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[pct-l] Hammocks for the PCT?



I thought the wedges came with as I saw Bruce Hennessy demonstrate them, and
so thought they were included.  

 

In '03, it was really cool to see all the hammocks hanging from our grape
arbor!  

 

L-Rod

 

  _____  

From: Wayne Kraft [mailto:wayneskraft@comcast.net] 
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 9:34 PM
To: dsaufley
Cc: 'Shutterbug steiner'; 'pct'
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hammocks for the PCT?

 

I have a Hennessy (www.hennessyhammock.com/) and I don't think any of their
hammocks come with wedges or chocks that you could use to string them from
rocks, although you could certainly provide your own and do just that
Although it is true that you can set up the Hennessy like a tent on the
ground (when you are "forced to the ground" as hammockers put it) the
problem with this is that the only way to enter a Hennessey is through a
slit in the bottom of the hammock Not impossible, but kinda inconvenient Of
course, you can easily string up the tarp section separately, but then you
have no bug protection and will probably want some kind of ground cloth 

 

The main hammock problem is keeping warm and it is a much bigger problem in
western mountains than it is on the AT in summer Hennessy has a "super
shelter" set up involving a silnylon under cover and an open cell foam pad
suspended beneath the hammock I have one It is super convenient to use, but
it really only gets me down to about 40 degrees or so You can try an
ordinary pad inside the hammock, but they tend to slip around while you
sleep and they are usually too narrow, leaving parts of our body in direct
contact with the outer shell of the hammock That can be chilly Some have
designed pads with "wings" affixed to the sides to cut off side drafts The
next step up is to suspend either a down quilt or a down air mattress (DAM)
beneath the hammock I haven't tried this but it sounds comfy JacksRBetter
(http://www.jacksrbetter.com/)makes such quilts and has a model that fits
the Hennessy's bottom entry slit The DAM would be great when you are forced
to the ground, but the weight of all this extra padding and insulation
starts to add up

 

Side sleepers and even belly sleepers sometimes find they are comfortable in
a hammock, but I find sleeping in a hammock really completely different from
sleeping on the ground I am a side sleeper and the ground, but I find that I
fall asleep easiest by allowing the hammock to cradle me in a position about
half way between sleeping on the side and the back I usually wake up in the
morning on my back, but the rounded bottom of the hammock allows me to sleep
on my back whereas on the ground I tend to awaken if I roll on to my back

 

I am interested in the comment about hanging from Joshua Trees Last spring I
took my hammock to Joshua Tree NP, but wound up sleeping on the ground I was
a little leery of the strength of the Joshua Trees Has anyone here ever hung
a hammock from a pair of Joshua's?

 

Wayne

 

 

On Jan 7, 2006, at 7:35 PM, dsaufley wrote:





2003 was the year of the Ewoks, and there were numerous hammocks used

enthusiastically on the trail. It seems to be one of those "love 'em or

hate 'em" kind of things. The Hennessy Hammock, which most were using,

becomes quite level when you use is diagonal features. The only complaint I

heard from the Ewoks was that insulating from the bottom was a problem that

has to be addressed. The Hennessy can also be pitched like a tent on the

ground when no trees can be found, and comes with wedges that can be used to

string the hammock between rocks above tree line.

 

The best thing you can do is get out there and try it for yourself, to see

if it's something that works for you -- which is true for every piece of

equipment you carry. Don't wait 'til you start your hike to find out, and

don't take anyone else's word for what's best for you. 

 

L-Rod

 

-----Original Message-----

From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net

[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Shutterbug

steiner

Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 7:17 PM

To: pct

Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hammocks for the PCT?

 

After meeting RONI in 2003 I thought that a Hammock might be my solution

AND it was NOT. I forced my self to sleep in it maybe 14 nights and never

got a good rest - on my last night of my section hike I gave up and just

plopped on the ground and fell asleep instantly. I am a light, cold sleeper

who tends to sleep on my side or front - all of these I learned do not go

well with sleeping in the AIR. One of the sections that I used the hammock

was in the Mojave desert and Joshua trees don't hang well. Make sure you

use a hammcock a LOT before committing to using one the entire trail. Don't

count on using them every night in alll of the first five desert sections

and in the sierras, NCascades you might be too cold or too high for a good

hang.

 

Henessey hammocks are great for naps - but for me I no longer take them

overnight.

 

SB

 

Matt Church <mdchurch@gmail.com> wrote:

Greetings from Seattle,

 

My pops and I are planning to head out this summer for a PCT

thru-hike. We're looking at using hammocks with tarps as our

shelter--something we wished we would have done on the AT. Does

anyone have thoughts on this? We wanted to see if the trail would

lend itself to such a means for shelter. Look forward to hearing from

some of you!

 

Cheers,

Matt

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