HAMMOCK CAMPING NEWS for March 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE FROM SPEER
HAMMOCKS Mar 2003
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1----------------------HAMMOCK
CAMPING NEWS------------------------
A. DID YOU MISS THE JANUARY OR FEBRUARY ISSUE?
Some of you may have missed
the January or February issue of Hammock Camping News when I switched to Yahoo
Groups to distribute the newsletters. I
may not have gotten everyone signed up properly on Yahoo Groups in time to get
the posting for these issues. I will
try again this month to sign up all previous subscribers; please except my
apologies for any inconvenience.
Postings of each newsletter on Yahoo Groups will be left on the home
page for subscribers to view anytime (go to our Yahoo Groups Hammock
Camping News home page). Anyone
can view the back issues at hammockcamping.com.
B. NEW BOOK
PUBLISHED!
Speer
Hammocks published Hammock
Camping: The Complete Guide To Greater Comfort, Convenience and Freedom
by Ed Speer in January. Everyone's
initial reaction has been positive and early sales are off to a good start.
The book is based on Ed's many
years of hammock camping around the world and his experience making and
designing his own hammocks. In addition
to key chapters on "How To Stay Warm In A Hammock" and "How To
Make Your Own Hammock", the book contains numerous entries from Ed's trail
journals that show just how hammocks can be used in actual wilderness
settings. The book is well documented
with numerous photos, drawings and tables of information. For those not inclined to make a hammock,
one chapter presents brief reviews of all the commercially available camping
hammocks. Appendices give valuable
information on Ed's hammocking tips, hammock manufactures, The Leave No Trace
organization, and web links to additional hammock information. This book is sure to become the standard
reference manual on hammock camping.
Free shipping on all orders from Speer Hammocks before May 1, 2003.
Order online at http://www.HammockCamping.com
or call (828) 724-4444, 9-5 workdays.
C. HAMMOCK CAMPING WEB SITE
http://www.HammockCamping.com. This site
provides a general exchange of hammock camping news and information. Excerpts from Ed's new book and F-R-E-E
copies of these newsletters are featured here, as well as lots of free hammock
camping tips. The site includes
instructions for ordering Ed's book.
Anyone wishing to post information on this site should contact us at: Ed@SpeerHammocks.com.
D. HAMMOCK
CAMPING-L Discussion Group
Join fellow outdoor
enthusiasts in an open discussion on all aspects of hammock camping. Learn from the experts. Learn before you buy
or make your own. Or help others by
sharing your knowledge. The widespread
use of camping hammocks is the latest development in wilderness travel. Be a part of this exciting phenomenon. The Hammock Camping-L is hosted on Yahoo
Groups and works like other online "lists;" however you do not have
to be a member of Yahoo in order to join.
All you need is a valid email address.
NOTE that subscribers to this free Hammock Camping News e-zine are not
automatically signed up for the bulletin board (you must sign up yourself).
To join, send email to: hammockcamping-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Or sign up online at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hammockcamping
E. HAMMOCK MAKING KITS
NOW AVAILABLE
Speer Hammocks, Inc has
added make your own kits to their product line. Based on the successful hammock design by Ed Speer, the kits come
complete with everything needed. Making
your own hammock is highly rewarding and each one will give years of
satisfactory use. The only thing needed
is a household sewing machine, thread, and minimal sewing skills. Check out the kits at: http://www.speerhammocks.com
2----------------How To Avoid Bears With
Hammocks-------------------
Don't kid yourself, anyone
who says they don't worry about bears when camping is either lying or camping
in the back yard. We all ask the 'What
if' question--and that makes good sense.
A proper evaluation of the risks, followed by appropriate measures to
reduce or eliminate those risks, is a sign of wisdom and the basis for a good
night's sleep. In truth, hammocks offer
the wilderness traveler several unique risk-avoidance practices that are simply
not available to tent or tarp campers.
Contrary to 'Bear Piñata' jokes, hammocks can be significantly safer
than ground beds in bear territory.
Obviously, to avoid bear
encounters, we need to avoid bear habitat; and here is where the hammock can
play an important role. Avoiding bear
encounters by stealth camping away from bear habitat is a clear advantage of
hammocks; however presenting an imposing image (by sleeping 3 feet above the
ground) has worked for me during some actual close encounters. We will discuss each of these below.
Most encounters involve
bears on searching for food. Realizing
that the bears are more interested in our food than they are in attacking us is
an important first step in our avoidance plan.
While quite rare, bear attacks generally involve territorial threats
(i.e. we intrude on the bear's territory) and are not covered by this
article. Here, we are concerned with
bears that intrude on our territory (our camp)--these bears are generally much
less aggressive than those in the previous situation. However, caution is always advisable in every encounter. If unsure of bear behavior, complete
avoidance may be your most reassuring approach--there is hope!
Apparently bears find us by:
1) happening upon us on their regular searches for food; 2) smell; or 3) sight.
Most unwanted encounters
occur because we have camped at places where a bear has found food before and
he returns looking for more.
Established wilderness campsites are a perfect setup for bears--campers
continue to arrive and bring more food.
Each newly arrived camper is unaware of the bears' nightly routine until
it's too late. Sometimes, a bear learns
to even show up in broad daylight and the scared campers will run away leaving
their food behind. Every established
wilderness campsite offers the potential for these encounters--they are best
avoided as much as possible. Hammocks
allow us to do so since the entire forest is our potential campsite. And we can stealth camp following Leave No
Trace principles knowing we are not harming the environment (or disturbing the
feeding habits of the animals). Campers
who restrict themselves to previously used campsites are asking for trouble.
With our hammocks, we can
also avoid other bear habitats, such as natural feeding grounds or bear
trails. Once on a long kayak trip along
the coast of British Columbia and Alaska, I quickly learned that the same
beaches and shores suitable for camping were also prime feeding sites for Brown
Bears--scat, tracks and half-eaten fish were dead giveaways! As soon as I noticed that the bears avoided
the steep rocky shores, I hung my hammock there--I never had a bear encounter
although I spent six months in heavy bear habitat. Yes, I sometimes hung my hammock between large rocks in boulder
fields. Some tent campers that summer
were not so fortunate and bear raids ended their dream vacation. Occasionally, I even hung my hammock high in
trees or on rock cliffs that bears could not climb (Brown Bears are too big to
climb trees). When camping near bear
trails, I hung my hammock downwind to disperse my scent away from the
trail. On this and other trips, I've
often set up on small rocky islands otherwise unsuited for ground sleepers or
feeding bears.
Other bear feeding areas to
avoid include: ripe berries patches, grassy areas, stream sides, lake sides,
ocean shores, salmon streams, bee nests in trees or in the ground, grub-rich
dead wood (standing or fallen), and heavily disturbed areas where bears have
been digging for roots, grubs, or animals.
Be aware of what's going on around you and select your campsite
accordingly.
Hammocks simply make it
easier to avoid bear habitat.
To keep from attracting
bears, we can also wisely manage the scent plume emanating from us and from our
food. The usual wilderness advice like
"avoid strong food odors, don't sleep in cooking clothes, and hang food
bags" all make sense. But we
hammock users have a few other neat tricks we can use. It's easy to camp away from the cooking site
since a hammock can conveniently be set up in so many places--even hilly, rocky
or wet ground is generally not a problem.
Often ground sleepers are restricted to some limited spot of flat or
level ground for cooking and sleeping; thus they are setting themselves up for
a bad encounter. Stealth camping a mile
or more from one's cooking site, or away from established campsites used by
others may be all that’s necessary to avoid unwanted encounters. Remember that established campsites continue
to emanate food odors for a long time (often months or years) after the last
use.
The hammock camper can often
select a campsite well suited for managing the scent plume. Examples include: sites on small islands or
shores upwind of large expanses of water (lake, river or ocean), high mountain
sites upwind of large valleys, or sites atop rock cliffs with strong
updrafts. Ground sleepers seldom have
these choices. However, the ability of
bears to follow even trace scents to their source must not be
underestimated. Moderate to strong
winds over very large expanses of water or valleys may work.
While greatly reducing the
risk of an encounter, stealth camping in hammocks away from normal bear habitat
does not completely eliminate the risk--a bear may still happen upon you by
chance or find you by smell, sight, or sound.
However, it seems reasonable that a bear finding you in this manner will
not be inclined to approach since he does not associate your never-before-used
campsite with food. It's likely the
bear will avoid you long before you even know he was there. Of course, in some very popular wilderness
areas bears have learned to associate all humans with food and thus a chance
encounter may result in problems. While
hammock campers should always be alert to the situation, the following stories
may offer some comfort.
A large Black Bear entered
our campsite in late Spring 2001 at a three-sided shelter on the Appalachian
Trail in New Jersey. We knew we were in
bear habitat, but didn't think it would happen to us. With my hammock set up about 30 feet from the shelter, my hiking
partner was settled down inside.
Apparently on his regular food run, the bear approached in broad
daylight and jumped up into the shelter!
Although timid, the bear approached my partner on the floor and sniffed
him from head to foot, coming to within an inch of his face! Finding no easy food, the bear turned to
search the empty shelter and then jumped back outside. When my partner stood up, the bear moved off
a few feet but did not leave. Although
watching me, the bear did not come within 20 feet of my hammock and left when I
began to stir. Apparently the bear was
more intimidated by someone who sleeps three feet off the ground than he was of
a ground sleeper.
Earlier on that same trip, a
large stray dog approached our stealth camp.
Again I was in my hammock and my partner was on the ground in a bivy nearby. The dog approached from my direction, but
veered away when he realized something was in the hammock. He circled far out of his way and entered
our camp from the opposite side. The
dog showed no fear of the ground sleeper and came within a foot sniffing for
food. When my partner yelled, the dog
moved only a few feet away. When I
yelled from my hammock, the dog ran away in fright. Again, the animal was more intimidated by the hammock user.
While these stories are
interesting, they do not mean that hammock users will always be safe from
animals. In the future, bears and/or
dogs may become accustomed to hammocks and loose their fear. In the mean time, I take comfort knowing
chance encounters at stealth sites are likely to turn out like these.
While the risk of a bear
encounter cannot be completely eliminated, the chance of such an encounter can
be greatly reduced by using hammocks.
Best of luck and happy
hammocking
Ed "Not To Worry"
Speer
3-------------------CAMPING HAMMOCKS IN
USE-------------------------
A. Winter Hammock Camping
Are you interested in winter hammock camping?
Numerous members of the Hammock Camping List have been experimenting
with their hammocks this winter and the results are promising. Snow?
Cold wind? Below freezing
temps? Nothing is too much for this
group. Most solutions revolve around
bottom blankets and/or inside sleep pads.
Learn the latest techniques and join this online group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hammockcamping
B. Chatooga
River Hammock Hangers Trip Feb 22-23, 2003
The First Annual Southeast
Hammock Hangers (FASHH) trip was unfortunately interrupted by severe
weather. Organized by Ed Speer and
posted on the Hammock Camping-L, the trip promised to be a unique opportunity
for about 10 hammock users from across the southeast to gather and compare
notes. Of particular interest, was the
ongoing cold-weather research being carried out by many of the expected
attendees. However, heavy rain, sleet,
wind and lighting resulted in many wise last minute cancellations. Two fortunate (or unfortunate) souls managed
to get to the trailhead between storms and reached the planned campsite before
the big storm! Both campers, one in a
Hennessy and one in a Speer, endured the storm safe and dry, but the two-foot
diameter, 70-foot long tree that fell between the two hammocks during the night
was quite an experience! It was a close
call and thankfully no one was injured.
Had the entire group been there, someone would probably have been
hurt.
The good news is this trip
will run again on Easter weekend, April 19-20, 2003. The Chatooga River is well worth another try and maybe the
weather will cooperate this time. We
will camp at a different spot! The
details will be posted on Hammock Camping-L.
Everyone is invited--contact Ed Speer if interested.
Ed "Not To Worry"
Speer
4-----------------Camping Hammock
Manufacturers---------------------
From
the book: Hammock Camping:
The Complete Guide To Greater Comfort, Convenience and Freedom,
the
following is a list of manufacturers that make and sell camping hammocks (only
secure, comfortable and complete hammocks with bug net and rain canopy are
included). Some other manufacturers of
hammocks that can easily be modified for camping use can be found on the Hammock Camping-L.
Speer Hammocks, Inc.
34 Clear
Creek Road
Marion, NC
28752-6407
828-724-4444
Email: info@speerhammocks.com
Hennessy Hammock Co.
637
Southwind Road
Galiano
Island, BC
Canada, V0N
1P0
888-539-2930
http://www.hennessyhammock.com/
Email: info@hennessyhammock.com
Clark Outdoor Products
4637 South 300 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84107
800-468-4635
Email: info@junglehammock.com
Lawson
Hammock Co.
PO Box
12602
Raleigh, NC
27605
919-829-7076
http://www.lawsonhammockco.com/
http://www.tbcinc.com/hammocks/hamindex.html
Crazy Creek Products
PO Box 1050
1401 South Broadway
Red Lodge, MT 59068
800-331-0304
Email: chairs@crazycreek.com
Terrelogic, Inc.
477 Brunswick Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada, M5R 2Z6
888-693-7923
Email: mdj@terrelogic.com
Laid Back Designs, Ltd.
Suite 160, Unit 3
304 Stone Road
Guelph, Ontario
Canada N1G 4W4
800-465-7519
http://www.travelsource.com/travelstore/lbd/lbd.html
Email: sammyd@mgl.ca
New Tribe, Inc.
5517 Riverbanks Road
Grants Pass, OR 97527
866-223-3371
541-476-5804
Email: newtribe@cdsnet.net
Four Season Hammocks
1236 Oxborough Lane
Fort Collins, CO 80525
877-282-7145
Email: mrhammock@verinet.com
Siam Hammock
Tawatchai Jaranai (Eff)
80/2 Prachachuen Road 33
Ladyao Jatujak Bangkok 10900 Thailand
+66-1869-8988
Email: f_goodfeeling@yahoo.com
5-----------------------------Online
Resources---------------------------------
How To Make A Hammock
·
http://www.speerhammocks.com/Tips/Tips_on_hammock_camping.htm
·
http://www.flyfisher-kayaks.com/ultralite/ultrahammock.htm
·
http://www.flyfisher-kayaks.com/cgi-bin/hwiki.pl?Hammock_Tube
·
http://www.flyfisher-kayaks.com/cgi-bin/hwiki.pl?Building_A_Hammock
·
http://home.attbi.com/~egowtkimoto/
·
http://www.mindspring.com/~rgarling/Insulator.htm
·
http://www.uniqueprojects.com/projects/hammock/hammock.htm
· http://www.hammocksamerica.com/how_to_make_a_hammock/how_to_make_a_hammock.html
· http://www.shelter-systems.com/gripclips/hammock.html
History of Hammocks
·
http://www.hammocksamerica.com/portable_hammock/portable_hammock.html
·
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/hammock.htm
·
http://www.hammocks.net/hammock-history.html
·
http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking/sections/gear/shelter/whyhammock.htm
Camping Hammock Use
·
http://www.hammockcamping.com/Tips/Tips.htm
·
http://www.hammockcamping.com/Newsletters/News.htm
·
http://www.speerhammocks.com/Tips/Tips_on_hammock_camping.htm
·
http://www.hammocksamerica.com/Camping_Hammocks/Camping_Hammocks.html
· http://www.hammocksamerica.com/jungle_hammock/jungle_hammock.html
·
http://www.shire.net/mormon/hamock.html
·
http://www.hikinghq.net/hammock/hammock.html
·
http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking/sections/gear/shelter/whyhammock.htm
·
http://www.flyfisher-kayaks.com/ultralite/ultraindex.htm
·
http://www.flyfisher-kayaks.com/ultralite/ultradoublehammock.htm
·
http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/Tips/hammock.htm
How To Stay Warm in a
Hammock
·
http://www.speerhammocks.com/Tips/Tips_on_hammock_camping.htm
·
http://www.hammockcamping.com/Tips/Tips.htm
·
http://www.hammockcamping.com/Newsletters/Jan2003.htm
·
http://www.flyfisher-kayaks.com/ultralite/ultrahammock.htm
·
http://home.attbi.com/~egowtkimoto/
·
http://www.mindspring.com/~rgarling/Insulator.htm
·
http://www.thru-hiker.com/workshop.asp?subcat=5&cid=72
General Hammock Interest
·
http://www.goattracksmagazine.com Goat packers love hammocks too
·
http://www.myhammock.com Complete selection of hammocks and
accessories
Online Hammock Camping
Discussion Sites
· http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hammockcamping Hammock Camping Email List
·
http://hikinghq.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=eb636c93eeabedf3780773543424349&forumid=74 Hammock Camping Forum
·
http://www.flyfisher-kayaks.com/cgi-bin/hwiki.pl Hammock Camping Wiki (group written
encyclopedia)
6----------------- SPEER HAMMOCKS
CALENDAR-----------------------
Meet Ed Speer, buy a signed
copy of the Hammock Camping book, and see the complete line of camping hammocks
and Pea Pod sleeping bags from Speer Hammocks at the following events:
A. March/April 2003
Mountain Crossings at Walasi-Yi (outfitter), Neels Gap, GA. Various
weekends during the northbound AT hiker wave.
F. Oct 2003
ALDHA The Gathering, Hanover, NH, How To Stay Warm workshop (free), How
To Make Your Own Hammock workshop (free).
7--------------------UPCOMING FEATURE
ARTICLE-----------------------
Apr 2003---How To Get Laid in a Hammock! You don't want to miss this one
Don't miss a single
issue--sign up now at: Hammock Camping News
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This is one of occasional
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Thanks for your time and
happy hammocking
Ed "Not To Worry"
Speer
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