never had to deal with it...yet. Im planning on getting a set of snake skins for my tarp. But in essence all the above applies and its up to you to figure it out. My plan is Set up my tarp first and then hang my pack with cover at the foot end of the hammock suspension.
First of all, I wear a poncho as rain gear and it not only covers my pack, I can also take my pack off without removing the poncho.
I keep a 2'x3' piece of Tyvek in a side pocket so I can get to it and throw it on the ground, set my pack on it while still protected by the poncho that I'm still wearing.
My tarp is in the outside front mesh pocket, so there is no need to open up the pack until after the tarp is deployed. Once the tarp is up, covering the Tyvek mat and backpack, everything else can be unpacked and setup leisurely.
The pack is exposed to the weather for the couple of minutes that it takes to deploy the tarp, but packs can usually withstand this without becoming soaked.
Mike
"Life is a Project!"
Just hang the pack from the hammock suspension. Most of your gear is unloaded when you setup camp so your pack is basically empty. And a pack you plan to use on a Thru-Hike will be quite light anyways so it shouldnt affect the hammock's lay.
I always pack my tarp in the outside pocket of my pack. That way I can pull it out and set it up first (another advantage over tents), then take my time setting everything else up. It also works in reverse, so you can pack everything up under the tarp and then take it down last.
As for the pack, I've put it on the ground under me with the pack cover on. This is good if there isn't any concern for flooding under you. But lately I've been hanging it on the foot end of my hammock suspension (also with the pack cover on). But this poses the problem that the rain might come in sideways under the tarp. If you have a tarp with doors problem solved. But without doors, the pack can spin around exposing the non-covered side and getting wet.
Weather protection is first on my list. The tarp is packed in snake skins and kept on the outside of my pack for immediate access. Gets deployed first. Ground pad is outside with it. I can suspend my pack in the pack cover and hang it under the hammock if I need to. Also always carry a heavy duty contractor's trash bag to pack my gear inside the back pack as an extra layer of water proofing.
Love is blind. Marriage is an eye opener.
I have this as well best $9.99 I have ever spent.Originally Posted by gcy24
Psalm 50:1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and calls the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Old Dominion Hangers: Secretary
First Annual Powhatan Hang and Work - April 17-19, 2015
I carry two 3mil, 55gal trash bags with me. Everything I want to keep dry is packed INSIDE one of them, on the INSIDE of the backpack. The second one is carried on the outside, in the mesh pocket. My tarp is in snakeskins in the very top of the pack, outside of the trash bag.
Tarp goes up first (and I can get it out without getting the rest of my stuff wet since the rest of my stuff is packed inside the trash bag.
Hammock goes up next, and dry bedding all goes directly into the hammock or on it.
I can either hang my bag from my suspension, from a tree, or I can put it inside the OTHER trash bag and let it sit under my hammock. If the weather isn't too bad, I often use that other trashbag as a ground cloth under the hammock to set my shoes and such on.
Lesson learned in the military...trash bags and ziploc bags are your FRIENDS in the woods!
My tarp rides in the outside back pocket of my pack. If it is raining, my pack lives with me under a Packa. When I find my site, I don't have to open my pack to get to my tarp. If I'm really planning ahead, I put the tarp in one of the side pockets of the pack so I can reach it without taking the Packa off at all.
Tarp goes up, pack comes off the back and is set on the ground wrapped in the Packa. Once I've got camp setup, there are really only a couple of small items left in the pack, so it gets tossed in the hammock with me and used as a knee-break.
This will not last.
I could write paragraphs about how you'll drop things out of your pack like a madperson trying to save grams. But, I'm kind of lazy so here is my analogy. It will make more sense when you've been on the AT for 60+ days:
Oreo cookies weigh .39oz each. So each extra ounce you carry results in you being unable to carry 2.5 Oreos. Sounds silly now, but call me when you get to Waynesboro and we'll talk again.
Trust nobody!
Beware as ziploc bags are NOT 100% waterproof. There are small pores in the bags. 7th grade science experiment taught me a life lesson haha
Grant
Getting lost is not a waste of time.
I use my pack cover as a virtual "basket" to keep the pack and other items in. This is generally placed under the head-end of the hammock, under my tarp, where I can reach it without getting out of the hammock.
As far as setting up in the rain, there are numerous options. My own method is to pack my tarp separately, and carry it in an outside pack pocket. I use mesh tarp skins. So, if its pouring, I get the tarp strung, skins pulled back, and tarp deployed with pegs in the ground before I do anything else. Once tarp is up, I have pretty good weather protection and can take my time with cooking a meal and/or the rest of the setup of hammock and gear. I leave my sleeping insulation in a waterproof sack until right before I turn in.
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