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  1. #1
    Member Hana Hanger's Avatar
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    Why do you sleep in a hammock?

    Just got back from 4 days in a tent...uggh! So this is why I choose to sleep in a hammock.

    The Joys of Ground Hugging!

    First you begin with the location… level ground with no sticks or any stones, this is a quest sought by all, but seldom achieved by any.
    Find the ground sheet, usually some form of poly or Tyvek or even sil-nylon. Next the labor of setting up camp….whether your choice of shelter is a tarp, tent, bivy or simply cowboy style. Never fails the wind starts up just about now, as you try to hold down the ground sheet which is responding like a kite.

    You admire your set up, and have staked out your piece of territory for the night, might I add in record time. Your ready for your sleeping pad….self-inflating….Close Cell Form or blow your brains out of an air mattress of pure comfort.

    My choice is two…CCF called ThinLight by Gossamer Gear for insulation…easy and so light. Next… it only requires 20 short breaths of air to inflate the Big Agnes Air Core Pad. For me those 20 breaths transform some where between 30 and 35 breaths of aching cheeks and light headiness. I need to lie down and rest before I let my poor compressed bag out of its confinement. Refreshment is a 5 minute break and slip of H2O and now on to the struggle to getting comfortable in my bag. Did I forget to fluff…no not floss, yep fluff up the loft of my bag. Dang…crawl out…shake, fluff, dance around…crawl back in.

    Reposition the pads again and now you cautiously begin the task of zipping up; slowly hoping not to snag the zipper in the draft tubing…almost there. Choices to use the hood or simply a hat, and lets not forget my pillow…yes it is a must have luxury.

    One pillow is the blow up kind; the other is either a stuff sack with spare clothes or a small real pillow of about 8 to 9 ounces of bliss. I prefer the real thing!

    Now off with the headlight…and snuggle down to some zzzzzzzzz.

    Wrong… about 10 minutes later you must turn over…. you do not feel comfortable.
    Turn, reposition both knee and head pillows, and this causes the zipper which is suppose to be locked, to edge its way down a bit. Again you re-zip the bag…settle your head and hope to feel comfortable enough to end up in the land of nod.

    Out goes the knee pillow let’s try the back…reposition everything again…nope that’s not it. Let’s next try sleeping on the tummy…where do I put my arms? Dang not again…now back to the side…reposition everything again including the knee pillow so my lower back does not hurt.

    The hips are feeling the hard ground pounding deep into my bones, my shoulders are crying out in pain while my neck screams for some relief.
    I keep hearing sounds, now I am half up out of my bag, trying to pinpoint where the sounds are coming from. What was that? A snake…no…a field mouse…rat or marmot…not loud enough for a bear or mountain lion. (On island...is it a rat...feral cat...a feral pig...stray dog...not loud enough for a cow or horse)Sitting up now, ears straining to hear what the sound was, only to hear nothing at all.

    Settle back down in your bag; reposition the pillows yet again then the sound returns…even louder.

    What is it??? Oh my word you realize that it is the thumping of my own heartbeat which seems so loud all around you. By now you have too much adrenaline pumped in your blood stream, so find your headlight and your journal or book and hope this makes you drowsy enough to drift off to sleep.

    Close the eyes, count sheep, numbers, all the while noticing my lower back feels cold.
    I am chilled…where did I put my gloves and fleece socks? Found them and now back to the repositioning of the pads, bag and pillows.
    I give up…. might as well go take a pee break now …unzip…crawl out…relief…crawl back in.
    Fix the sleeping pads and rearrange the sleeping bag….start all over again.

    The wind starts up and there is a slight drizzle which has caused the sil-nylon of my palace to sag. It is now or never…unzip …crawl out….tighten down the guy lines…crawl back in.
    Fix the sleeping pads and rearrange the sleeping bag and the pillows…start all over again.

    I am finally on my side, pillows in place, and the chill returns to my lower back,
    aching …waiting…not going away. All right already…dig in my pack…find my down vest or fleece jacket. Struggle to put it on while hoping not to have to have to reposition everything all over again. Wrong …unzip…crawl out…put on the jacket…crawl back in the bag…zip up and once again, fix the pads, bag and my pillows!!!!

    This whole scenario will repeat itself through out the night till the wee hours of the morning. Somewhere between 4 and 6 am I get some sleep from pure exhaustion.

    Now the sun is shining in my face and the normal sounds of other hikers breaking camp or starting up coffee, glance at the time its 6:30 a.m. Oh great I got about 2 maybe 3 hours of sleep. Might as well get up, and so starts another day of backpacking, surely tonight I will stay warm and get some sleep.

    Just where is my hammock???

  2. #2
    slowhike's Avatar
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    now there's a report for the people still sleeping on the ground... but maybe thinking about the possibility of getting a hammock<g>.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    Hey where you watching me last time I was on the ground?

    For me it is 2 fold. I hang because I have trouble sleeping if I am not comfortable, unless I am really tired. But mainly it is b/c I have back problems. Without hammocking (or a really thick and heavy pad system), long distance backpacking would be really hard. On the ground I wake up with a lot of pain, in the air I am fine.
    Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
    The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".

  4. #4
    Senior Member headchange4u's Avatar
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    One of my favorite things about a hammock, besides the comfortable night's sleep, is the swinging motion that rocks me to sleep at night.
    “Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." -Terry Pratchett



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  5. #5
    New Member
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    Yeah, and for a swamp paddler like myself, hammocks sink a lot slower than tents in the quicksand.

  6. #6
    Senior Member RockStar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hammock engineer View Post
    Hey where you watching me last time I was on the ground?

    For me it is 2 fold. I hang because I have trouble sleeping if I am not comfortable, unless I am really tired. But mainly it is b/c I have back problems. Without hammocking (or a really thick and heavy pad system), long distance backpacking would be really hard. On the ground I wake up with a lot of pain, in the air I am fine.
    This is why I knew I'd love a hammock once I layed in it! I have the same problem with my back spasming sleeping on the ground. An Air Mat helps but, still have discomfort.

    Quote Originally Posted by headchange4u View Post
    One of my favorite things about a hammock, besides the comfortable night's sleep, is the swinging motion that rocks me to sleep at night.
    THIS is SUCH a nice bonus to hamging! I might bring a pacifier hiking as an added bonus!

    Quote Originally Posted by robertm View Post
    Yeah, and for a swamp paddler like myself, hammocks sink a lot slower than tents in the quicksand.
    LMAO

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by RockStar View Post
    THIS is SUCH a nice bonus to hamging! I might bring a pacifier hiking as an added bonus!
    If by pacifier you mean something in a gateraid bottle other than gateraid, I already do that time to time.
    Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
    The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".

  8. #8
    Senior Member Doctari's Avatar
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    My inital reason for going to a hammock was my last over nighter in a tent I realized that 20 years ago crawling on the ground to get into bed wasn't even noticable. But now at over 50, I'm too old to do that anymore, so I said to myself "self, lets check out those hammocks we have heard so much about." Oh wow, not only was it more comfy, I could stand up jsut like getting out of bed at home.

    What "sealed the deal" for me was a one nighter in a tent at the carolina Renaissance fest. In a STAND UP tent. So no crawling on the ground for me, but I was very cold and my back hurt, no make that HURT all night. I got maybe 3 hrs sleep but was in bed about 7.
    Sad things: it was a good (for a tent) site on soft ground, I had heat; a small propane tent heater, I was using the exact same pads & sleeping bag I used on the Mt. Rogers thing where it got down to 5, outside temp didn't drop to 32 cause my water bottle didn't freeze, there were 3 other people in the tent to add heat, there was no wind (Mt Rogers had 50 mph gusts).

    No more tent camping for me.


    Doctari.

  9. #9
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    Living in Virginia, my favorite thing about hanging is the lack of condensation. Tenting, you have to hang the tent, fly and groundcloth on whatever you can find so you can dry out every morning. The ventilation is so good with a hammock that I can pop out of the sack, have the bike loaded and be on the road in 15 minutes. And when I'm in need of a Krispy Kreme, every minute counts!
    If you must choose between two evils, opt for the one you've never tried before

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by btourer View Post
    Living in Virginia, my favorite thing about hanging is the lack of condensation. Tenting, you have to hang the tent, fly and groundcloth on whatever you can find so you can dry out every morning. The ventilation is so good with a hammock that I can pop out of the sack, have the bike loaded and be on the road in 15 minutes. And when I'm in need of a Krispy Kreme, every minute counts!
    Ok now I can think of one thing bike touring has on long distance hiking.
    Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
    The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".

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