I know that there was a post here recently discussing critters around and under the hammock and this has probably been discussed a time or two in the past. I was curious though if the "anxiety" of critters getting at you under the hammock ever goes away? I have been a devoted hammock hanger for two or three years now and never see myself going back to the ground if it can be helped. My son and I went on an over night this weekend on the AT and will be doing a three day hike this coming weekend. While hanging this past weekend, I lay there listening to some owls start up just after dark and then heard the purr of some nearby coons. I have to admit I got the chills thinking about those coons possibly coming into our spot and sharing the warmth and dryness of our hammocks. To make matters worse, sometime during the night I was woke by something smacking into my leg. It freaked me out a little but I never saw anything so perhaps I dreamed it.
Although for whatever reason, hanging in the hammock leaves me feeling less than secure at night, I am a life long outdoorsman. I spent most of my life hunting, fishing, hiking and camping. I was a boy scout in my youth. I am as much at home in the woods as I am in my living room. I often walk out into the woods behind my house at night just to listen to the night critters and feel no fear. For some reason though I just can't get rid of the "fear" of critters getting at me while in the hammock.
Again, I am a devoted hammock hanger and this "fear" will not deter me from continuing to hang. Am I the only one that gets the "willies" at night while hanging and does it ever go away? It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me because I have faced off many critters in the woods both big and small, sometimes armed and sometimes not and never was I rattled for more than the moment at hand. Most times I was confident in my own abilities and the actions of the critters and the encounters never bothered me. For whatever reason though, when I crawl into that hammock all that experience and knowledge goes out from under the tarp and I am often left feeling like a scared little school girl (no offense to the little school girls).
What say you?
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