Treeline hammocking talk

[Doug Smith]

OK, so having just got a new hammock tarp for Christmas, I'm itching to go give it a try. I've slept in my hammock (borrowed tarp) a couple times, but never on a backpacking trip.

My question is about hammocking in high elevations, like right near the treeline. I'm specifically meaning the Sierra, but feel free to add info about other places as well. I'm imagining trips to places like 1000 Island lake (where I've been), and Red Spur Lakes (where I haven't). These places are at or above the technical treeline, however, both have plenty of trees. What I'm wondering, is are the trees strong enough? How do you tell if a high elevation tree will support a hammock?

I've read that some trees at high elevation that might even look sturdy enough, can be known to bend significantly under the weight of a hammock, leaving you on the ground by morning.

I'm considering bringing a pad instead of an UQ, so that if I'm forced to go to ground, I'll still have insulation. Since the pad will truly only be for insulation (in the hammock), and not for comfort on the ground, I'm guessing I could get away with a much thinner and lighter pad, such as a ridgerest, as opposed to my x-therm for ground camping.

[Lori P]

A neoair worked for me in a hammock, half inflated. I did try to hammock at 10,000 feet (on the other side of Donahue pass) – it worked sort of, until the wind came up and started bouncing me off the ground. The trees you can hang from successfully at 10k are going to be the foxtail pines – looooooooong straps, unless you can find a branch off the main trunk to use.

It's also possible with careful planning to always camp below treeline. Good to have a pad tho if there are many miles above.

[Doug Smith]

Thanks for the feedback, Lori. I appreciate the head's up on foxtail pines, which I had to google to check out. Very cool trees. As often as I go into the wilderness (which is fairly often both with work and with play), I am horrible at identifying plant and tree species (aside from poison oak, which I am a master identifier of haha). I never know what kind of conifers I'm hiking past, and I always wonder.

I've already seen that my x-therm works great in my hammock, so the next trip out I'm going to give the ridgerest a go. I'm going to get out and do some more local overnighters to get my system and skills more dialed in.

[Katherine .]

Doug–

Let me know what you figure out!

I took the ground set up too many times this past summer, because I was unsure of the "is it hammock-able?" question.

[Doug Smith]

Will do Katherine! I'll report back with my findings, and photos. :)

[Gerald L]

I'm interested to know how it works for you. I found that any type of CCF pad in a hammock will curl and bind when trying to conform to the shape of a hammock. I briefly experimented with a few backyard hangs and decided within minutes that it would not work for me. While wanting to have the 'go to ground' option of a pad myself and having slept with a partially deflated inflatable I am now considering a 3/4 UQ since reading several blogs by PCT hikers who successfully negotiated the trail with a 3/4 UQ and sit pad setup. Site selection with daily mileage planning and adjustments for acceptable locations seems to be key.

[Ken Thompson]

When I first started hammock camping in 2000 I had never heard of an under quilt. I used a Ridgerest that I cut the comers off at 45 degrees so I could put it in at an angle. This worked great for years until I learned about UQs and switched for less bulk and better comfort.

[Reggie]

I used a pad only once. Immediately switched to an UQ. I'll never go back to a pad.

When I know I may be getting closer to treeline and may find marginal hanging spots, I'll carry a slightly larger pad in my pack as my back panel (torso size). That way, I can go to ground if needed, but I've never had to do that.

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