty of advice on here from others most likely and it's late, so I will just give a couple of things to think about for now. The short answer suggestions I can give you are get an underquilt for insulation, a larger tarp than the stock one, and a better system for attaching to trees. Something like ring buckles, or cinch buckles.
It can be done other ways, but from my experience this year those will greatly increase your chances of hammocking the entire way. I saw a lot of people send their hammocks home because they didn't work for them. Every problem they had could have been solved had they had time before the trip to perfect their setup, which is what I used this site for before my thru hike.
What date to you plan on leaving?
bear bag hanger
10-15-2008, 08:05
Nest's advice is really good. I would add, practice setting up your hammock on the ground. You may not have to do it, but there are a couple places where you might. During my thru in 2004, I only had to go to ground once, but it took me a long time and did it wrong and had condensation on everything the next morning. The HH is a little more difficult than some of the other hammocks for this, but I've done it many times (FL state parks don't allow you to attach to their trees)(plus, trees are hard to find on the man made berms we often hike on). Use two hiking poles, not one, and crawl through the velcro openinig like you would a tent.
One other thing. When you get to hostels, ask if you can set up your hammock somewhere. Often you can and there by not have to deal with most the noise, dirty mattreses, etc. of the hostel, but still be able to get a shower, laundry, etc.
You'll come to love your hammock even more when you can get a comfortable nights sleep even in the worst terrain, when all the good sites are taken up by tents.
Here's my Claytor JH st up on the ground.
http://community.webshots.com/album/568028697ivOOni
It's incredibly easy and fast to set up. Do the tarp first by simply taking a couple of wraps around the handle grip of the hiking pole and then stake it to the ground on each end. With the Claytor you then simply spread it out under the tarp and wrap the lines that suspend the netting around the same grips and tie off. I think the Claytor lends itself nicely to a gound set up....not sure about bottom entries.
I haven't needed to use it as of yet. :) Good to practise at home.
Miguel
I would still consider a pad. It's nice when it's pouring to lay down a pad in a shelter and not deal with the rain. A lot of hostels too do not have any padding to sleep on for you. Makes a great sit pad as well.
A larger tarp than the standard hh is worth a look.
I'm planning an AT thru-hike this coming spring/summer and am excited to have swapped my tent for a HH hammock!! I just returned from a 3-night adventure in Pisgah National Forest (North Carolina) and am happy to report that the hangin' was excellent!! I am very happy so far with the new hammock lifestyle. I had a basic question, though: are there any issues that I should plan for with a hammock on the AT?? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks all! :D
you can hang the whole way no problem.i even hung on the front porch at two huts in the whites:shades:neo
I would still consider a pad. It's nice when it's pouring to lay down a pad in a shelter and not deal with the rain. A lot of hostels too do not have any padding to sleep on for you. Makes a great sit pad as well.
A larger tarp than the standard hh is worth a look.
i never stay at shelter even in a major down pour,i carry a 9x9 silnylon tarp
i hang it 1st and take it down last,shelters suck and are for panty waist whimpy hikers,but i carry a pad,its all i need:shades:neo
You will get plenty of advice on here from others most likely and it's late, so I will just give a couple of things to think about for now. The short answer suggestions I can give you are get an underquilt for insulation, a larger tarp than the stock one, and a better system for attaching to trees. Something like ring buckles, or cinch buckles.
It can be done other ways, but from my experience this year those will greatly increase your chances of hammocking the entire way. I saw a lot of people send their hammocks home because they didn't work for them. Every problem they had could have been solved had they had time before the trip to perfect their setup, which is what I used this site for before my thru hike.
What date to you plan on leaving?
hammocks rock.a lot of people dont have a clue to use them right:cool:neo
One issue to bear in mind (no pun intended) is that in GSMNP you have to use the shelter if space is available. If you're going to be on your thru during the peak of thru hiker season, this won't be a problem. Just wait around for the shelter to fill and then set up your hammock. Your other option is to stealth, which could lead to a citation and a hefty fine. Whatever you decide, good luck on your thru! :):thumbup:
kristin1065
10-15-2008, 19:12
Thanks all for the great advice. I don't plan on carrying trekking poles, but I will work on how to set up on-ground without them. Also, I don't anticipate any problems in GSMNP as I will be leaving in early-mid April, so there will probably be enough hikers to fill the shelters. If not, I really don't mind having to crash in a shelter once in a while. I'm pretty flexible.
I'm also wondering if there is any way to adapt an "extension" piece of silnylon to one side of the fly tarp to make it go to the ground, but only when needed (ie. raining, etc.). Also, any recommendations for sleeping bags in the hammock?? I have a sleeping pad which worked well, but I am on the market for a better bag. Lafuma brand was recommended to me because of their reliability, quality and affordable prices. Does anyone have experience with this brand or any of their bags??
Personally, I use a Speer Top Blanket and Underquilt, but if I had to recommend a true sleeping bag to anyone, I'd have to go with Western Mountaineering (http://www.westernmountaineering.com/) bags. They're popular for their light weight, warmth and comfort.
I used a home-made hammock for the entire AT on '07. Here's what worked for me: A simple hammock with a static line like the HH; bug net suspended from the static line, no zipper; twelve-foot long, 1.5 inch polypro webbing suspension lines all the way - no tree huggers, no hardware; a 9x5 foot tarp with the option of hooking to the suspension webbing or the trees, and 6 potential tie-outs, although only 4 sufficed except in heavy blows; snake skins; 6 lightweight stakes.
Since you are starting with the HH, I would certainly get a rectangular or hexagonal tarp larger than their standard - but not hugely larger. I did just fine with a 9x5. A 9x6 would do just fine, and some HHs work OK with 8x6. I would cut the suspension lines short and tie webbing directly to them. I also suggest hanging the HH loosely so the angle to the trees is around 45 degrees.
In regard to underquilts. Sometimes, you may want to stay in shelters or hostels without matresses or on the ground. You will be pretty uncomfortable if you don't have a pad. That means extra weight and bulk that will be very unwelcome on a thruhike. I used a thick, non-inflatable pad from late March through mid May. No underquilt. The pad did me proud in the hammock down to 20 degrees. I had one night at 7 degrees and several in the teens, and stayed in shelters then because it was a screaming late-spring storm. The pad was very welcome then. After mid May, I switched to a thinner pad and a lighter top quilt.
I recommend quilts instead of sleeping bags. They are more efficient and much easier to maneuver in.
-leftfield-
11-12-2008, 17:15
On my thru this year, i rocked an HH with no accessories until Front Royal (im not a purist ewok) and never had an issue with any of the nasty weather. I had a CC camp chair for a pad on the coldest of nights, and the shoulder to hips coverage was enough when i brought my pack in with me as a knee break. I was never in a place where i couldnt rig and i left the hammock as it was. There were times when I hung inside a couple of shelters as well (ie after getting poured on from Fontana Dam to Mollie's Ridge). I never HAD to rig on the ground, but I did a couple of times for S+Gs, i used poles once and trees another time.
I used the standard HH fly and NEVER got wet in my hammock and got hit by more than one hard storm. i found that when i tried to rig my kit low enough to get the fly to (or very near to the ground), either I was on the ground or the fly was in too tight to the body of the hammock to make me non paranoid about water. I preferred to set it up with the fly about 30 degrees below horizontal and that was good enough to keep me dry and pretty much untouched by the wind.
Also, with respect to you question about sleeping bags, I used a Western Mountaineering 20 degree bag and that was great. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about their gear. LaFuma makes good stuff for the price point that its at. A friend of mine on the trail won a bag at trail days and used it without complaint.
Everyone's opinions and set-ups are different. I'll second the suggestion of practice riggings. Take a bunch of ideas and find the ones that work for you. I went out blind on just my second camping trip with my HH and was fine.
Best of luck on your thru, hope some of this helps.
I'm planning an AT thru-hike this coming spring/summer and am excited to have swapped my tent for a HH hammock!! I just returned from a 3-night adventure in Pisgah National Forest (North Carolina) and am happy to report that the hangin' was excellent!! I am very happy so far with the new hammock lifestyle. I had a basic question, though: are there any issues that I should plan for with a hammock on the AT?? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks all! :D
you will be hanging all the way if you want to,i even hung every nite in the whites in new hampshire,except for lake of clouds hut and madison springs hut
i hung on the porch at zeeland falls hut and galehead hut.actually its easier to find places to hang on the AT then it is to tent.:cool:neo
goldbond
11-13-2008, 09:30
One question while we are on this subject.Still very new to hanging so forgive my ingnorance! I just purchased a McCat Deluxe tarp. I have a HH asym Deluxe. I tried to rig the tarp as the original was rigged...on the hooks that came with the HH. Seemed as though the tarp was to saggy or not tight enough.Also seemed as though the sides were laying right on the side of the hammock. Any suggestions on rigging this tarp with this hammock. Thank you!
BillyBob58
11-13-2008, 10:00
One question while we are on this subject.Still very new to hanging so forgive my ingnorance! I just purchased a McCat Deluxe tarp. I have a HH asym Deluxe. I tried to rig the tarp as the original was rigged...on the hooks that came with the HH. Seemed as though the tarp was to saggy or not tight enough.Also seemed as though the sides were laying right on the side of the hammock. Any suggestions on rigging this tarp with this hammock. Thank you!
Oh boy, here we go! ;) Hanging a tarp in the original HH way gives great rain coverage, because you don't sag away from the tarp ridgeline once you get in. But, that also causes the tarp to sag with the hammock, and no matter how tight you had it originally, it will now be loose and saggy. So this can be tricky to deal with when using the stock tarp, but using a MacCat would be even trickier because you have 4 stake out points to deal with.
With the stock ( or any diamond) tarp, using hiking poles at the guy out points helps. Using tarp tensioners helps. Hanging stuff sacks with something heavy in them ( wet sand for ex) from the glove hooks on the HH tarp right and left ends helps a lot, and makes the loose tarp quieter in the wind.
But, with that MacCat, you are probably going to want to just tie it to the trees, or at a minimum tie one end to the tree and the other connect to the prussick.
goldbond
11-13-2008, 11:22
Thanks BillyBob58! Now I have to learn how to properly tie out my new tarp! I swear there is a learning curve with the hammocks but everytime I use it I get better and better!
Take-a-knee
11-13-2008, 17:30
Personally, I use a Speer Top Blanket and Underquilt, but if I had to recommend a true sleeping bag to anyone, I'd have to go with Western Mountaineering (http://www.westernmountaineering.com/) bags. They're popular for their light weight, warmth and comfort.
No way Hooch, the Rock Wren/Winter Wren is the only way to go for a hammocker, it also serves as camp insulation just like a JRB No Sniveler. Plus it is a real bag, not everyone can use a quilt on the ground very well. With the Wren, if you have to go to ground there are no compromises/supprises except that the drawstring foot adds a few ounces. You gain however, a big puffy hooded down vest for those few ounces.
Rockdawg69
11-13-2008, 23:05
Thanks all for the great advice. I don't plan on carrying trekking poles, but I will work on how to set up on-ground without them. Also, I don't anticipate any problems in GSMNP as I will be leaving in early-mid April, so there will probably be enough hikers to fill the shelters. If not, I really don't mind having to crash in a shelter once in a while. I'm pretty flexible.
I'm also wondering if there is any way to adapt an "extension" piece of silnylon to one side of the fly tarp to make it go to the ground, but only when needed (ie. raining, etc.). Also, any recommendations for sleeping bags in the hammock?? I have a sleeping pad which worked well, but I am on the market for a better bag. Lafuma brand was recommended to me because of their reliability, quality and affordable prices. Does anyone have experience with this brand or any of their bags??
Noticed that you did not plan to carry hiking poles. I found that they saved my rear end a few times on slick rocks, ice, a couple of muddy stretches and just plain stumbles. Also were handy to make a tarp tent for going to ground when I found a place I wanted to stealth camp or just do a simple camp like up on the Roan balds. Worth their weight in gold to me since I didn't end up with any injuries from my mis-steps.
But, with that MacCat, you are probably going to want to just tie it to the trees, or at a minimum tie one end to the tree and the other connect to the prussick.
Bingo. That's the method that I have been recommending for some time now - it alleviates most of the sag associated with laying in the hammock while still allowing adjustability via the prussick knot.
Brian
OES
Your going to get tons of advice from all angles. Just go with it. You'll figure it out. Look at what other people are doing and change if you think it will work out for you. You will be surprised by the number of people that spend no time preparing, figure it out as they go, and make it the whole way. Tons of places in the South to re-outfit yourself. Starting in the south in peak season is a really forgiving time and place to start.
My only other advice is if something hurts or feels wrong, then there is probably something you can change to make it feel better.
-leftfield-
12-10-2008, 15:45
i'll second coffee. i used four different sets of kit just to see what worked well and felt right for me.
I lost track of all the different setups I tried. I finally settled on using a Winter Wren by Feathered Friends installed over my hammock. This worked very well in the colder weather. I modified my lighter bag (Mountainsmith Wisp) by adding a drawstring closure to the foot and used it the same way when I started south from Maine. It served me very well only leaving me slightly chilled on the nights that I was too tired or lazy to readjust the down that had migrated toward the bottom. I saved a lot of weight and bulk while sacrificing only a little comfort. There are probably as many setups as there are posters here on HF. Whatever you decide on, use it a lot, and try it all out before your hike, in all types of weather. It's OK if your neighbors think your crazy for running out into the rain as every one else is running inside. At home you can make a hasty retreat if something fails and learn how to do things better the next time. A 40 degree night in the pouring rain when you are exhausted from an all day hike is not the time to be learning how to set up your kit or about its shortcomings. Good hiking to you and most of all, try to have fun...most days:D.