How steep of a slope can you sleep on?

[Andy F]

How steep of a slope can you sleep on, and how do you accomplish this without using a hammock or climbing gear?

With my painter's dropcloth groundsheet and CCF pad or Exped Downmat, I need to be very close to flat to avoid impromptu or imperceptible sled trips during the night.

[j lan]

Nothing that a couple tent stakes through your bag and sleeping mat can't fix!
;)

Have you tried putting some seam sealer stripes on your mats to increase grippiness?

[Nick Gatel]

I can't sleep on much of a slope. During the night my body tries to find a level spot, without my permission. If I abosultely cannot find a level enough area, I sleep with my feet elevated on the low end with my pack. Sometimes this helps.

[Walter Carrington]

I think my record for sliding during the night is more than 10 feet. Fortunately, no cliffs anywhere in the area.

[Alex H]

As long as you are parallel to the slope a large rock or log at the foot of the sleeping bag works great to keep you from sliding down hill. I have used a large rock under sloping overhangs on the Colorado Plateau for this before.

[Brad Groves]

It ain't pretty, but if I set up so that I'm sideways to a slope, I just shove stuff sacks, shoes, random stuff under the "downhill" side of the sleeping pad to sort of level it out…

[Mike Philip]

It ain't pretty, but if I set up so that I'm sideways to a slope, I just shove stuff sacks, shoes, random stuff under the "downhill" side of the sleeping pad to sort of level it out…"

Brad,

Just thinking about that makes me laugh…:)

I did this last year when a buddy and I packed in late one night. We could hear the wind really whistling on top of the ridge so we decided to stay 200 yards down the hill. It was pretty steep, probably 35-40 degrees and try as we might we could not find any elk/sheep beds to sleep in so we just improvised. He found a bush to wedge his bivy against and I used a rotten log on the down hill side…at 3am I awoke to find myself rolling down the hill 15 feet into a tree…It scared the crap out of me and pour Gary just about p!ssed his pants he was laughing so hard.

To do it again I think I would have used the paracord in my pack to secure the log to a couple of trees and it would have saved me the adventure…

Mike

[Simon Weiss]

That's a great story – I laughed out loud imagining that. Glad you weren't hurt.

I've had those dreams where I fall, with that adrenalized feeling of falling and jerking awake. I've never woken up ACTUALLY falling…

thanks for sharing.

I think we need to start a FUNNY BACKPACKING STORIES thread.

[Roger Caffin]

Well, these guys had a small problem with finding horizontal for the night – I think they were in thick fog late in the day when they finally decided they couldn't go any further.
And NO, I was NOT in that party!

(Not my photo, but I can't trace owners. Sorry.)

[Tipi Walter]

I've spent many nights on tilted ground, whether bedroll camping or in a tent. On my last trip I had to throw my beefy Mystery Ranch G6000 pack under my thermarest at the foot to prop up my dangling legs, etc.

One good thing about backpacking in the southeast is that you can find old fallen tree hollows on the sides of hills that offer little level areas where the rootball pulled out of the ground and settled over time into an adequate campsite. Tiny, though.

[Ike Mouser]

This issue is precisely why i now use hammocks on nearly every trip where its possible. No more looking for level ground for me. Or clearing a site either for a tent either. Love my hammock.

[Jarrod Handwerk]

Same here…Hammocks all the way

[Author]

Posts