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[Yosemite]

What I learned this trip

Hiking, backpacking, running, biking, climbing, rafting, and other human-powered activities in Yosemite National Park

Moderators: Wickett, dan

What I learned this trip

Postby Wickett » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:27 am

Here are a few things I learned this trip.
1. Squirrels will chew into your tent even though your tent is empty.
2. Holes left by squirrels leak a lot of water.
3. Ultralight backpacking gear is no longer ultralight when soaking wet.
4. Look behind you before letting a big one rip while on the trail, trust me...

I went up to LYV as required by my permit for the first night. Got out of LYV as soon as possible, I was tired of answering the question from all the Half Domers "where is the water station at?". I went to Morraine Dome and set up camp. I explored Lost Valley and Echo canyon. Saw one bear in Lost Valley. Came back to camp to find a present left by a squirrel, aka hole in tent. Got rained on all night/morining so my down bag, pad, half my clothes, and my tent were soaked. Was going to go out monday but decided to go out Sunday since I would of spent all day drying everything. All in all it was a fun trip.
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Postby AlmostThere » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:59 am

Memorable trip, right? :) I have a love/hate relationship with the tourists, I can't believe the stuff they come up with sometimes.

You're making me happy I went to hammock camping - the only thing chewed on are my trekking pole handles when they fell on the ground at Ostrander.
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Postby Wickett » Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:19 pm

I have seen the hammocks, how are they?
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Postby AlmostThere » Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:29 pm

How are hammocks? Well, I am always the first one up every morning, as I sleep the night through instead of finally falling asleep at 3 am out of sheer exhaustion. I'm drier in a rain storm, warmer in general, and have no issues with creepy crawlies. Any given sleeping pad is automatically more comfortable in the hammock. I can set up on a hill or in the lee of a ridge any time I like. And despite all the varying opinions of people who believe they turn you into a banana or give you motion sickness, neither of those turns out to be true, given the correct model of hammock. People also will throw out "what if there are no trees" as if you can't possibly use it for a bug bivy on the ground, or as if you're not carrying a fully functional tarp and tent stakes. Or just walk back below treeline. I think they're just jealous because I get more sleep and don't get sore hips from sleeping on the ground.... :)
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Postby bill-e-g » Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:44 am

You need to educate people more on the hammock.

The pictures you posted on the other forum were great.
Had no idea someone made then with tarp covering and bug netting.
The "what do you do above treeline" and "what do you do at
x time of year" where to get you to answer what you do
if you can't find a suitable tree and what you do when mosquitos
are rampant.

I did look into it. For me it was a bit too heavy to delve into.
(my current setup - Bivy+Ground Cloth+Tarp = 17.5 oz)
And the number #1 criteria for me for site is view...

I personally have never seen anyone in the backcountry in
a hammock... but then again I stear clear of the hot spots during
peak times and stealth camp big-time when solo.
Now that I think of it maybe I saw someone with a hammock
when I literally ran thru LYV (I avoid that place like the plague).

Anyway, so you put all the gear in the hammock with you too?
Or does it dangle below?

One other thing while I'm rambling... funny thing is... usually
the rodents attack you at high elevation. Had my shoe laces
munched on by a mouse atop Clouds earlier this year in the
snow. Never had anything eat a hole thru any tent.
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Postby AlmostThere » Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:55 am

Hammock camping can be no heavier than taking a tent - in most cases it's lighter. A blue ccf, a simple hammock, tarp and your standard sleeping quilt (which is lighter than a sleeping bag) are all you need, add a bugnet when the mosquitos are bad. Winter hammocking is when all the stops get pulled but if it's truly winter and there's snow, the pulk becomes an option.

Hammockforums.net is where the hammock dwellers go. The vast majority of them are on the east coast, but there's a growing contingent out here, and they are as far away as Australia. Some of them are indeed ultralighters.

My setup weighs five pounds but that includes a second quilt - my focus is on good sound sleep and comfort, staying out of the rain puddles, and keeping crawlers off. Permethrin in the straps and on the hammock fabric helps. I could not sleep in a bivy if my life depended on it, as I am claustrophobic. Tents I laid there awake all night - too enclosed. I did manage to sleep on the ground with a NeoAir and an open tarp. People with back injuries and other physical conditions that preclude climbing off the ground out of a tent end up with a hammock.

You can get better views with hammocks - all you need is trees, and those are plentiful on hills and ridges as well as valleys. But there are drawbacks to ridges and exposed places....
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Postby bill-e-g » Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:17 am

I don't zip up the bivy entirely. No need under the tarp.
Sleepy bag is 1lb 11oz. Montbell 30degree. I'm in love with that bag.

Anywho.... different strokes for different folks.

Have fun
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