Place: Pilot Mtn. State Park
Weather: Clear, mid-30s, breezy
Equipment: Eno DblNst, Equinox 8x10 tarp
Insulation: Big Agnes Horse Thief 35 with Air Core Pad & Eno Hotspot w/WMT Blue Foam.
Brand new to these forums, got me so excited to try this that I made my first "Test Hang" at Pilot Mountain State Park this weekend. With temps in the mid-30s and breezy, I was nervous enough about hanging that I went ahead and set-up my tent so I would have a place to bail out if needed. The tent set-up was a PITA since it was a large concrete site pad and I had trouble getting it staked out in the wind.
Hammock set-up was a bit problematic as I noticed "widow makers" in the area I originally planned to set-up, so I had to move to trees that were at the outer limits of my suspension. Then, I realized the hammock was too taut, and I had not planned for a fixed ridge line and had no way to measure one. So, I eyeballed it and got what I deemed to be (just) enough sag to be comfortable.
But when I ran my Tarps continuous ridgeline I barely got enough coverage to reach both ends of the hammock which I guess means that my sag was still less than 30 degrees. Despite these problems I still set up the hammock/tarp in half the time of the tent.
Campsite by JLeePhoto, on Flickr
For insulation I used my Big Agnes 35degree bag with the inflatable insulated AirCore on top of a Eno Hotspot with blue camp pad from Wallyworld.
self_camp-1 by JLeePhoto, on Flickr
It was a great peaceful night sitting by the fire with Boykin Spaniel "Muddy" and reading until I was ready to fall out. I ate a powerbar for extra energy, then took a Nalgene full of heated water, placed it in a wool sock and put it in the foot of my sleeping bag and crawled in dressed in light weight smart wool long jons, top, and puffy Arcteryx Alpha Lt. Jacket. I had forgotten my wool scull cap so I wanted the Alpha for the hood.
When I crawled in temps were in the mid-40s and within minutes started to sweat. So, I unzipped everything to get as much venting as possible, started my audio book and lay back enjoying the light breeze. It was lights out within 30min. and I slept hard for 6hrs. The call of nature woke me up an hour before sunrise. Temperature was 35f and my bald head was slightly cool when I woke but otherwise I was very comfortable. Overall, it was the best night sleep I've ever had at camp. I'm normally a side sleeper and have always wrestled with camp pillows and waked with sore hips/neck. But, after a night in the hammock I felt great.
Muddy and I got up, had breakfast and were on the trail at sunrise. We hiked the Grindstone (moderate) & Ledge Spring Trail (strenuous) around the Pilot Mtn. Knob, about 6 miles. We saw few other hikers out that early and with some colors still on the foliage and sunrise on the cliff faces, it was a Glorious Sunday morning.
Sunrise Ledge Spring by JLeePhoto, on Flickr
Lessons Learned: -Get my hammock ridgeline set before I leave home. -Add scullcap to sleeping set. -Take more cordage than you think you need. -Leave tent at home.
Hope this will be helpful to newcomers like me trying to determine whether hammock camping will work for them.
SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE.
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Originally Posted by Firetruck
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