starting at the southern terminus and through the desert where is the best place to have my hammock sent to me. i somehow doubt a surplus of trees
Printable View
starting at the southern terminus and through the desert where is the best place to have my hammock sent to me. i somehow doubt a surplus of trees
To be sure, from kennedy meadows on up you'll have plenty of trees. Maybe also down around big bear area. I don't know your resupply strategy though. Might not be worth it to use before Kennedy meadows as the trees will be intermitent until then.
Luck dog, I wish I were back in Cali.:(
HTH
Ryan
there is a thread on White Blaze asking the same question. Per that thread most folks say forget it due to lack of trees in the desert of Calif, being above treeline and trees way to big in the Northwest. Another reason is that you can cowboy camp for a long time plus sleeping in the hammock setup with trekking poles night after night wasn't great.
I disagree with forgetting a hammock. The majority of my hiking has been on the PCT. Nevada, California, and Oregon. Once you get near Yosemite there should be a problem finding trees any longer. I even used my hammock in the redwoods. There are other types of trees that are not too big. I think many people giving that advice have never actually been and are taking second hand information.
I'm really glad to hear that, Ivelph. The next planned trip for my gang is to WA state, most likely either the Olympic NP or North Cascades NP. I hope I won't have any hassles from park officials about hanging from their trees.Quote:
Originally Posted by lvleph
I am likely to soon switch to the cinch buckle approach for my HH UL Explorer. And or I am going to order some extra long tree huggers from HH. Regardless, I am going to have to count on enough trees that are not gigantic, because I don't think it would be possible to carry enough webbing or spectra for those truly giant trees.
Just realize that it is not necessary to wrap the tree huggers twice and you will find some trees. It is scary the first time, but it will hold. Also, you could easily make longer ones. Either way, I am sure you will find some trees. If not set the HH up as a tent.
I haven't been on the PCT, but I've hammocked in Big Sur, Yosemite, Redwoods NP, and I've seen plenty of hammockable places in Washington near Rainier, Seattle and Spokane. I wouldn't give it up just b/c there are big trees out there or just b/c there's a treeline in the Sierras. But I'd definitely find someone who has done this trail before and trust their opinions over the secondhand ones like mine. And there are folks out there who have hammocked the PCT...at least the sections with trees. Go to PCT-L, or the other PCT list that uses this software, and ask your question. Ignore the naysayers who haven't actually tried it and wait for the folks with experience!
It'll probably come down to a question of whether or not it's worth it, rather than whether or not it's possible.
I'm not trying to persuade this guy not to, I actually think it would be great to hammock the pct. For those of you who haven't hiked in the area before, it is extremely dusty and any chance to lay up out of the dust is gonna be a godsend. The fine silty stuff of the Sierra's seems to penetrate everything.
I plan to do the PCT at some point in my life and I'll definetly be packing my hammock along. Nothing like those crisp mountain nights.
I lived a stones throw from the trail for quite a few years and I know live in Southern Illinois. GOD I MISS CALIFORNIA..........I kick myself everyday for not having done the PCT as soon as I got out of the military.
I live in the Pacific Northwest and for the most part there are lots of smaller trees to hang a hammock from. Not so sure about park rangers and what they will have to say about hangin from their trees thou.:mad:
My intention is to thru-hike the PCT in 2008, and I'll start with a tarptent, but I too am thinking of switching to a hammock along the way.
My tentative plan is that my wife will meet me near Ashland, basically at the CA/OR border. We'll hike together just to Crater Lake and I'll use the hammock in that stretch, see how I feel at that point after all of California in a tent. My hammock setup is a little heavier, but I really like the flexibility of walking as late as I want to and then just finding two trees, i.e., the ability to walk later into the day, particularly later in the trip as the days start getting shorter (reduced hours of daylight). But of course, those start to get to be colder days too. I have a ~10-day solo trip planned for next month (September) in WA state with the hammock to get a better sense for whether I'll have any temperature issues, and how much clothing to bring --- I expect it will work fine.
Brian Lewis
Sounds like we will be there about the same time. I'll either be hangin in the Olympics ( probably Hoh River trail ) or the North Cascades 9/1- 9/8. I'm also trying to figure how it will work with , most likely, a required bear proof food canister. Extra weight and volume, and I wonder how many we will need for a weeks worth of food for 4 people?Quote:
Originally Posted by brianle
Bill
Yup, this is a good part of why I don't think I'll switch to a hammock any earlier. Too few trees I expect in the desert, but you also have lots of water weight to carry, don't need the extra pound the hammock adds.
Ditto in the Sierras --- my mini-crampons and ice axe are quite light, but they still add something, plus the requirement for a 2.7 pound bear can (ugh), potentially long distances between resupply points, and perhaps additional clothes for the cold. So the earliest I'd consider switching would be Echo Lake or so, but since my wife plans to meet me near Ashland, that should work too.