Month: June 2015

I am glad: my first hammock camping/stealth camping/bikepacking adventure was a success.

On 6/8/15 I packed up my hammock, tarp, sleeping bag, and some food and headed out.

I biked to that small patch of woods on a hill over a particular highway. I had checked it out before to determine the feasibility of camping there but had not penetrated far. Getting through the buckthorn was difficult but I did not get cut up, did not get sticks in my gears and brakes, and I was reassured by how the underbrush made it unlikely anyone would follow me. The only evidence anyone had been there was a rusted spray paint can and a patch of torn up leather. Nothing recent. There was a faint trail which may have just been a deer trail, not from people.

I admit I should have practiced more and brought extra rope just in case. Thankfully there were some brief instructions in the pouch on tying up the hammock. It involved no complex knots at all, though in the future I may use better knots and better nylon cord just for a sense of security.

I brought a section of a sleeping pad I had cut out to serve as a torso pad. I didn’t use it for sleeping but I used it to sit on and read on my phone and kindle during sunset and after.

I used 75% DEET to keep the mosquitos away, of which only a couple ever bothered me. I checked frequently but found no ticks.

I used two aspen trees to tie up. I don’t think I damaged them where the rope met the trunk. Unfortunately for expediency because of the setting sun, I broke off a few small branches right above the hammock, so I could get in and out and not tear the fabric. That was not LNT, but the rest of my trip was very low-impact. I also did not burn anything. Next time, because I did not use the tarp at all, I will replace that space and weight with a camping stove and fuel and cook up some oatmeal or coffee in the morning. I can only forego a tarp if there is no chance of rain. I also must trim the tarp. And I must practice quickly mounting the tarp over the hammock using cord.

In fact, now that I have done one hammock camping trip, I must borrow that hammock camping book again. This way my learning will be pulled forward by both practice and study.

I enjoyed when a group of crows moved through the trees overhead to investigate me. In the morning I could have lingered but instead left because I had committed to picking someone up from the airport.