ctbent

I am planning a trip from Florida to Connecticut starting in April and I want to bring my Hennessy Hammock and use campgrounds. Do the majority of campgrounds along the route have suitable trees and do they allow hammocks? Thanks ,Gary

thebulls

You can pitch it "on the ground" in a pinch, using a couple of branches to hold the ends up just enough that it doesn't feel claustrophobic. I've never had trouble finding trees, but that has been in Washington State and in the mountain areas of Northern Virginia.

supcom

That's a wide ranging question that nobody os likely to be able to answer. Given that there must be thousands of campgrounds (federal, state, local, and private) along the East coast.

I can say only that I have read reports on a Yahoo hammock discussion board that some National and state parks do, and some do not permit Hennessey hammocks to be tied to trees. I would say you have a couple options.

You can plan your trip and try to identify each campground you'll stay at in advance and contact them all to ask their policy. This is probably unrealistic as your plans will almost certainly change along the way.

You can ask when you arrive at each campground. However, there is a old adage that it is better to ask forgiveness than ask permission. Particularly, if you wait until after dark to put up your hammock and try to do so as much out of site as possible, you maximize your chances of using the hammock.

You can plan your route to stay in unregulated areas, like national forests, as much as possible instead of campgrounds. There, you can hammock camp with abandon for free. You can also practice stealth camping (another form of asking forgiveness rather than permission) and put you hammock up out of sight.

NoReg

For instance, you can be thrown in jail in Florida for harming the tree snails. :0)

I was looking at places for hammocks on my Ontario, Quebec, NB trip. Overall I found tons in stealth campgrounds, and none in provincial or national parks. And that isn't even facing what rangers would think of an obviously harmfull treatment of trees.

However, I don't view that as a negative. I took a tarp tent, and a bivy sack. Next time I might take a Hennesey (not yet purchased) and my MSR mini tent. Still comes to under 4 pounds, which I think is perfectly reasonable. What is traded is site adaptibility for a single larger tent.

Here is my question: Can mosquitos bite through the Hennesey? I mean, I realize if the occupant is wrapped up in layers of sleeping bag and matress, he could be too distant from the mosquitos for them to get him. But up here where the weather changes in response to the hatching of millions of wing flapping little bugs, there are always going to be parts pressed up against the fabric, and in the summer I don't want to be wrapped up in a bag. I realize they are partially designed for the jungle, but I just can't visualize the solution.

supcom

A hennessey hammock is not 'obviously harmful' to trees. The hennessey attaches to trees by wrapping an inch-wide nylon strap around the tree and attaching the spectra hammock line to the strap. The strap spreads the force of the hammock over a large area of bark and does not hurt the tree. There's probably some trees with thin bark that can be damaged, but generally it should not be a problem.

Of course, a park ranger may not know, or care, about the distinction between a strap hung hammock and one that uses just a rope. The park may have a policy that does not distinguish so even if the ranger knows you are not damaging a tree, you may not be permitted to use a hammock. Campgrounds are high impact zones, so care must be taken to protect the area.

NoReg

The living part of the tree is right next to the surface, and it is easily damaged, which is why many climbing areas have rules agains tying onto trees at the top of cliffs, using webbing. Those trees often get no loading at all or if they do, they are loaded to approx 1x the climber's weight, near the ground, with a force directed down. A Hammock is capable of creating a much higher force, because a cantenary force approaches infinity when fully horizontal. It is significantly multiplied even at typical angles. And the force is further multiplied by the lever arm of the tree.

I think the main issues the park has to face is the overuse one you mention. Walking on the ground, for instance is not normally harmful to the ground, but most of the campsites I stayed at looked strip mined.

The other problem is that the rangers may not trust that the average camper is an arborist/engineer/rigger who can make the right decisions about soil conditions, tree types, the different forces that result with instalation, and the size of trees that could bare up under these stresses. The trees rarely grow exactly where you want them in the camps I saw, and I had minor trouble erecting my tarp on some occasions. So campers may push the envelope. Agaist that these sites are often special. Normal looking 2-3" trees on the Niagara escarpment may be 900 years old, so how many risks do you want to take? On the other hand, the stealth sites i saw, were usually more heavily forested, tress were often heavy, and tightly spaced. I wanted to use the Henesey precicely because some of these places were too overgrown to take a tent. The heavy cover was often re-forested, and it was not going to get repeat use, possibly ever. I was looking for sites that might take a hammock, in the case of camp grounds, I often had little no choice what site I would get.

If it was my campsite, your hammock would not get used.

By the way, The force of a 1" nylon strap is not distributed evenly over the inch. I used to climb back in the good old days of swami belts and homemade harnesses, tie that same thing around your waist and see how you like it. You need a load take-off that is hard, and distributes the force evenly across the webbing, knots and line tie-ins bunch the webbing up, and do not load it equaly across the width. I don't imagine any harm comes to the trees from single uses, in most cases, but it is far less benign that letting the poor schmuck who paid 30 buck curl up in the mud wallow they call a tent site.

stokell

Just to add a few notes of reality:
The webbing is the same width and material as a seatbelt in a car, I don't think in inches but it must be at least 2 inches if not more.

The Hennessy is not designed for campgrounds. I've only ever stayed in one campground (an Ontario provincial park--there was no regulations against it though finding a site with trees was more difficult).

The Hennessy is a dream for stealth campers. Stealth camping is when you camp for one night on unsigned, unfenced unimproved public land out of sight of a house without approval. I'm just back from 2 weeks in Britain using my Hennessy. Here's what I do: Instead of trying to find a campground close to my route, I just looked for a great pub. After spotting the pub, I'd search for a great stealth camping site. If none was available within a couple of kilometres, I'd go on to the next pub and start the search again. Once the site was found, I'd make supper in another location and then head for the pub for a few pints. About an hour before bedtime I'd go back to the site, set up and have a great nights sleep. I'd be gone shortly after sunrise.

No fees, no warden, no Winnebagos.

As to the mosquito bite question, I also use the Hennessy in Canada. Yes, mosquitos can bite through the bottom of the hammock. Use a sleeping bag or a sleeping mat to make space between you and the bug. The hammock screen works great as far as keeping them out of the hammock.

supcom

Perhaps the webbing varies but the Ultralight Backpacker hammock I received a month ago had 1 inch wide webbing. Half the width of seatbelt webbing.

The hammock is designed to be slung between two fixed objects (usually trees). I don't see anything about the design that is, or is not, specific about a campground. The Hennessey Hammock folks don't control campground regulations. Some places forbid anything to be attached to a trees, not just hammocks. Some places require only that trees not be damaged. Some places have no regulations one way or another.

I agree with you there. One big advantage of a hammock is you don't need to find a flat spot for it. In some areas, this makes finding a campsite much easier than with a tent.

The biggest problem with hammocks is that they do poorly in cold weather because there is only a thin layer between you and the cold air beneath you. Using a sleeping pad inside a hammock is difficult because it's hard to maneuver things around underneath you when inside a hammock. There has been considerable experimentation to develop methods of adding insulation underneath the hammock and some of these are showing promise, but I am still skeptical as to their effectiveness.

stokell

True, the hammock without any supplementary assistance is great for our warm summer nights. When I went camping in Wales in October I was expecting temperatures between 5 and 8C overnight. I'd experimented last winter in Toronto where we get lots of nights like that. My setup keeps me comfortable down to -5C. The cure is not as expensive, bulky and time consuming as the Hennessy system. Anyone who is interested can surf my tour diaries.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/journ..._id=19639&v=64

hillyman

The Clark Jungle Hammock is designed for 4 seasons, although its more expensive, probably the best hammock going.

ctbent

The truth is I DO NOT want to use campgrounds but I do not know how easy it would be to find stealth camping (with permision and in unposted sites) along the route especially in the south and in April and with few leaves out in northern areas. I just want a backup. Thanks for the info everyone, Gary