Hanging at Scout Camp...again

**SilvrSurfr** · 07-08-2013, 19:11

Just seeing those old canvas tents makes me start sweating. Wish I had known about hammocks when my sons were in Scouts.

**Geck0** · 07-08-2013, 19:16

Just spent a week at Camp Lowden myself. I met a couple of leaders in a Hennessy and a Clark.
I miss it already.

**cbbr** · 07-08-2013, 21:30

Any of you guys ever hang at Camp Woodruff in Ga?

**WVScouter** · 07-08-2013, 22:29

Originally Posted by Roadrunnr72

Very nice. I leave in a couple of weeks for Goshen Scout Reservation. Can't wait. It'll be my first full week in a hammock, and will have my PLUQ. .........RR

Had a couple troops at BSR that normally camp at Goshen, believe they were 1212 and 504. They came last year to BSR after the storm shutdown Goshen.

**WVScouter** · 07-08-2013, 22:31

Originally Posted by Roadrunnr72

Very nice. I leave in a couple of weeks for Goshen Scout Reservation. Can't wait. It'll be my first full week in a hammock, and will have my PLUQ. .........RR

Originally Posted by Jsaults

With hammocking becoming so popular in scouting, has there been any provision made at the new Jamboree facility in WV for hangers?

Jim

I know that at the past jamboree at least one of the WV troops hung in hammocks, but they made sort of a hammock wheel made of aluminum fence posts. I have not heard if Summit is making provisions for or allowing hammocks.

**Outdoorsman** · 07-08-2013, 22:32

Hammocking negates the benefits of the buddy system used in Scouts to some degree. I feel that younger Scouts should sleep in tents with their buddy. They learn to plan (who is bringing the tent?), they work together finding a suitable site and pitching it and for those Scouts unfamiliar with sleeping outdoors (most of them), having a tent partner makes them feel more secure.
I am not sure that I would trust young Scouts to set up their suspension properly and would hate to have one get injured because of that.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against Scouts hammocking. In fact, I plan to teach the Hammocking Merit Badge (I know it's not a real MB) to our Troop after I feel competent enough to do so after Gunner teaches me some things.

Just my opinion.

**WVScouter** · 07-08-2013, 22:35

Originally Posted by Outdoorsman

Hammocking negates the benefits of the buddy system used in Scouts to some degree. I feel that younger Scouts should sleep in tents with their buddy. They learn to plan (who is bringing the tent?), they work together finding a suitable site and pitching it and for those Scouts unfamiliar with sleeping outdoors (most of them), having a tent partner makes them feel more secure.
I am not sure that I would trust young Scouts to set up their suspension properly and would hate to have one get injured because of that.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against Scouts hammocking. In fact, I plan to teach the Hammocking Merit Badge (I know it's not a real MB) to our Troop after I feel competent enough to do so after Gunner teaches me some things.

Just my opinion.

Agree that younger scouts need a tent buddy - had to deal with a couple cases of homesickness this past week. Normally it is me and another leader and sometimes a couple of the older scouts that hang. The younger ones sometimes try out my hammock for short periods during the afternoon.

**Gristlehead** · 07-09-2013, 11:19

I did the Hang at Hale Scout Reservation with my troop this summer. 8 inches of rain in 14 hours!!! Everything in a canvass tent was WET. After I figured out my tarp ridgeline was wicking water, I was dry. It always surprises me who is going to come down with the Home Sickness, but for he most part it is first year campers that have never been away from mom & dad. Second year campers can come down with it, especially if they excelled in their first year of camp. Had the weirdest experience with it this year in a second year kid who's dad camped with us. I think it was due to the fact that Dad wasn't doing everything for him. He finally bucked up about day three.

**bab5freak** · 07-09-2013, 12:00

Originally Posted by cbbr

Any of you guys ever hang at Camp Woodruff in Ga?

I hung at Woodruff Scout Reservation the first weekend of February (Button Gwinett District Klondike). 20 degress Friday night and 2" of snow on Saturday. w00t!! It was awesome, and I got to benchmark my gear.

We did summer camp at Skymont this year, and I hung in my WBBB all week. Had a couple scouts in hammocks as well.

- Chad (Troop 648, Norcross, GA)

**mountain_man_mike** · 07-09-2013, 14:18

Originally Posted by jbrescue

How is the middle of the hammock wheel supported? This would work great for us in the fall. We have an event that is held out in an open field.

I got inspiration from a troop in Texas that happened to be in a tree free environment. The center is three posts lashed together to (somewhat) form a triangle. The posts are sunk about 30" down and backfill packed tightly. An extension for a military parachute was added and for the nervous Nellie in all of us, the center posts were then ratchet strapped to three trees. The posts on the perimeter were staked down and it's good to have them at an outward angle so when they are loaded with a camper they don't go past 90 degrees.

Originally Posted by wacamaca

Awesome hammock wheel! If you don't mind, sharing some info. There is a Scout who has the go ahead to establish the first designated hammock sight at Camp Raven Knob. Need help with the spacing of the spars. Could the spacing you used accommodate individual rain fly for each hammock?

Thanks!

The spacing is perfect for individual tarps, however the side tie outs will need to be dealt with. The boys chose the military tarp simply because it provided cover for all. Had we ran into rain though, the individual tarps would have been brought out.

Originally Posted by Outdoorsman

Hammocking negates the benefits of the buddy system used in Scouts to some degree. I feel that younger Scouts should sleep in tents with their buddy. They learn to plan (who is bringing the tent?), they work together finding a suitable site and pitching it and for those Scouts unfamiliar with sleeping outdoors (most of them), having a tent partner makes them feel more secure.
I am not sure that I would trust young Scouts to set up their suspension properly and would hate to have one get injured because of that.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against Scouts hammocking. In fact, I plan to teach the Hammocking Merit Badge (I know it's not a real MB) to our Troop after I feel competent enough to do so after Gunner teaches me some things.

Just my opinion.

Perhaps a hammock wheel would be a solution to the buddy system issue. A bunch of buddies together yet in individual sleep systems. I agree though the ones setting up their hammocks would need some instruction, but the risk would be comprable to those in a tent in terms of it's not set up right, things will go wrong (wet gear, hard to sleep on a bumpy surface or slope, etc.) and a lesson learned. Guiding a bunch of scouts through the Hammock Camping merit badge has been a great experience for me and the boys love that feeling of being different.

Have fun one and all and please forgive me if my post in any way derailed the OP, that was not my intention at all.