American Bushman

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing." —Benjamin Franklin

Monday, October 01, 2007

Hammockin' Again

Back into the hammock I go.

I pulled out my pack yesterday and attempted to put up a shelter with components I had packed and managed to get the hammock and tarp up with little difficulty. I had to use two sticks for tieout pegs as I hadn't packed any and the hardest part of the exercise was untying knots that I'd tied previously.

I needed a taut line hitch and I had a piece of cordage set up as a prussik with a fisherman's knot in the ends. Those knots, once loaded, become quite difficult to untie and I managed to smack myself on the wrist with a baton yesterday which compounded the difficulty as I hit right on the head of a nerve and still have the pins and needles feeling in my left hand.

Despite the few hurdles I had to deal with the hammock and tarp survived last night's thunderstorm just fine. I had to tighten everything this morning as the moisture in the air caused the nylon to stretch but the proper knots give me plenty of wiggle room for adjustment down the road.

I keep toying with the idea of putting a couple of bungees in my pack but cordage and some basic knot knowledge seem to trump the extra bit of gear every time.

Thanks for reading,


B

2 Comments:

At 1:05 PM, Blogger Pablo said...

Welcome back to tree-dwelling!

I wasn;t sure whether you kept your cordage on the tarp when packing away. I tend to do this saving a lot of time but it does make the tarp a little more bulky.

I admit to taking two small bungees in my utility pack. These are for foul weather when I add them to the centre tarp loops.

Pablo.

 
At 1:32 PM, Blogger American Bushman said...

I don't leave cordage on this particular hammock. I've got small carabiners on each end and they snap into the ENO Slap Straps.

I do leave the 8mm rope on the tarp and have paracord tieouts left on as well. This allows me to get the tarp pitched quickly regardless of weather and I can get the hammock up under the tarp easier once I'm out of the wind and rain.

If I were to use bungees it'd be on the tieouts where the tarp sags as I climb into the hammock. They'd be under maximum tension when the hammock was empty and they'd still hold the tarp taut on the sides once I was in.

B

 

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