Boundary Waters Canoe tripper

**alanfriedman** · 03-07-2015, 10:01

Hello,
My name is Alan; I live in Milwaukee, WI. I'm and avid canoe and kayak paddler. After my last trip to the Boundary Waters wilderness in Northern Minnesota, I bought a Hennessey Expedition Asym Zip. Except for stringing it up on my sun porch, I haven't used it. The Boundary Waters regs allow up to 9 people in a party but it can be hard to find a camp sight that can accommodate enough tents; that's why I bought a hammock. I also snore without my CPAP so a hammock is a way for me to avoid inflicting that on my fellow camper.
There are 3 sources of adversity in the boundary waters: 1. black flies in the spring and mosquitoes in the summer; 2. Rain; and 3. wind. My concerns are that a hammock will be too confining during extended periods of rain or insect attacks. I suspect that the rain fly that comes with the Expedition is not going to be entirely adequate. If I get a larger rain fly, say a Hennessey Hex, and insulation to keep my back side warm, am I going to be saving weight and space over a regular tent. What are hammocks like in wind storms?
Not sure if I'm ready to join the cult and drink the Kool-aid but am looking forward to fruitful discussions.
Alan

**Dochartaigh** · 03-07-2015, 10:53

Welcome to the forum!

Take a look with a tarp with doors – that will give you 360º coverage from wind and rain, equivalent to what a good tent provides coverage-wise. You can also prop-up one side of the tarp with hiking poles or whatnot (or tie it to other trees) – people call this "porch mode" – so you're not feeling claustrophobic.

Some tarp models to look at is the Warbonnet Superfly which many people start with, but it is a little on the heavy side. If you want to shave some weight (which you of course have to pay a big premium with just like anything else) you can get a tarp with doors made out of lightweight Cuben Fiber material. Hammock Gear makes really nice cuben tarps with doors which comes in at around 9-10 ounces with all guylines (depending on the hardware you use).

As far as weight of a hammock setup vs. a tent, they can be close, but usually the hammock setup usually comes in a little heavier. People can get their hammock setups equal in weight to something like a $550 ZPacks tent, but they usually have to compromise on a tarp with minimal coverage, and have to be lighter in weight themselves to use the lighter weight (with less capacity) silNylon materials for the hammock itself.

**canoebie** · 03-07-2015, 10:53

I don't have time right now to into great detail, but I paddle about 500 miles a season, have done so since the early 90's, mostly in northern Michigan, but have also done so in the BWCA. Wife and I both have used hammocks now for 8 years. We feel way LESS confined in a hammock on rainy days than a tent. We do use larger tarps for protection in the colder months and wind has everything to do with site selection, no different than a tent. I view tents as nylon caves, not much protection really, just the illusion of such. I much prefer the openness and my ability to see what is around me. Sure is nice to stand up and put up the hammock under the rain fly in rain rather than trying to assemble a tent in a downpour and try to keep things dry and crawl around on the ground. I will never go back to ground as a paddler. I have gone to ground twice since getting hammocks, both times camping on islands with no trees. I was able to assemble my rig similar to a tent and did just fine.

So as an avid paddler, I highly recommend a hammock. Your fellow ground dwellers will thank you for leaving the few flat spots for them while you get that ideal hang at waterfront.

**kwpapke** · 03-10-2015, 13:06

As someone who has hammock camped through both the Kekakabic and Border Route trails I heartily endorse their use there. You left out one other bane of the BWCAW, probably because you are a canoer: ticks. On the Border Route I would remove a dozen or two from every orifice and pore of my body every night.

I was driven to hammock camping after an unhappy night on the Superior Hiking Trail. It rained all day and all night, and at night the rain water flowed beneath the floor of my tent causing huge condensation problems. That night I vowed I would find a way to not sleep on the ground.

In the BWCAW I used an 8x10 Siltarp 2 from Integral Designs or the default small tarp from my Hennessey Explorer UL. I used the SuperShelter as my under-insulation, which helps greatly when using a small tarp in the wind.

Since you are canoe camping and only have to carry gear on portages, I'd recommend you go as big as possible. I still use my 8x10 Siltarp if I am expecting bad weather - it is incredibly versatile in how it can be pitched either with a hammock or on the ground.

Good luck and enjoy!

p.s.: hammocks and windstorms will be as happy as the pitch of your tarp. I endured a wicked night/morning in my Hennessey on the Lake Walk section of the SHT north of Grand Marais. I was just using the stock tarp. I normally cook with a Jetboil, and I was able to make breakfast sitting in my hammock with my legs down through the HH velcro slit with my sleeping bag draped over my back.
Bottom line: learn how to stake your tarp down securely. Its no fun getting up in the middle of the night to restake a corner of your tarp that is flapping in the winds of a rainstorm - trust me, I've done it.

**obxh2o** · 03-10-2015, 13:30

I find the hammock and tarp to be liberating, not confining. Here's a pic from the BWCA using a Noah's 12.

**MagicPaddler** · 03-10-2015, 14:49

I do a couple of canoe trips each year and I have been using a hammock for about 6 years. Here is a couple of trip reports from last years trips.
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...r-A-Canoe-trip
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...day-canoe-trip

There is always concern about weight because of the portages but we are not back packing. I stay dryer in my hammock than I did when in a tent and when I need to bushwhack a campsite the hammock really shines. I use snake skins to pack my superfly which I use a continuous ridge line made out of nylon 1/8 rope. I switched to Zingit for the ridge line but it hurt my hands when I pulled it tight so I switched back to nylon rope. My superfly with all the tie out lines attached, snakeskins, ridgeline, and some aluminum bling weighs 25.4 Oz. My Hammock is a BB and I pack it with the ¾ length KAK UQ attached and my sleeping bag in side in slugs (big Snake skins). The slug goes in a compression bag and that bag weighs 72.9 Oz.

**weaver2469** · 03-10-2015, 17:17

In 2012 I set up in a little pine grove right near the water on Basswood Lake and slept through the windiest, rainiest night I have ever spend outdoors. The lake actually had waves crashing on the granite 15 feet from the hammock. That spot wasn't too good for a tent, but I loved every minute of it and slept like a baby. My buddies in tents had to stay up on the main tent pad and didn't have the same night I did. Locked in a tent, they couldn't watch the rain blow in. I will never go to the BWCA in a tent if I can help it.

**Mrknot** · 03-10-2015, 20:47

Very, very envious of you folks that live near enough, (or are able to get that kind of time off of work), to explore the BWCA...
Have done a bit of river touring in my canoe here in Oregon, the Willamette and parts of the John Day...but an extended tour in the back country wilderness would be amazing!!!

Exploring the BWCA is a bucket-list item for me, for sure!

Welcome to the forums alanfriedman!!!