I got into hammock camping because of my love for my kayak, which led to my desire to take longer trips. I did my first overnight kayak trip just a few weeks ago and slept in my tent, which is when I realized that the ground is a lot harder than it used to be years ago! I was so uncomfortable and slept so poorly that I thought, "There has to be a better way than this" and I hit the internet to research what other kayakers do who want to spend the night on the riverbank or lakeshore.
That's how I found you all, and some great youtube videos. I said "I've got to get me one of those," and did as much research as I could without knowing much at all about what I was reading, and seeing. A Hennessy seemed like a safe bet, so that's what I got. And on Monday last week I set out for its maiden voyage. I kayaked Chickamauga Lake, just northeast of Chattanooga. I put in up above Soddy Daisy and my plan was to paddle down to Harrison Bay State Park to camp, then paddle on to Booker T. Washington State Park the next morning and home from there. The paddle was great, and I got to Harrison Bay in the early evening. I was dismayed that all the campsites on the water were occupied! I checked out the primitive area and the regular campground, nope, nothing. Finally I found one site that was just up a path from the water, so that I would at least be able to see my boat from the site, and made several trips up the path hauling all my stuff to the site. Then when I went to hang my hammock---my straps weren't long enough! The trees were so big my straps wouldn't go around them! So I started looking [B]again[B] and saw several sites with appropriately placed, smaller, trees, but they were too far from the water. I was [B]not[B] comfortable leaving my boat out of my sight, and I am not able to just pick it up and carry it by myself (it's 12 ft. long, about 50 lbs.) So, with darkness approaching, I decided I had to stealth camp, and found a nice spot with brush to hide a big orange boat and trees for my hammock. It went up super easy, and was nice and comfortable. I was warm enough even with the cool lake air with a foam pad and a sleeping bag. I didn't sleep well, but it wasn't that I wasn't comfy, I was somehow just uneasy. I don't know if it was the novelty of the situation, or the newness and strangeness of being suspended in the air, or feeling oddly guilty about the "unauthorized" camping, but I felt alone and very vulnerable. I did finally drift off to sleep to be awakened by the sound of raindrops. I wondered what affect this was going to have on me-and I found that is was none. I stayed completely dry. I woke very early in the morning and started to take down, but as soon as I got the tarp down the rain started again in earnest, and I hung the fly again, this time nearly flat, like a roof, and sat on the hammock like a swing, and got out a book. It was just lovely, sitting on my swing, looking out at the lake, reading, and listening to the raindrops above my head. Didn't feel like making a fire so I ate a Payday for breakfast. Good times. When the rain stopped I took down and paddled off. First night done. The hammock was a success, just my attitude needs adjusting.
Four days later, I agreed to accompany my husband on an overnight bike trip. He is planning a much longer bike ride this fall, and wanted to take a "shakedown" cruise to check all his equipment. I am not a cyclist, but saw it as a chance to try my Hennessy out again, so I agreed. We biked the Silver Comet trail, in Georgia. We started at mile marker 15, in Hiram, and rode to mm 45 to camp at Camp Comet, and rode the 30 miles back the next day. The trail is very well-maintained and lovely, and it's nice to be able to ride a bike without worrying about traffic. Camp Comet is a very primitive campground right on the trail, no water or facilities. We were the only ones there. Due to a late start, general lolly-gagging, and a couple of flatswe arrived well after dark and I again hung the hammock in the dark. Again it went up almost absurdly easily, it makes me feel very competent to be able to put it up so quickly and smoothly! It was so warm and muggy I decided I didn't need the pad. I was wrong, and got up a couple of hours later to get the pad, and convert my sweatshirt and sweatpants from pillow to clothing. I did sleep better this time. The next morning we rode back to the Jeep, and my "sitting-on" bones told me they don't want to sit on another bike seat for a while. They like the kayak better.
So, that was my experience my first two nights in a hammock, it's probably TMI and I doubt if anyone is terribly interested in a less than thrilling report, but maybe some newbies will feel encouraged by my success. I liked reading stories like this when I was researching, and knowing that successful hammock camping is available to novices who don't know all the acronyms, or how to tie a hundred knots!
Kathy
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