Well I'm back! A very successful hammock-enabled trip along the Greenstone Track and Routeburn Track on New Zealand's South Island in winter. Some initial thoughts and an album of pics... not every one of a hammock, but I thought the terrain might be interesting to many here since most trip reports are US-based, and I like to show off my beautiful country whenever I can
The album can be viewed here. (There's a copy on Facebook, which may or may not work.)
I'd initially planned (and brought food for) ten days out, taking in parts of the Hollyford Valley and the track at its northern end. However, when I got to the start of the famous Routeburn--one of New Zealand's most beautiful walks--the weather had fined up and there was a chance at getting across the alpine section. Normally they warn you off trying in winter time because it's avalanche country and the weather can change suddenly, with sections of the track completely exposed to the elements. However I was fortunate enough to get across safely, only having to negotiate a few sections of sheet ice by climbing around them, and the sights to be seen were many and memorable. A trip I'll always remember!
I hung in my Blackbird outside four nights out of seven, rigged it inside twice using bunk houses for shelter, and slept abominably on a bunk house mattress on one night... never again, if I can help it! I have a moderate degree of joint degeneration in both hips (osteoarthritis) as a result of having been severely obese for most of my life. My knees aren't so hot either. Now, having lost all but a few kilos (in your imperial poundy things, I went from 550 lb to 220 lb in a bit under two years), I found that nights spent in the hammock alleviated almost all discomfort whereas nights in a bunk were excruciating. I'm absolutely delighted with the gear from Warbonnet, Hammock Gear, and Dutch! Even now I'm plotting my next excursion, to give me another excuse to hang... consider me converted.
I hadn't made the opportunity to have an entire night out in the hammock prior to leaving on the trip, although I did do a test hang in a back yard. So I was quite proud of my first night setup, which was in total darkness as the valleys lose the light really early in winter! Subsequent nights were colder (around -5 Celsius so I'm going to guess at about 21-22 Fahrenheit) but the HG Incubator kept me toasty along with a down sleeping bag and liberal use of merino layers.
The site selection is a bit problematic, because the nature of the type of forest in this part of the country is full of overhanging branches reaching out toward the light under the forest canopy. Treefall is common, and there had been 200 mm of rain in 24 hours just prior to my arrival so much of the ground was marshy and waterlogged. I just had to pick and choose as best I could, and test branches where possible... the one at this site was straight over the top of my tarp, but seemed solid enough to hang some weight off it:
On a couple of nights I hung indoors as they were pretty strict about where you could and couldn't camp, but there weren't enough bunk house users to be worried about space. The second night indoors, I tried a fairly saggy setup with the XLC's top removed. Not a bad sleep, but my pillow (down jacket) kept falling out!
In the morning I discovered this, could have been a bit nasty... guess there was just too much slack in my rig:
Still, the Dutch clip held up like a trooper, that tiny little hook caught the webbing and held it. Will turn the clip the other way up in future!
I learned a lot, particularly about pack weight. Although my planned ten days turned to eight due to the detour across the Routeburn, I had ten well-provisioned days of food in the pack and that sucker was HEAVY. It's a 75 L Kathmandu pack (a Vardo) that doesn't fit very well, and I estimate I had in the region of 20 kg (44 lb) in it at the start including water, fuel, and my new toy, a DSLR camera. This took a toll on my already creaky joints, and the take-home lesson has been to really have a good look at what I can do to keep me out in the wilderness without hastening the need for a hip replacement, something I'll eventually have to undergo in any case but hopefully much, much later!
Aarn Packs (www.aarnpacks.com) are hopefully sending me a Mountain Magic 50 to demo on my next trip, which should help with load distribution and the lower volume will really force me to examine what I can and can't do without. I see from reading old threads there are a few Aarn Addicts at HF so I'm sure I'll be picking their brains before long!
All in all, a wonderful trip. I have some shaky video to cut together, but I'll leave you with the kind of view I had to put up with all week. Those crazy mountains, always getting in the way and being all beautiful and what have you!
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Originally Posted by BillyBob58
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