I have been giving a lot of thought lately about the differences in the long distance hiker and the bushcrafter. Also the role that hammocks play into both. First off let me say that this is written for the perspective of a long distance hiker. I have Thru'd the AT and have quite a few thousands of miles under my belt. That said, I have great admiration with the bushcrafters and the way they are honing this outdoor skills to be self sustaining. Both can use hammocks as a great shelter to provide comfort and rest while enjoying their passions. I look at the hiker as someone who is getting to their next resupply while the bushcrafter is the resupply.
From the outside, both hobbies look very similar. Both spend time in the wilderness and are more in tune with nature than the average Joe. But quickly once you dig deeper beyond the bearded faces, funky smells and gorgeous scenery you will find the there is a different mindset and also different gear needs. The hammock will be one of the similarities that can transcend both past times. Who doesn't want to be more comfortable when they sleep?
First lets look at the hiker. For me as a total gear head, one of the things I like about hiking is the gear. multi-use, ultralight, quick drying are some of my favorite adjectives. I want to know what the best is and I look at it as an advantage that I use the best gear on earth. I can hike more mile, see more things and have an increased amount of enjoyment in my hobby with the right gear. I use hammocks as the most convenient, easy to use shelter. I can set it up pretty much anywhere there are trees so I am not bound to the traditional campsite with flat, even ground. Also I can hike until after dark and set up hour after others had to stop because they need a camp site. When I thru'd the AT I especially appreciated this because I could go into camp or shelter area and socialize and cook dinner. There would be water and often nice amenities like picnic tables and privies. But then I would be able to pack up my cook kit and walk another hour to some nameless place along side the trail. I would be hiking away from the snorers, the early morning sounds of jetboils and clanging of gear. I also would be hiking away from all the food smells that attract the wild life and all the shelter mice. I would be a couple miles further down the trail and I killed some of that time wasted between dinner and hiker midnight. In the morning I didn't have some dirty wet tent to wrap up, that is the worst. All I did was throw everything in my pack, leaving the tarp up last, grabbing my food bag and hitting the trail. I could do this before the ground dwellers stretched their soar back from sleeping on a root or worse, in the shelter. All this and I was already starting 2 miles ahead of them. Again I look at gear as giving me an advantage to see more, get further, and achieve more. I always thought it was funny how shelters are full of tenters but not hammockers. They were proud of their $500 Cuben Fiber tents but if you are going to sleep on the ground, you might as well sleep on some boards. I know I am biased towards hammocks but in my mind they are a far superior shelter. Well as long as there are trees. If there are no trees, then it sorta evens out a bit. Lastly I get more chances to camp where I want to than a tenter. I can be at a great view or maybe hunkered down on the leeward side of the mountain keeping out of some harsh weather. I know there are some places that I can't go with the hammock. I know higher elevations become a no fly zone with vast balds. However, even in the Whites, getting down under the tree line was always a viable options.
So how about the bushcrafter? How can some webbing, rope and fabric help the self sustaining, axe wielding, wool wrapped frontiersman? Well just because you want to spend your time with primitive tools sustaining yourself with your skills and knowledge doesn't mean you don't want to be comfortable or get a good night of sleep. The entire point is to make yourself comfortable in my opinion. Hammocks can certainly help achieve that for the bushcrafter. First off they are easy to make and you can make them form resources scavenged from and old tarp or just a piece of fabric. There are plenty of tablecloth hammock to prove it is as simple as tying a knot on each end of a cloth. However if that was all you had, you would need more to build out a weather proof shelter. Since you are already setting up between tow trees, you can add rope higher than your hammocks and build a fairly stealthy lean-to. That will block wind, rain and snow if done right. Since a bushcrafter tends to be more stationary, this can be done quite elaborately and use the resources found in the forest. I know when I was boy growing up in Pennsyvania I honed some made fort making skills. Bushcrafter will often have tool heavy gear kits that will help build a nice and cozy shelter. The Bushcrafter will have to same trouble staying warm in a hammock as the hiker. Cold air robs your body of heat from below. However the fact they tend to carry wool will help to keep the body temperature up as it doesn't compress much. Also natural ingredients such as leaves and pine tree branches can help with insulating form below. I think adding some good quality hiking gear to the bushcrafters kit can help them be more comfortable Maybe that is selling out but I think it is preparing yourself so you can prctice your outdoor skills more. A light weight tarp, hammock, and sleeping pad can be the perfect addition and with shelter taken care of, they can put their energy into other things like foraging, trapping and hunting.
So I think the Hiker and the bushcrafter can certainly learn from one another when it comes to hammocks. The hiker can learn more about the lay of the land and being able to b more self sustaining in the forest. The Bushcrafter can learn about some great gear and quick shelters. I personally want to learn more about being more self-reliant in the forest. But you can bet your high carbon steel knife I will be in a hammock as I do it.
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Originally Posted by xMagnolia
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