Have not had this happen to me since I started sleeping in hammocks, but it IS the reason I switched to hammocks. Pulled in late one evening to a camp ground near Crater Lake and every site was 6 inches of water. No way I was going to set up the tent. I shoved everything onto the ground and slept in the bed of my truck.
I put my footgear in a dry bag and hang it on my suspension; stays dry and doesn't float away.
Ahhh I know the feeling.
Worst I every had was a heavy rain storm started at 11:00pm. A buddy and I went out for a quick overnight and got in the hammocks at 11:00p when this heavy storm came in and within 15 min we had a 3 foot wide river going under our hammocks. We were lucky as we both had the flex chair and or stuff was piled on top. Stayed dry, warm and best night for sleep. Note we were on a hill but no sign of the area turning into a river.
Totally sucks when Mother Nature plays dirty tricks on you like that! Nothing worse than having to put up & put on wet gear the next morning, unless of course it's cold and wet!
Did a hike a few years back where my son & his buddy were in the hammocks & I was trying out a new ground tarp. Around sundown, two couples hiked by and set up camp down the way and very close to the river. Around midnight, some wicked storms came through, with wave after wave of big time downpours that seemed to go on for hours. I was huddled under the tarp with the dog & somehow picked the one spot that was dry for the night with water running by on either side of us. The boys of course, were high & dry.
At one point during the storms, I kept thinking I could hear people screaming but it was hard to tell with all the rain & thunder. At daybreak, I got up to survey things and the river had risen to within several feet of the tarp. Scary! I had forgotten about the 2 couples who had camped by the river, when suddenly they came walking up the trail. One of them was wearing a single shoe, the rest were barefooted & looked like they'd been through hell & back. All they had were the clothes on their backs, literally... no gear, packs, tents, nothing. They had camped so close to the river that by the time they realized they were in trouble, it was too late. They were very lucky & that episode really put flash flooding in perspective. The river was so high, there was no way we could get across and continue the hike & had to hike out the opposite way then hitchhike 20 miles or so back to the car.
Lessons learned indeed!
Last edited by ObdewlaX; 01-14-2018 at 11:42.
I've always referred to it as "getting spanked by Father God.".Originally Posted by ObdewlaX
It seems that slowly I pick up on the little clues how to make life more enjoyable and less painfully to myself. Like the time we hopped freight trains and hitched out to the Oregon coast just in time for a headline storm making storm. It was spring break and the campground was loaded. The beautiful evening belied what was to come. At dusk it started to blow and rain. We awoke in literal puddles of water under the half remaining tarps we had deployed. Shivering we huddled together in our soaked down sleeping bags. When daylight finally came we warmed up in the heated outhouse, rung out our sleeping bags, and headed back for our beloved snow country.
Seems every once in a while I'm due for a refresher course.
I have gotten pretty good at remembering to scout my area for "widow makers," but sometimes forget to check the terrain for potential water issues. This is a good reminder.
There was one circumstance when I set up camp before starting on a longer hike the next day. It had been constantly raining in the area for about three days prior and continued to rain through the night and most of the following day. The spot I "chose" (really it was the only available spot, so I had no choice) had a large low spot right under where my hammock would be, but there was no accumulated water and since it had been raining for so long I decided to risk it and hung there. I was lucky and woke up as dry as when I went to sleep, but I hope in the future I will remember to check my hang spot both up and down.
Deadrise, Derailleurs, & Dirt
Even if not hanging shoes and pack on hammock suspension---I tie a cord through boots and pack to make it less likely a critter will carry one boot away or an empty pack
It can happen to anyone and your post will save someone from soaked or missing boots
Other end of cord tied to suspension--I might wake up if a critter is pulling boot.
Ask yourself this
High my gonna hike outa here on one boot?
High my is a word
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited by Phantom Grappler; 01-14-2018 at 15:23.
These stories remind me why I purchased a gear hammock.Thanks.
I think I will multi-purpose my pack cover as a gear hammock.
"...in Florida, she felt air conditioning for the first time, and it was cold and unnatural upon her skin."
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