I am a newbie to long distance hiking. I have done many day hikes in jeans and cotton socks in 8 national parks. After watching hours of videos on youtube (I have watched all of Shug's videos - thankee for the tips and some mighty fine entertainment), I decided to add a hammock to my backpack rather than go with a tent :-).
I live in NY, and if you've been to Manhattan, you will observe there aren't many backyards and even fewer with trees. This is my first time hanging a hammock, and the best I could do was find a spot in Central Park.
Here's how it went down for me, and I have many thoughts and a few questions.
The trees I found were a bit closer for my setup. I have a Hennessy Expedition Zip and I got whoopieslings from Jacks R Better. After an hour of fiddling and falling on my *** the first time I got the hammock setup (no tarp, pic attached). It was sweet swaying in it and eating self made granola bars, except my view was blocked by a tree since I had the netting on the wrong side. I wish the netting would collapse closer to the hammock so I could look out both sides. Is there an easier way to do this? I am fine with modifications. I also kept hitting the ridge line to the back of my head in the sitting up position. Any way around this?
Also, while laying in the hammock, it seemed to me the hammock actually draws more heat away from the body. I felt warmer just standing around. The temp was around 55 with a slight breeze and I was in the shade. Any thoughts on this? I put a 3/4 foam pad down and was mostly okay except for my lower legs.
I have spent many hours researching and a lot of money (after many discounts) outfitting myself properly for long distance/ multi day hiking:
1) Golite 70 L backpack,
2) JRB top quilt (possibly a bottom quilt too!),
3) Hennessy hammock + whoopieslings,
4) Sleeping pads (not yet bought),
5) down jackets,
6) woolen base layers, gloves, socks, etc.,
7) nylon pants,
8) New Balance trail runners + gaiters,
8) Dehydrator for making own meals (dehydrated meals are expensive!).
9) Homemade bush buddy stove + Skurka's fancy feast.
I am aiming for a max base weight of 12-15 lb and keeping my setup costs under $1,500. I am a bit of a DIYer, but living in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan just doesn't allow me to have a workshop to make my own quilts, hammocks, etc.
OK, that's all I have to spew for now :-).
Bookmarks