For the last several years I do all my bicycle camping with a hammock. I greatly prefer hammocks to tents. They're especially more suitable for wild camping, with no need to clear the site or find flat ground. But also much better for my back.

I know there are parts of the U.S. that have few trees. That hasn't been an important consideration where I've been going so far. But in a couple years I expect to retire from my job and hopefully take a tour over a much wider range of the country for several months.

Can a hammock be used like a poor mans tent when necessary? I could imagine laying it on the ground and inserting some kind of expandable framework of poles that keep it off my face. Or maybe not even that. Would I want a pad of some kind to seal out water better?

Are there hammock lovers out there that tour in treeless areas and have a story to tell?