[pct-l] Hammock camping and bugs

[Geoff]

Greetings,

I have been lurking on this list ever since moving to
Ashland Oregon in December of 2007. I have not hiked
the PCT and, therefore, have not contributed to the
discussions thus far. I didn't have anything to add.

I do have fairly extensive experience with hammock
camping and I'd like to address Fuzz's question below.

Most hammock setups include a bug net system. Some are
removable, some are attached but can be opened, and
other still are attached permanently. But how do you
get in if the bugnet is sewed to the edges? You go in
through the bottom!

I own three tents (1 person, 2 person, and 4 person)
and two hammocks, one for me and one for my eight year
old daughter. Neither one of us wants to go back the
ground EVER! But you should note that there are some
advantages as well as disadvantages to hammocks.

Advantages:

1) Comfort: I find the hammock to be much more
comfortable than a tent, even with a thick
therm-a-rest type mattress.

2) Flexibility: you can set up a hammock anywhere you
have two suitable trees. You can set up the side of 40
degrees slope. You can set your hammock up over a
minefield of sharp rocks. You could hang over a small
river. This opens up a world of stealth camping
opportunities with minimal to no environmental impact.

3) Rain protection: flooding has to be pretty extreme
before it can reach the bottom of your hammock which
is often 2 or 3 feet off the ground. Generally, you
set your tarp up first and then stretch your hammock
out underneath where it is dry. My down quilts don't
get wet. Once my friend and I set up in a driving
rain, and he had to dump puddles of water out of the
corners of his tent while the only thing of mine that
got wet was my rain gear that I was wearing.

4) Temperature: in the summer, the hammock is much
cooler than a tent because you have all that air
flowing underneath you.

Disadvantages:

1) Temperature. You will freeze your butt off in even
moderate weather unless you take some steps to
insulate yourself. Insulation is not hard but you will
have to balance comfort and convenience for cost. Blue
foam pads work but they are not comfortable.
Suspending a down underquilt on the outside is very
comfortable but can be quite expensive.

2) No trees and you are on the ground. This could be a
problem for desert hiking but with creativity, you can
usually find a place to hang. I've seen pictures of
people hanging from rocks using climbing gear, I've
seen people hanging from the corners of fences. I've
never personally been camping where I couldn't find
trees.

3) Solo camping: if you get caught in your hammock
during a 3 day downpour, you are on your own. Hammocks
don't offer a huge amount of room inside. You won't be
playing cards with your friends, but from what I've
read on this list, thru-hikers smell bad enough that I
wouldn't want to be trapped in a little cave with one
anyway :)

4) Learning curve: it takes time and practice to get
comfortable with hammocks. You have to learn how to
pitch them, how to stay warm, how to get into a
sleeping bag if you go that route, what to do with
your gear, how to stay dry . . .  The truth is, it
takes time to learn how to camp in a tent as well, but
most of us have already learned it. Hammocks require
just a minimal shift in thinking.

Further reading:
I highly recommend 

http://www.hammockforums.net. 

There you will find a wealth of knowledge and loads of
friendly people.

You can see a very good page that describes the basics
and nuances of hammock camping at 

http://www.tothewoods.net/

Best of luck to all those out hiking right now. I envy
you.

FreeTheWeasel




----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 4 May 2009 18:39:56 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Fuzz McPherson <fuzzmcpherson at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] alternatives to a tent? (Fuzz
> McPherson)
> To: Erik The Black <erik at eriktheblack.com>,
> pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID:
> <687730.2816.qm at web111412.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> Very cool.? It sounds like your set up and mine
> might be pretty similar then.? I will take a look at
> how heavy my mosquito net thing is, what brand it
> is, etc. later on and write that here.
> 
> I remember someone saying they used a hammock but I
> wonder about bugs with that.? Maybe it could be set
> up with a mosquito net somehow.? 
> 
> I hate mosquitoes.? Little bastards.? I hope that's
> not too un-PC to call them little bastards, but I
> won't appologize.? They suck.? No pun intended.