Critters while hanging

[tnvarmint]

I know that there was a post here recently discussing critters around and under the hammock and this has probably been discussed a time or two in the past. I was curious though if the "anxiety" of critters getting at you under the hammock ever goes away? I have been a devoted hammock hanger for two or three years now and never see myself going back to the ground if it can be helped. My son and I went on an over night this weekend on the AT and will be doing a three day hike this coming weekend. While hanging this past weekend, I lay there listening to some owls start up just after dark and then heard the purr of some nearby coons. I have to admit I got the chills thinking about those coons possibly coming into our spot and sharing the warmth and dryness of our hammocks. To make matters worse, sometime during the night I was woke by something smacking into my leg. It freaked me out a little but I never saw anything so perhaps I dreamed it.

Although for whatever reason, hanging in the hammock leaves me feeling less than secure at night, I am a life long outdoorsman. I spent most of my life hunting, fishing, hiking and camping. I was a boy scout in my youth. I am as much at home in the woods as I am in my living room. I often walk out into the woods behind my house at night just to listen to the night critters and feel no fear. For some reason though I just can't get rid of the "fear" of critters getting at me while in the hammock.

Again, I am a devoted hammock hanger and this "fear" will not deter me from continuing to hang. Am I the only one that gets the "willies" at night while hanging and does it ever go away? It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me because I have faced off many critters in the woods both big and small, sometimes armed and sometimes not and never was I rattled for more than the moment at hand. Most times I was confident in my own abilities and the actions of the critters and the encounters never bothered me. For whatever reason though, when I crawl into that hammock all that experience and knowledge goes out from under the tarp and I am often left feeling like a scared little school girl (no offense to the little school girls).

What say you?

[Csquared]

I am by far not the person that has hundreds of hours logged in a tent or a hammock. but as a tent camper and recent convert to hammocks, I think it is the wall and door concept. In my mind, I am more exposed in an hammock vs having four walls and a door that a tent offers, But in real world we have the same coverage just in a different format.

I believe it is a mind thing. My humble opinion. Does it go away, not sure, but looking forward to testing it for a long time.

CC

[Fronkey]

I agree that it's the walls of a tent that makes a person feel secure in comparison to a tent.
I personally prefer to sleep tarpless and love being out in the open, however my wife tends to get a little spooked at sounds at night. I would like to think that it does go away with experience and she is significantly better than the first time we went out where everything scared her. Now she can pretty much hang by herself in the woods.

The fun part though is you can keep going out more and more to test it out. You know? For science.

Fronkey

[OneClick]

I just have the mindset that when I'm out in the woods, everything else just sees me as a dirty, loud human...something they want to avoid. Even when I hear strange sounds, I ignore them because it always ends up being something benign (trees rubbing, pine cones falling, etc)

Sometimes something will wake me up. I usually just give it a quick "fake cough" or even clap to let it know where I am. I don't even bother with the gun anymore because if something or someone is going to mess with me, I'm sure they will come from behind, ambush me or simply have more sense than to just come straight at me slowly while I unpack and take aim.

I don't think there is anything specific you can do to make it go away though. It's just a mind game.

[OutandBack]

There a reason the hammock is nicknamed the bear borrito, haha
In all seriousness humans usually start the fight with animals. In my hammock if I know my food is secure and I have practiced good camping protocols I just don't worry about them.

Honestly does this little fellow look like he wants to jump in your hammock with you?

[hk2001]

I've had a lot of wildlife under my hammock. And in severe weather the more unexpected encounters seem to happen .. The only thing I WORRY about sharing my space, is ticks and skunks.

I've taken to sleeping with a HUG (Half Bug net) instead of a full net.. Last week I had a chickadee perched on my TQ

[sargevining]

There a reason the hammock is nicknamed the bear borrito, haha
In all seriousness humans usually start the fight with animals. In my hammock if I know my food is secure and I have practiced good camping protocols I just don't worry about them.

Honestly does this little fellow look like he wants to jump in your hammock with you?

Forty three years ago I was camped under a picnic table in the National Forest on the Kancamagus Highway in the White Mountains of NH. Had a raccoon come right up in there with me and curl up in the crook of my knee. Thought I'd dreamed it until I saw the dusty foot prints on the sleeping bag the next morning.

[SilvrSurfr]

Fear is good; fear is your friend. However, when you succumb to your fears, it ain't healthy. I saw a post where an animal bumped a guy in his hammock, and he immediately held a "going back to ground" sale because he never wanted it to happen again. That's a bit of an overreaction. I think a critter brushing up against my tent would freak me out just as much, but I'm not gonna start RV camping to feel safer.

Critters have scared me to death on more than one occasion. One night while cooking dinner (no headlamp), this porcupine just started walking into my campsite. I yelled at him, stood up and waved my arms, and he still kept coming. Finally, I turned on my headlamp and he stopped about five feet away from me. I moved towards him and he finally moved about 20 feet away.

And he sat there and watched me, watched me eat my dinner, watched me crawl into my hammock. I could see his beady eyes staring at me for hours. If it weren't that I was bone tired from a long day's hike, he might have kept me up all night. I finally faded to sleep around midnight. When I woke up, he was still in the area.

I have no idea why that porcupine walked up on me like that. I didn't have any food out; I was just boiling water. I suspect I was on a game trail and he was just going about his business. It definitely freaked me out.

I definitely don't like the "not knowing" part when you hear a critter in the vicinity of your hammock. I dislike it so much that I will immediately exit my hammock to confront the critter - just to find out what's out there. It's one of the main reasons I switched from hammocks with zippered, integrated bugnets to an independent, bottom-entry Fronkey-style bugnet. I wanted quick escape from the hammock so I could confront the critter.

For over 40 years, I carried a machete to protect me from critters. That machete made me feel legitimately more safe and secure. After some good-natured ribbing from hiking buddies, I finally left it at home a few years ago and it hasn't come hiking since. It probably would have made me feel a lot better about that confronting that porcupine, but I've learned to cope with my fears.

Oh, and machete always comes with me car camping or canoeing!

[Frank1960]

the way I snore I don't think anything will come around me

[SilvrSurfr]

My back yard used to be a darned wildlife sanctuary - I've had everything but a bear come through at night - foxes, raccoons, possums, muskrats, coyotes, skunks and deer. Once I got a dog, critters don't like my yard so much.

I always see stuff for sale in the FS forum saying, "from a pet-free home." Heck, you should probably pay a premium for a quilt or hammock that has plenty of dog scent on it. Most critters steer clear of dogs.