People who don’t enjoy camping

When asked afterward if he had fun, a non-backpacking friend who went with us on a short (20 mile) two-night backpacking trip into the Winds responded:

"Did I have fun? That's like asking someone if they had fun climbing Mount Everest. Hell no, it wasn't fun. But I'm glad I did it."

Maybe he'll go again one day. But probably not. Even if he doesn't, at least he has that memory of enigmatic non-fun happiness that he found in backpacking – something that lots and lots of folks never experience.

"If not for necessary bodily functions I might not get up until noon."

Ah, another member of the Crack of Noon club. Welcome.

I usually fall asleep around 2 am, wake up at first light. I do though sleep a LOT better if I have a campmate who snores. I sleep great then. It is like having a white noise machine ;-)

But I do love early morning. When it is still cold out, sun rising, birds noisy. I love sitting by myself during that time. I also enjoy hiking early in the day :-)

I've often enjoyed a nap middle of the afternoon though :-D

A few weeks ago, I had spent all morning traipsing around the treeless area of Dolly Sods North under a cloudless sky as it grew increasingly hotter and the wind died to nothing. Stopped around 11:30 in a darkly shaded area right next to a creek that had real live grass (looked just like the groomed grass in the local park) and somehow had a nice crosswind going. Pulled out the pad, leaned against a tree and ate lunch.
4 hours later, I woke up curled up to my snoring dog who was laying more on my pad than I was. Think you could get away with that at home? How can anyone not enjoy the woods?

I'm usually out there to hike and camping only meant I need not hurry to return to civilization with a daypack. That said, camping requires a lot of skills and I'm thinking now,that wildfire season has given way to flash flood season, of wood-burning stoves and the like.

Bart Simpson – awesome!

I am a convert. Grew up in suburban DC and my father was not an outdoorsman (great father – but WWII, Korea, growing up in eastern NC with no AC – once he had a house with a/c and a bed he allowed as how he'd carried enough packs and paid his dues), nor were any of my friends families. Enjoyed being outdoors but had never camped and quite honestly saw little need to do so.

My son – however – likes hiking and backpacking. He has Aspergers and quite honestly has been a challenge to find active things to do that he likes. He is not a natural or even adequate athlete. But through Scouting he will go backpacking so I've encouraged it. Which means I've learned right along with him. And for a guy who once swore I could see no benefit to sleeping on the ground in the woods – well – I'm sold. I go on the trips now to support him, but admit it's equally due to the fact that I enjoy them as well.

So why the change? Part of the fear was ignorance – ignorance about the benefits but also ignorance of what to take and how to pack it and the skills to have confidence in the back country. I'm no expert but I've for sure come a long way (in part thanks to this site FWIW). Gaining confidence and experience makes a big difference.

I could wax about being close to nature, etc… and that is true to some extent. A breathtaking vista that can only be reached after hiking "x" miles is a reward for the work. But it is also just the simplification of focus in an otherwise static filled world/life. It's the pleasure of having your concerns condensed to getting where you are going safely, feeding yourself, sheltering yourself and otherwise enjoying not being consumed by the myriad issues that otherwise are a part of our day to day at work and at home.

I admit that being stinky takes some getting used to but like many things once you get past the first hurdle of just doing it – well – when everyone else is dirty and stinky as well it doesn't seem like such a big deal.

My sister in laws boyfriend doesn't enjoy camping. I mean he enjoys it for what it means to us and how it's our escape. Loves the scenery and all but he grew up in the countryside of Uganda. Where making a fire was a chore not an escape. Where he walked two miles to school everyday and had to go collect water from a well. He now enjoys his graduate studies here in America and ok his free time he loves to stay indoors and watch movies!

So it's all about perspective!

So it's all about perspective!

Indeed. I worked with a guy from Guilin, China. After half a lifetime with a bicycle as his primary means of transportation he couldn't even begin to understand the idea of cycling for pleasure.

A question for those on this thread that backpack but admit to not sleeping well outside, or to not liking being trapped in a tent during long winter nights….have you tried a hammock? If not, why? I get some of the best sleep while backpacking and I cannot imagine retreating under a tent or tarp when I can hang out in a hammock and still enjoy the views and the company of others.

Because I refuse to bring along anything called a whoopie sling.

"Because I refuse to bring along anything called a whoopie sling."

Ha ha. Good one :)

I use straps and a carabiner..

"Because I refuse to bring along anything called a whoopie sling."

Then bring an Amsteel internal gripping hammock suspension adjuster. FYI, Warbonnet and others offer strap suspensions. Hennessy uses *rope•.

Hammocks ARE the civilized way to sleep in the woods, opening all sorts of options for campsites and low impact too. Rocks, mud, roots, sloping ground, punctured air pads, bugs and creepy crawlies all become moot.

…

In bug season I just have to use a tent; otherwise the mosquitoes just eat me alive!

The dog is in the tent with me, which doesn't work with a hammock.

I'm a toss-n-turn sleeper, giving equal time to back, side, and stomach sleeping, which also doesn't work.

If it's raining at cook time I can do that in the vestibule.

If it starts raining at night – as it did unexpectedly a couple of nights ago – I simply clip shut the vestibule door and am all set. I have all my gear inside, so I can also pack and get clothing sorted out before exiting the tent, leaving only the tent to strike and pack, which takes about 1.5 minutes, giving it a good shake and stuff.

> Hammocks ARE the civilized way to sleep in the woods,
Bit hard using a hammock with my wife at 3,000 m in the snow in bad weather…

Cheers

Do you have to sleep on your back? Can you sleep on your side or stomach?

Roger opined,

"Bit hard using a hammock with my wife at 3,000 m in the snow in bad weather…

Cheers"

I think that just reinforces my case for hammocks being civilized :) You do need trees and although there are hammocks for two, they are not my cuppa tea. I'm an Ewok and prefer my forests.

Jerry asked, "Do you have to sleep on your back? Can you sleep on your side or stomach?"

There is a misconception that you sleep in a hammock "fore and aft" like a big banana and many hammock advertisements reinforce that. You sleep on an angle with your back flat and well supported. Side sleeping is easy, but I've never tried sleeping on my stomach. I do tend to sleep on my side in a regular bed and find sleeping on my back in a hammock very natural. It's quite a different sensation.

There is a short sharp learning curve to rigging a hammock. Using a structural ridge line helps and a little practice in the back yard is highly recommended. I planted 4×6 posts in my back yard for my hammock testing. Once you learn the feel of it, it is quick and easy.

Bob,

You can have a bug net with your hammock.
Your dog can sleep right under or beside you and mine prefers to be in the open than zipped up.
I toss and turn in everything except in a hammock.
If it's raining there is nothing better than cooking by your hammock under a tarp. You don't have to deal with shoes on and off and getting stuff wet inside.
You can have all your gear under the tarp and get packed up with only the tarp over you, which rakes seconds to take down, especially if you use tarp skins…
If it rains it can be quicker to set up a tarp than a tent.

Do you own a hammock?
Because most naysayers have not tried it, or maybe tried it once.
I agree that it isn't for everyone, but it's hard to say without trying it .

I find it amusing, as a side sleeping, toss and turn, claustrophobic, , prone to motion sickness, cold sleeper, when people come up with these things as reasons not to hammock. Never fallen out or gotten motion sickness. Never been cold, once I figured out what I wasn't doing correctly. Never had issues with comfort or being bent like a banana. There are more comfortable positions for sleeping than I find at home in bed. When I cannot sleep in my hammock it is due to other things – last Saturday I woke to the pleasant sound of rain on my tarp and lay there listening for a while, warm and snug in my down quilt.

When a trip includes alpine stretches, I pack the 25" wide pad and tarp on the ground when necessary. Under quilts are more comfortable, but the pad works ok with my double layer hammock. I have a tent for trips with extended alpine sections but it feels confining.

Last Saturday, my companion whined about being trapped in his tent instead of being able to watch the thunder shower. I invited him to sit with me under my tarp. We boiled a kettle for tea and snacked while the rain fell. Seven years and I still vastly prefer the hammock in inclement or cold weather – less confining and far more comfort. A full bugnet lets me sleep without a tarp on fair nights – debris from trees bounces off it. Oh, it works on bugs, too. Have had marmots run right under me. I get out of the hammock to chase off the bears much more quickly than the tent dwellers do.

So my experience has been pretty much the opposite of the expectations of others, including the guy who kept nagging me about how cold I would be, who rolled up the next morning and bellowed "you were cold, werncha!" Nope, sorry. I would have sold it all years ago if it were not more comfortable than tents have ever been.

My dog sleeps on her ccf pad under me – she is a nuisance in confined spaces, but does great being near but not on me. I loan her my jacket or she wears her fleece sweater if it gets really cold.

I DO get motion sickness, actually. Usually when I haven't been hanging in a while. Generally doesn't negate the upsides, though.

I would try a hammock if I backpacked in treed terrain. I'd say 95% of my backpack trips are above treeline. But it does sound so much more comfortable.

I've always wanted to try one, but I'm either above tree line or my dog is with me. He does much better IN the tent than leashed outside – he actually likes going in the tent with me. I was trying to work on pitching my new solplex in the back yard and Chuck kept trying to get inside. So I unzipped it for him and he just went in and laid down. He was quite happy….

Katharina,

You are correct that I have not tried a hammock and that I should do so at some point.

My outdoor background (prior to BPL) is winter/alpine with only a tiny bit of spring/fall hiking and never in the summer. That was the time for road cycling and MTB.

Never even occurred to me to try a hammock because it just didn't seem viable for winter in the Adirondacks and Whites with 20 to 30 below zero weather. Our main shelter was a MH Trango 2, and before that I had a Bibler Eldorado. We needed more room when the snow load came pressing in on the tent, which required fewer trips outside to dig out.

So over the years I have gotten very comfortable with tents for shelter and see no reason to convert to a completely different system. However, if someone were just getting in outdoor stuff and had a hard time getting comfortable sleeping on the ground, it is definitely worth a try.

My current shelter (Duplex) has everything I have ever wanted in a 3-season shelter and weighs 22.1 oz with stakes and stuff sack, so I am set for the time being!

My husband likes his hammock. I am OK with it. But with 3 kids, not going to happen. He sleeps in his hammock while I get kicked in the head all night…lol!