My first night in the woods, in my HH ...

Well, let's say I did everything wrong, but the hammock was fine !

First of all, I was not that well prepared for that trip in the woods : I decided to do it friday evening and had many shopping to do saturday morning before leaving.
But the weather forecast (at least the one I heard friday morning !) was for a nice week-end.... and it was too stupid to let it pass .... So I took my monday off, to make it a long nice week-end ...

Instead of leaving Paris at midday, I finally left at about 5 am !
Arriving at the village where I wanted to leave the car, a bare half hour before sunset ! <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I just had time to walk a mile or so inside the forest and light was out !
I had no time to correctly choose my spot ; I had trouble to find correctly spaced out trees ... I finally found trees, without too much brambles in between, checked with my SureFire G2 that no menacing dead limbs were overhead, and attached the HH to two sound, not too big, trees, a Photon III between my lips (yes .... I had forgotten my head light in the other backpack !! <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />)

At first it was quite hot inside the HH and I was satisfied with the silk liner and the light foam mattress I had taken along (did I mentioned I also had forgotten to pack a heavier blanket ?!?)
But with the night, the temp. dropped rapidly and more so, when it's started raining ... around midnight I had to put some clothes on. I was not shivering but I got cold enough to catch one (I mean I catched a cold that night..)

For my first night in the dark woods, I didn't sleep a lot : strange noises, some a bit further, some real close.... I guess those grunts I heard must have been a boar. Other sounds remained unindentified.

At dawn, I was already awaked and broke camp quite quickly...
HH is really easy to set up and to put back into its snake skins.
And except for the temperature problem, I was quite comfy inside : didn't need to sleep on my side, as I usually do in my bed. The natural curve my body adopted when lying on my back was relaxing.
And no problem with the (light) rain. I had apparently correctly positioned the rain fly.

With the returned light, I could also see that I had set the HH up, right above a small (game?) path .....
And had I gone a mile further the previous evening, I would have found a place with NO brambles at all between correctly spaced, perfectly sized trees ... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

As for the fine predicted weather, it rained all morning long ! So, after a few humid miles, I set the hammock up again and now slept a bit, until the sun came back, at the beginning of the afternoon.
Seeing I was not properly equipped for the weather, I declined to spend another night outside and headed back home, where my cat was keeping the bed warm ....

Another thing bothered me : in the morning, I encountered a forest guard, who told me there was a lot of poaching in these woods .....
And I don't know if poachers obey Jeff Cooper's 4 laws of safe gun handling (especially the one about "know what's behind your target") - how could they in the dark ? ....
Which lead to the following question :
- what would (or do) you do : leave a red 360? Krill light (for instance) hanging outside the hammock, all night long to signal its position ?
- or prefer stealth .... not to attract harmful two-legged critters ...
?????? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Do you have that kind of problem over the pound ? Or in GB or Germany ?
How do you deal with it ?
[edit] I started another thread on this "poaching" subject. Please use it to give your opinions. [/edit]
Or do you think I could ask Hennessy for a replacement, if a slug goes thru the noseeum netting - pretending that was a really BIG mosquito ? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


Next time, I will have my head light, a good blanket or sleeping bag, arrive with daylight, choose a place without brambles and NOT above a game path ..... <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Did I say the Hennessy Hammock was fine ? <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Glad to hear the Hennessy held up to your expectations Frenchy. Many more good (or should I say better) trips to you, and enjoy the restful slumber.

Troy

Glad to hear you made it back alive, evn slightly unwell.

Your adventure reminds me of one I had - Ihad scouted the area out weeks before the intended trip, but it started raining before I got to the campsite I had picked out. It was another kind of adventure. I won't bore you with the details as I have it up on my website. All I can say is, I love duct tape!

It did occur to me - You said you had to put on clothes partway through the night... were you in the buff in the woods in your HH? It shows a great sence of self being able to do that! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Have a better time, Alain!

Rena
survivalgene.com

Keep using the HH, you will learn to love it. It takes some getting used to and breaking in. Hammocks are great, after using one in Panama for 2 years I continued to one to backpack and camp. Even when just hiking it's a nice way to take a break. After a few trips using a hammock you will be completly at home with it.

buff : according to my dictionnary, it means brown (adj.) or expert (noun) ;I guess it's not what you mean....
If it's what I think you think (...?!?...) , that's the way I sleep, at home, in my bed too... and it's also why each and every year, I catch a cold, on a night like this, warm to begin with and cold later on...
the hammock had nothing to do with it ; it's the same at home ..... <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

As for your question, I did have the bare essentials on my person (do you call them "briefs" ??), but they were only cotton, not polar fleece .....
And anyway, it's my throat which catched a cold ..... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

>>As for your question, I did have the bare essentials on my person......<<

Well, Bare is about it...

Considering your English is much better than my French, your deduction was accurate.
But it does kinda bring up one point... How can one be comfortable in the wild when you are not used to having layers of clothing on at night?

Rena

Alain - prochaine usure de temps une ?charpe, o.k.? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

In my backback I had warm long johns and sweat shirt, mainly as backup.
But when I went "to bed" in my hammock (really comfortable...), I didn't think they would be necessary ; I was too hot at the time (OK. now, let's not digress, I know it may not be the correct word, but ....don't ....).
And in the middle of the night, while raining, I didn't want to go out of my hammock, get my pack, get those clothes out of it aso...
So I just put pants and polar jacket back on ... too late ...
Next time, I will have long johns and sweat shirt on or near me, in the hammock.


Tomorrow, I will go and buy a polar blanket, at my favourite Outdoors shop, but
I still don't know what to choose :
- a polar fleece bag liner (200g/m?) or
- a blanket (310g/m?)
They are quite expensive..
Or should shop online at a standard textile/clothes shop, where bed blankets (also polar fleece) are less expensive, larger and more heavy (up to 450g/m?) ?
I guess the heavier the warmer, but weight is also a important factor in backpacking ... I could cut off what I don't need (they are designed for dual bed, much too large) ...

Or I could buy a mohair (english ?) blanket. That kind of wool is light and warm ... and much more expensive ....
<img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

With a bag liner, it can only really be used for that. I would suggest going for an actual blanket. Mohair is excelent as it keeps you warm even if it is wet. Smells like wet dog at that point... c'est la vie. Polar Fleece wicks moisture away from you usually, but because it is washable, is easy to keep the funky smells away. Cotton blends are not as good of a choice because they are not as insulative.

You may want to look for a noil silk blanket to go with that liner you mentioned. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Rena

(too bad you would need to cut down a double sized blanket...)

??? what's that' ???
I have a silk liner, which is really nice when the weather is hot or mild, but was not enough that night.

I may choose a heavy, large, polar fleece blanket if this could prevent the use of the foam mattress I had (to isolate from the bottom of the hammock) ; it would save bulk and weight...
I don't think I could pack both ...

Sorry, trying to be a smart ass, and it looks like that is the smartest part about me!

noil - 'raw' silk - soie crue
http://www.aurorasilk.com/shop/fabric-silk-noil.shtml
has a better definition.

There are some Polar Fleece styles that have a little extra padding or nap to them.
http://www.getcreativeshow.com/Crafting_...fleecefacts.htm
has some great tips on how to handle fleece.

I should actually get back to work...

Rena