General backpack hammocking questions

[WesleyGalles]

As I'm getting prepared for my AT thru hike, whenever there is in-climate weather, I want to go hang and sleep in my hammock so that I can better prepare myself. In doing so, I've run into a few questions:

When its raining, what do you find is the best method to getting everything hung correctly, quickly, and efficiently while still staying dry? That includes getting your hammock + tarp out of your backpack, keeping your pack dry, and keeping it off the ground.

Also, while it is raining, what do you do with your pack over night? Cover it with your pack cover as best as you can and hope for the best? Hang it from a tree?

If I can think of any more questions, I'll ask as the thread progresses.

[HayJay]

Last time i hammocked in the rain, i was able to wrap some painters plastic around the pack like a burrito and put under hammock/tarp. Dry as a bone the next day despite torrential downpours all night and plastic splattered with mud.

[WesleyGalles]

Do you think the pack cover might do well enough to keep it dry if I just wrap the bottom well enough and just leave it on the ground?

[jrs62284]

I carry a small tarp for the ground as well as my cousin who I hike with. He showed me the idea and I know its extra weight but it keeps everything clean and dry. Rain or shine it goes with. A pack cover could serve a dual purpose just lay it under your hammock when your not hiking

[WesleyGalles]

Yea, I think I'll invest in a small tarp to lay my pack on at night under the hammock.

[jwright]

Yea, I think I'll invest in a small tarp to lay my pack on at night under the hammock.

TYVEX!

You can get small sections from many cottage vendors or ebay. I use a 2x3 foot section, works well. You may want a larger piece to use if you need to go to ground or when lounging by the fire. Cheap and light.
Also, a lot of people hang their pack from the hammock suspension under the tarp.
Good luck with the hike
jason

[Cannibal]

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.

Yea, I think I'll invest in a small tarp to lay my pack on at night under the hammock.

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.

[gcy24]

Walmart sells a cheap one, I believe it's a 5x7? But it's made for backpacking so it's compact. That's what I use under me at night.

[Unmighty]

Walmart sells a cheap one, I believe it's a 5x7? But it's made for backpacking so it's compact. That's what I use under me at night.

I have this as well best $9.99 I have ever spent.

[TRU]

I'll be using a sheet of Tyvex as my ground cover for getting in and out of my hammock. I believe I left it big enough to wrap around my backpack if needed.

Good idea to be practicing in the bad weather. I haven't done this enough and think I'll be getting wet until I get the hang of it.

I'll be on the AT the whole month of June. I'll be staring in central PA and heading south. My two boys will join me when they get out of school mid-June and hopefully my wife will join us for the last week of June. We will all be swinging in the trees!