Greetings from the Pacific Northwest!

[rjs111]

Hey there!

I'm volunteering my first season as a park ranger and telling people about hiking and camping all day gave me the bug to go backpacking again. I haven't been for over 6 years because I could never sleep on even the thickest, most expensive pads. I always wanted to try hanging, so I bought my kit (the last crucial part came in today) and will spend my first night in it tonight! I have plans for a 3 day backpacking trip next week, so I'm hoping to work out most of the kinks by then. I've lounged in the hammock a good amount so far, and I'm getting a bit of a calf ridge.

Here's my new gear: dutchware half-zipped hammock, xenon hex tarp, daisy chain suspension with mantis hardware, and a 20* full length incubator.

This forum has been super helpful already, so thanks for that!

[ofuros]

Welcome to the tree's, Ranger rjs111.

[sidneyhornblower]

Some nice gear you've got there, rjs111. Good luck getting to know it. You'll probably have a ball.

[Grunt]

Very cool, RJS! Sounds like it should be a hoot! Enjoy and welcome to HF!

[rjs111]

Thanks for the welcome, everybody!

I spent the last two nights in my hammock and I can absolutely see what all the fuss is about. I slept nearly as well as I do in a bed (that calf ridge was a major issue on the first night), and I was surprisingly warm all night even though it got to 40* and I only had a 40* TQ and I'm a cold sleeper. Last night was by far the best sleep I've had in a backpacking shelter. I have learned that a tarp sleeve and some way to hold bulky and small items would make life that much better though.