What made me a hanger--uh, I'm not one yet. But I'm curious enough to give it a whirl.
This journey started a couple years ago when I found myself in forced retirement with time to burn. First, I replaced a 7.75 lb Dana Astralplane backpack with an REI Flash 62 & jettisoned a weighty Thermarest standard sleeping pad. I lightened much of my remaining kit and used a 23 ounce tarptent on a circuit of Mt. Rainier on the Wonderland. Then, on a 4 day trip to the Enchantment Lakes with my daughter, for which we made 12 ounce packs, we used a tarp with net tent (40 ounces). My trip 2 weeks ago along the Olympic National Park coast trail found me with a tarp and groundsheet (10 ounces together--Frostking clear colorless window shrinkwrap for winter insulation.)
My interest in hammock camping arose during that trip. I passed some ideal tent/tarp sites in late morning, where I saw one camper still in his/her hammock . By 6 p.m. when I wanted to make camp, I could find a zillion well spaced tree-pairs from which I could hang, and finally, one site suitable for my tarp--failing that site, I might have had to pitch right on the trail or on the beach near the tide line where the surf often deposits big logs.
I have a sewing machine, so discovering hammock camping won't cost much. Thanks to all the experience and great advice people have shared, I shouldn't have much trauma with this new thing. I plan to test my setup at/near home rather than tempt Mother Nature or compete for the Darwin Awards.
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