I haven't slept in a hammock, yet! What (who) got me into wanting to? Shug's vidoes
I haven't slept in a hammock, yet! What (who) got me into wanting to? Shug's vidoes
It was about 1970 when I found some olive drab cargo netting and being the kind of guy that enjoys making "something from nothing", The only thing I could think to do with it was tie the ends up and have a hammock to swing around in. Just fun and games. About the early 1980's National Geographic hosted a series of articles from a college kid about his experiences as he did a "Walk across America"... Peter Jenkins. (He later wrote a book about it) Real life adventure!!! He was a ground dweller. But just the idea of such an adventure never left me. The realities of providing for a family kept me away from a lot of my dreams, but as time went on ( late 1980's) I found myself wintering in No. Calif. and with a desire to walk to Washington...... up the Oregon coast to the columbia river..... just for fun. And I had the time..... I started getting in shape by jogging and one day decided to walk 8 miles to the nearest town. By the time I got there I was a cripple. Wrong shoes, wrong attitude, not in shape....... I was sore for three weeks. It dawned on me that a hammock could be a great asset on such an adventure. I started dreaming of a Hammock/sleeping bag/tent idea that I had, but it never came to fruition..... Life kept me too busy. Then around 2005 I ran across an add for a Hennessey Hammock...... I NEEDED ONE!!! My second (and last) wife saw the excitement in my eyes and bought me one. Life has handed me some health issues to slow me down and give me new challenges. I'm finally taking the time to do what I have always dreamt of..... just walking about on the face of the earth getting to know myself and my Maker better, and hoping I can share some of this with Step-sons and Grandsons. Thank you Hammock forums for the help and comraderie.
I started Hammock camping over this last summer (2011). me and my bud started hammock camping because tent camping was just miserable for us. We live in Wisconsin were the terrair is anything but flat and if you are lucky enough to find a flat spot it is usually at a public camping area wich for lack of better term sucks. So we got sick and tired of spending time looking for flat ground on a trail only to find it and have it be overrun by people (not very peacful) even when we would find someplace without alot of people we still had to contend with the very unforgiving ground. Finally i said lets give Hammock camping a try and have not looked back since. For all those reading this that are tent campers i meant no disrespect and did not intend to make it sound bad it just was not for me. Anyway that is how i got started Hammock camping and intend to do alot more of it. This will be my first winter camping any advice or suggestions are welcome thanks everyone.
I think a hammock only makes sense for a light weight sleeping option its the only way I can get comfy after riding and packing all day. Stealthy, leave no trace respect the land.tree huggers sure are nice mosquito net saves skin the rest is uncompareable to ground, let's just convert the tent and throw those poles out the material and floors work great zipper in for perfect net lol tents are so smelly and inefficient in retrospect,[COLOR="rgb(153, 50, 204)"][/COLOR]
I love this site I am sure to stay......
Bri
My first experience with a hammock was at Fort Sherman, Panama during training at the Army's Jungle Operations Training Center. Good times right there! Too bad I was too tired to enjoy it by the time we had some down time. I do remember appreciating the fact that no ants, bats, coatimundis, monkeys, porcupines, or any other jungle dwelling critters got at me while hanging. After growing up camping and hiking in Washington I'm not sure why I didn't put it all together though. Lots of missed opportunities for some great hanging over the years......
Good reason to try and make up some time now!
My friend has been hammocking for a while, he was always bragging to me and my dad about how much lighter his pack was than ours. I decided to give it a try and liked it very much. The past month or two have been me making a DIY Under quilt and DIY over quilt both with insultex. Going to try out the top quilt tomorrow.
Realizing that there had to be better a way if I wanted to keep backpacking after far too many nights and hundreds of hours of lost sleep, I discovered Shug and from there this forum and saw the light.
it's remarkable how many ppl found Shug's videos on *youtube, that tells me there must be dozens of ppl who are curious about hammocking, and also dozens that just stumble upon the idea, and get an epiphany...
either way, welcome to the world of hanging. this Shug guy sounds pretty interesting.. i think we should keep him around..
Around 2005, or so, I was getting into Fly Fishing. I read an article that mentioned a Hennessy being used on fishing trips. I looked and drooled at these for a couple of years off and on, but I never pulled the trigger for different reasons.
Fast forward to 2007, when I bought a SOT Kayak for fishing/exploring trips. I decided that hammock would be the way to go for paddling. I also found that on most of my camping/backpacking trips, I would end up toting a two man tent and sleeping in it alone as most of my friends did not like to share tents.
While researching hammocks again, I ran across Hammock Forums. I am pretty sure in my previous research I had read some of the articles on WhiteBlaze, etc.
I received my first hammock as a Christmas present in 2009, a WBBB 1.7 Dbl. I quickly began working on my DIY tarp and subsequently my DIY UQ.
I am still learning new things and enjoy the 'family' of Hammock Forums.
Shevy77
Aboutn two years ago I stumbled across a guy hanging and it was love at first site! I was off the trail in about 10 hours and went straight to my computer and ordered my first hammock. It wasn't the best quality and I only used it a few times before I decided on DIY.
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