What's your hammock/camp routine?

[OldRagFreeze]

Chose site
Hang pack from tree
Tidy up area
Set up fire pit
Gathering wood
Get fire going
Set up hammock and tarp
Cook when fire is ready
Relax and enjoy nature
And finally sleep

That sums me up pretty well.

[pathfinder]

I am with Big Joe on this one. As far as set up...that is dialed in at the house with a lot of experimenting. When I am in the woods I just want to relax and enjoy God's creation.

[Chard]

Whether it's canoeing, hiking or more recently winter-camping, my "routine" usually follows the same basic sequence.

1. Site Scout
2. Shelter
3. Bedding
4. Water
5. Fire/Food/Clean-up
6. Hang Foodbag

Site Scout: A quick look for hanging spots, hazards, leprechauns, etc...

Shelter: I like to get my tarp set up as soon as I hit camp, just as insurance against the weather. In perfect weather, I'll likely leave the snakeskins on. I'll throw all my gear underneath it on a small plastic groundsheet.

Bedding: Next I'll hang my hammock. Usually the first night of every trip I spend a little extra time to "dial in" my gear, but then it goes up fast every night after that. At this point, there's never really much dialing to do anyways. If there's no blowing rain, I'll take out my down underquilt/topquilt and let them loft up. I'll get everything I need for bed ready (headlamps, Ipod, book, etc..) so there's no fumbling around in the dark.

Water: Drink, drink, drink. I'll refill my water, either by pumping or using a gravity filter. If I'm parched, I'll do this as soon as I hit the site.

Fire/Food/Clean-up: Gather/process firewood/cook/clean

Hang Foodbag: 100m from camp, 5m up, 2m out

[StumpJumper]

Some good varied responses here. My own routine goes as such:

- Site selection
- Hang hammock
- Loft and rig UQ/TQ
- String tarp, but leave in snakeskins (unless raining or windy, then this goes to #2 and I'll tinker with pitch and/or porch mode)
- Move all lose items (cookware, clothes, etc) into my JRB pack cover and stash under hammock
- I almost always go for a river/lake bath or give myself a thorough wipe-down (this helps me sleep better) and change into clean long-johns and top.
- Collect firewood, organize camp, prep dinner
- Go off to explore if there's still daylight or catch the sunset from a vantage point.
- Cocktail, dinner hour.
- Settle in to the hammock and listen to music for 10-15m
- Zzzzzzz

I still enjoy the tinker-factor of hammocks, but through repetition over the years I've finally settled into 'set-it and forget-it' mode. Of course I still carry a few lengths of shockcord and Zing-it just in-case I come up with an on-the-fly idea.

[nothermark]

+1 on Chard.

I suspect a lot of the difference in order depends on where one is. In the NE it often sprinkles in the evening or morning. Shelter becomes an issue but water seldom is. One learns to keep moving in the sense of getting camp up and set before settling down to food and relaxation. There is nothing quite like nodding off and being woken up from an impromptu nap by a shower with one's gear spread out and no shelter up... ;-)

[amac]

I'm kinda close to StumpJumper, but I'm dead tired by the time I'm setting up camp, so no exploring for me, and if firewood isn't within a 100' of camp, no campfire:

- Site selection
- String tarp if raining
- Hang hammock
- Loft and rig UQ/TQ
- String tarp not raining
- Move all lose items (cookware, clothes, etc) into my JRB pack cover and stash under hammock
- prep dinner
- Cocktail, dinner hour.
- Settle in to the hammock and listen to music for 10-15m
- Zzzzzzz

[old4hats]

I suspect sometimes that I am a bit ocd, but whatever, I tend to hang my hammock first, tarp second, unless it is raining or likely to. Then out with the cooking gear and a cup of hot tea or coffee while I scout the area visually for fire wood, the kind very near or else no fire. Then I just tend to business until everything seems settled. The presence or absence of water will already have been dealt with by the time I stop to camp. Comfort, warmth, shelter, these are high priority.

[Seeker]

My trips are mostly solo, and mostly by canoe. If i'm with someone, the first thing to do is set up a cooking/fire tarp, where you can leave the gear while you look for a good hang site and a good dead standing hardwood tree to burn later.

Tarp goes up first, then hammock. I tie one end good and tight, sit in it, and then adjust the other end to a finished fit. I then pull out my sleeping bag and pillow to let them fluff up, throw my extra clothes (usually just a fleece, a hat, poncho, and a pair of socks) in the hammock under the bag, and hang my underquilt. once that's up, i arrange my tools... flashlight and/or headlamp go on the ridgeline, axe/saw/stove/pot come out and get set up under the tarp, and the pack gets hung on a tree. then i go find firewood. i can generally get enough put up for a good campfire in about an hour. once all that's done, i may make a camp chair (tripod, poncho, and a cross bar) and maybe rig up a kitchen (just a couple poles tied waist high to a pair of convenient trees, with smaller sticks lashed to them, to make a table). Another little improvement is a utensil tree... just a little branch with maybe 3 or 4 other branches on it... trim it up, and you can hang your pot, cups, utensils, and dish rag from it. Then comes dinner and clean up. after that, it's time to hunt up a marshmallow stick!

What you can do depends on whose land it is... in a State or Nat'l park, you can't do much. In a state forest, here in LA, i can do pretty much anything. On my deer lease, i CAN do anything, so I put up a semi-permanant campsite there, with poles already cut for a chair, a kitchen area, and a wood-cutting station.

[Doctari]

HMMM,,, never really thought about it.

Even when using a new "toy" my routine doesn't change that much cause all my tinkering is done in the back yard.

I reckon it's along the lines of:
1) Site selection. Which can take seconds or MANY minutes.
2) Hang Hammock if not raining. Can do in 30 seconds if I pay attention & don't hurry. Takes about 15 minutes if I"m showing off.
3) Hang tarp (becomes #2 if raining).
4) Take down one end (usually the foot end) tarp & let lay for if it rains then fast set up.
5) Dinner.
6) A quick nap before bed time.

[affreeman]

I know some folks like hammocks because they enjoy the tinkering and innovating that they lend themselves to, but I save that stuff for at home. On the trail the whole purpose of using a hammock is ease of deployment and comfort.

When I get to camp I quickly scout a spot for the hammock, drop my pack and set up the hammock and tarp (or tarp and hammock if it's raining). Then I get water, and change clothes if it's a cool evening. After that it's cook and eat dinner followed by a leisurely cup of tea (possibly braced with a shot of something), a quick wash, get everything stowed for the night, then crawl into my cozy hammock with my headlamp and a good book. Heaven after a full day of hiking.