Have had my heart set on an AT thru hike since a teen and recently have become almost obsessive about it though there is no chance until I retire. Today I was encourage to think about doing the hike in a hammock instead of a tent.

I have not considered this before because of several questions:

how do you keep your gear dry?
what do you do if there are no trees close enough together?
what if there is a storm that insists that you hunker down for more than a night? Are you stuck without a way to cook and eat?
what about strong winds?

Still, I have spent the entire day looking at hammocks and thinking more and more that it would be the solution to certain other problems like getting up off the ground, sleeping comfortably, and perhaps there are adequate solutions to my questions.

Does anyone know of a place in the Dallas area where one could actually see one set up and try them on for size?