What's your hammock/camp routine?

[SilvrSurfr]

After hammock and tarp are set up, I don't have much of a routine. I eat when I'm hungry; have a warm beverage if I'm cold. Sometimes I hike with a very routine-oriented person who says, "dinner time!" expecting that I will eat when he does. Or he'll say, "let's go to bed" as if I should adapt his routine. My wife is also very routine-oriented. She goes to bed every night at 9:00 pm, and wakes up at every morning at 5:30 am. Dinner is served exactly at 6 pm. Routines are important to her.

I, on the other hand, would never of dream of eating at a certain hour if I wasn't hungry, or going to bed if I wasn't sleepy. We have three kids and guess who they all take after? Much to my wife's chagrin, they take after me. When she says, "it's time for dinner!" all three kids kind of look at her like she's crazy and say, "Why should I have to eat if I'm not hungry?" Sometimes I think it's a genetic thing - they inherited my lack of routine. We're all like Forrest Gump: "When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go, you know, I went."

Gathering firewood and making a fire was an essential part of any hiking/camping trip for over 40 years, but I can't even remember the last time I made a fire - too much work.

[Loki]

When I get to camp, depending on how much daylight or rain is about, I may visit a bit then setup my rig. My rig's TQ, UQ, pillows, and any other comforts are already assembled and packed - no fiddling - everything sleep related, already assembled, is rolled into my Molly Mac Gear Box inside my pack. I simply attach the suspension to the trees (strap biner whoopie); then unroll the assembled sleep system and clip its ends onto the suspension. Adjust both whoopies and done! Next setup the tarp -Tarp first if its raining.

Fiddling and experimenting? My rig doesn't need it -already dialed in- but I am now trying to practice at least one survival skill while sitting around the fire lollygagging with friends: carve a set of sticks for a figure-4 deadfall trap, practice making fire from local materials and using a friction method, practice knots, whittle a spoon, make some carbon cloth, etc.

Sometimes, while car-camping, I will take a new piece of gear and fiddle with that if there is time the next day.

[Brute1100]

My routine stays the same for the most part, rather I'm group or solo...I hang my pack from the head end tree usually, throwing a piece of paracord around the tree and clipping it into the biner on my grab handle... Weather decides first up... If it looks like rain the tarp is first up but usually the hammock is first... Sit down and rest, swing back and forth a bit... Grab a snack if I need one, down my Gatorade if I need to... Just enjoy not hearing anything... Then usually if nice weather I'll do insulation so I'm not hunched over under the tarp for that task... And then lastly would be tarp if weather is nice... If weather looks like the pack stays hanging on the tree if rain is coking it gets dropped into my welcome mat(big trash bag) and set beneath me... Then the rest is based off needs... Food, fire, water, rest or socializing... It just depends...

[Yosef]

Assuming I get to camp with some daylight left I set my hammock up right away and then take my boots off and lay down for a few minutes with my feet elevated, that is the best part of the day, even better if I am hiking with a tent camper who will struggle with his poles for 15 minutes while I relax. From there I typically hang my socks to dry, put on camp shoes, and go from there to either tarp, food, firewood, sleeping bag ect.

-Hang Hammock
-get in the hammock and elevate my feet
-rest
-set up tarp in porch mode or with it half open
-set up sleeping bag and pad
-relax
-rig a bear bag
-organize my gear
-cook and eat dinner
-refill and treat water

[turnerminator]

I honestly have no camp routine.

Certain principles have to be followed but camping in all weathers and conditions mean things always change.

If I'm on my own, I'll generally get shelter up asap but if not, I prefer to leave putting shelter and hammock up til much later and get a brew on/eat/ collect firewood etc. As long as one of us had shelter and the weather not looking bad, then I'll leave setting up 'til late at night when I'm tired.
This sharpens my set-up in the dark and under more testing conditions. I'm quite happy setting up in the dark, I find it no problem.

[steveflinn]

Set up tarp. Set up Lazy Slug Tube. Hammock comes out if the tubes with quilts and maybe sock, everything is pre-tweaked...because I set it all up at home to verify all functions are nominal. With a detachable, structural, UCR ridge line every hang is closely the same. I just connect to trees with a set of Dutch clips and adjust the cinch straps. Then I go off to eat, crap, secure kitchen and garbage, and bathe. When I come back to Hotel, peel back the tubes, store anything still loose in the tubes, accessorize my budoir with water and iphone and armaments. And then dive in. Unless it's unbelievably hot I'm always pre-battened down for a blizzard or monsoon. I am able to arise quickly for emergencies or on awakening. Come morning there's nothing to breaking camp. I can eat with leisure, just like they taught us in Boot Camp, and hit the trail running.

[zscott]

My Routine:

Set up hammock and tarp
Fluff up top quilt and bottom quilt
GO FISHING
Catch Lots of Fish
Come back and listen to the river while i sleep

[body942]

Very similar to most I suppose, with the added factor that I'm usually pretty sweat-saturated, so the clock is tickin' if it's cold out.

1) Drop Pack, drink a ton of water
2) Scout for good trees
3) Hang Hammock
4) Fluff and hang downy goodness
5) Hang tarp (if needed at all, or move this to #3 if there's rain risk)
6) About now I know if I need to change into dry clothes or if the clothes I have on will dry
7) Get the food line up
8) Get my feet up (on the ground if I'm still damp, or in the hammock I'm dry)

After that: "kitchen" organization, firewood prep, water prep, cocktail, rig fishing stuff all get jumbled together. That's kind of the choose your own adventure part that I look forward to everytime. Mucho fishing / exploring to follow. Fun question, thanks Nick.

[OneThing]

1. Select Site
2. Recon - (Make sure I'm not in someone's backyard)
3. Set up Tarp & Hammock (Everything - As if I was going to bed at that moment)
4. Get Water. (I usually already have water when I get to my site)
5. Set up Cook Kit.
6. Boil water (3 cups) (1 for cup of tea & 2 for Lipton Side Dish)
7. Drink Tea, and listen to weather report (NOAA)
8. Eat Dinner
9. Hang Food Bag
10. Switch to camp shoes.
11. If I've camped near a shelter, I'll hike up & visit for awhile.
12. Look over maps for next day and plan out mileage.
13. Change out of hiking clothes.
14. Pray that nothing eats me, falls on me, and do the "If I die before I wake"' Prayer.
15. Lights Out.

[MedicineMan]

following JoanWest's lead
#1 secure water and/or figure how far it is
#2 using OBS (one bag with hammock sock,quilts,hammock) find the trees-no tarp to
fool with even in pouring rain...clip clip done
#3 get water on the boil or the charcoal going
#4 food ingestion
#5 Nog of one sort or another
#6 slumber

Filtering water with the Sawyer squeeze is going on as the hammock rigs are set if it's not winter; winter the chlorox is working while setting the rigs.

Try to always make sure water for the next day is taken care of before bed and that means and includes hydrating for the next day.