Newbie to Full Time Outdoor Hanger - The Journey

[Ratdog]

As March fast approaches, just over 30 days remain until the 1 year anniversary of my Project Under the Stars, hanging outdoors full time.

30 days is about how long it will take me to gather my thoughts and share something that may be of some use to others as the embark on what the initiated know to be "the journey" and the beginner thinks of as "a piece of cloth and a couple of ropes".

Thinking about it and making an attempt to keep it simple, there isn't much to it, hang a hammock and use it. But the devil is in the details, the journey will have lessons, highs and lows. The lows being limited by the earth below and the skies opening up. The highs, nothing more than peace, utter relaxation, the mind far from the maddening crowd to borrow the first of many phrases.

Gearing up properly yields surprising comfort in all conditions. Do it yourself projects provide a sense of self reliance and accomplishment made all the more profound as you share your experience with others.

Solutions can be utterly simple as was my first under quilt made of a sleeping bag with 4 knotted corners. They can be as complex as shockcord and amsteel rigging that would make a sailor feel at home. Many ways to get there and like anything else, just gotta get started and keep going.

So, I will gather a few old posts here, discuss, bloviate and share as I recall the simple piece of cloth, a couple straps and niners and that fateful day I stumbled on Hammockforums.net and the rabbit hole, not having fallen into but rather swallowed whole like a guppy to a grouper's maw.

[Ratdog]

Ok, document a few things, jot down some thoughts.

The beginning, HF introduction - link
Neophyte, a glimpse of the journey - link

Simple stuff, stating the obvious, but true understanding, respect, wisdom only come from experience.

What is more difficult hot and humid or cold and numb, all other things being equal.

No gear will bring relief from the discomfort of heat and humidity. A fan just seemed to be a line never to be crossed.

Discomfort is one thing, cold can bring pain, real pain, muscle spasms and numbness is the last warning before loss of flesh. Cold is dangerous.

The right gear.
You can get there one of two ways, time or money.

DIY, time and some money. Real satisfaction, appreciation, lessons learned, ingenuity, community interaction, knowledge exchange, mentoring, research, challenges, measure twice, cut once, repeat a dozen times, gathering of supplies and tools, so so many pieces to this puzzle and so very much worth the doing.

Off the shelf - money and it can cost dearly but time is not absent from the equation. Research yields much useful information most necessary before investing in yet another hobby become passion.

Commercial versus cottage. Price point differences. Offshore production. Challenges of small business. Managing expectations. Pride of ownership. Geared up for any and all potentials.

Car camping, day hiking, short distance backpacking, long distance backpacking. A hammock for all occasions.

Dogs

Stands - turtlelady, turtledog, aluminum, fiberglass, conduit, off the shelf

Getting started, how easy can it be if there are well in excess of a million posts on the topic.

Organized outings, sharing the wealth.

Community seminars, scouting, blogs, spreading the word.

The people. Only on the water, my time whitewater kayaking, have I met a community as welcoming, supportive, passionate and giving as this. Backpacking and other outdoor activities that are similar but each have a fair share of loners, diverse levels of experience that can complicate sharing with beginners. Certainly many many very experienced folks are willing to share but the simplicity of hanging differs significantly from those climbers racking up peak numbers in their book.

Overlapping interests, the off topic forums, chasing the lightweight goal.

Posting on forums, short, sweet and humorous versus blathering blogs. The educated forum poster versus the thread killer.

Family:
Early efforts - quirky interest and stares
Obsession taking over - family discusses concerns, eccentricity and potential intervention
Deep obsession - conversions begins, diy for others accelerates, gift lists build
Down the rabbit hole - building for friends and family is routine, suggestions of starting a cottage business on kickstarter, amsteel arrives by the spool instead of by the hank
Way of life - like being on the water, is there any other way to live? Why not hang if you can?

Guides for beginners.
Links
Books
Videos
5 tips for the beginner HF'rs

Getting into it:
Hanging fulltime
Hanging outdoors
Hanging outdoors fulltime

A long way to go:
Hang every day, a year on HF, Commercial, diy, cottage, upgrades, tweaks and still there dozens of thing left to do and try.

Much has and will be written but in the end, it's all just getting a hang in. Whenever, wherever you want, safely, comfortably and as efficiently as you like.

Just some notes to jog my memory.

[SilvrSurfr]

The people. Only on the water, my time whitewater kayaking, have I met a community as welcoming, supportive, passionate and giving as this.

I gave you something while you were sleeping at the NJ Winter Hang - better go to the doc and get some antibiotics. You sleep through everything!

[Ratdog]

I gave you something while you were sleeping at the NJ Winter Hang - better go to the doc and get some antibiotics. You sleep through everything!

Note to self, after dr visit, next mod is locking zippers for the top cover.

[Ratdog]

Bollocks, there really is too much.
Doesn't make sense to try to consolidate one year's experience into a thread.
It will take a blog site.

Would rather just share highlights and humor.

[jwright]

Bollocks, there really is too much.
It will take a blog site.
.

So why not. Most (some) ISPs will let you have a home webpage. Build it up over time. It looks like some really good info there. Or are you just a 'tease'

jason

[Ratdog]

So why not. Most (some) ISPs will let you have a home webpage. Build it up over time. It looks like some really good info there. Or are you just a 'tease'

jason

Haha...pushin 1000 posts, I can babble plenty. At least a blog would spare HF the chaff and hopefully let me polish up some nuggets to share.

[Ratdog]

So why not. Most (some) ISPs will let you have a home webpage. Build it up over time. It looks like some really good info there. Or are you just a 'tease'

jason

Ok, so I took your advice and got a blog.

Grabbed a couple domain names, threw up a template and did a test post.
Looks like a good way to go.

The names I grabbed were http://hammockdog.com and http://hammockinfo.com

But then I started thinking, probably could use hammockdog for folks to post a bunch of pics of hammocks and dogs and let that just be a little gift to the community.

Can't believe hammockinfo was open, I'm no authority so I feel kinda guilt about getting it but I figure I could post and organize the bazillion links I've gathered doing research. Then open it up and let other folks do the same.

And so, I'm left with still searching for a name for my stuff. But at least I can start drafting the posts and export/import them to the new site when I have something worth sharing and a name.

[OutandBack]

I for one enjoy reading your update here on HF.
I think its great to get first hand info from someone who is actually doing it.
Things you've learned, tried and worked or didn't. It's all great stuff.
Please keep this thread going I read HF daily I would forget to check someones blog.

[Ratdog]

Which now leaves me free to muse in this thread about various things.

Sooooo...

It happened again today, I walk into to someone else's house and say "Sheesh, isn't it a little warm in here?"

Sometimes I walk over and turn down their thermostat, just for fun. The gals grouse at me because they're frequently cold and the husbands like it because they figure it saves on heating costs.

Point is, after sleeping outside for so long, it would seem I am acclimatizing to lower temps generally speaking.

Sitting around the old campfire I often prefer being several feet further back than most folks, second row we call it. And sure the argument has been made that my 'fulltime insulation' aka belly, is a factor. And I'm sure it is, but I always used to sit next to the fire like everyone else. Also used to weigh significantly less too.

Woke up today and it was 33 degrees and I am sweltering under my 0 degree Burrow with stacked synthetic quilts from AHE underneath. Unzip the cover of the XLC, throw it back over the ridgeline and take in the morning.

Always like to take those few extra minutes each morning, just lay in the hammock, look around at the woods and critters and embrace the coming day. Sort of takes the place of a cup of coffee that I don't drink anymore.