Porch Mode.. front side, back side or both?

[cougarmeat]

I use collapsible poles or adjacent tree, if available, to hold one or both ends up. Because most trips are planned for good weather, I seldom need to switch to full on storm mode. I do pay attention to the angle of the tarp sides to minimize the potential of collecting a lake of water on the raised tarp. Most the time I can walk right up to the hammock - not enter/exit from the end doors.

One time I oriented the tarp broadside to the wind and the gusts were strong enough to push the tarp into the hammock. Since then, I try to rig it parallel with the wind. The trees on both ends block a lot of the wind and the doors present a smaller surface area. Any aerodynamical action seems to lift the sides away from the hammock rather than push them into the hammock.

Hard to imagine critters bold enough to get that close to your hammock to chew on the handles of your hiking sticks. Can’t imagine why you can’t put a clove hitch around the handles as the guy line continues to ground, but at one time a vendor sold little “caps” that sit on top of your pole handle (pointed end in ground as usual). The caps have a loop on each side - a “from” and a “to” - and you rig your guy line through them.

If I have to pick one end, I usually raise the foot end of a side so I can look from the head end out towards the foot end.

[TrailBlaser]

Weather permitting, I use porch mode on the side with the best view. When backpacking, I use my trekking poles; when canoe camping, I take a set of lightweight telescoping poles.

[SilvrSurfr]

I am just not a lounger - I can count on one hand the number of times I've laid in my hammock during the daytime. A hammock is for sleeping, and I sleep at night. So there's no view to be had when I hit the hammock.

Also, I don't use trekking poles, and probably never will. Many years ago, when I read Carlos Castaneda's books about Don Juan, a Mexican brujo, Don Juan said that you should never hike with anything in your hands. Made sense to me then - makes sense to me now.

[TrailSlug]

I am just not a lounger - I can count on one hand the number of times I've laid in my hammock during the daytime. A hammock is for sleeping, and I sleep at night. So there's no view to be had when I hit the hammock.

Also, I don't use trekking poles, and probably never will. Many years ago, when I read Carlos Castaneda's books about Don Juan, a Mexican brujo, Don Juan said that you should never hike with anything in your hands. Made sense to me then - makes sense to me now.

Age will dictate when you will use hiking poles. I personally never leave home without them

[cougarmeat]

I thought poles were for old folks. But I’m pretty sure most mountain climbing accidents happen on the way down. By that time, your legs are like rubber. It is so much safer to have an extended point of balance - as long as you now how to use them. What I mean is I never consider their job is to hold my whole body weight. I have friends stand using one foot with their eyes closed. Then see how much easier it is if they can just touch a solid surface (adjacent wall) with the tip of their figure. The finger doesn’t have to hold their whole weight - it is just a point of contact reference. So I use my poles a little like that - just a slight push.

But that is only if I’m expecting some vertical up/down along the adventure. If it’s a flat trail, they may be left at home. But they are also good to stabilize during a stream crossing and could be used as a first-aid split in case of a break. So I might have one light weight (CF) pole with me.

[SilvrSurfr]

Age will dictate when you will use hiking poles. I personally never leave home without them

Actually, vision dictates when I will use hiking poles (which is never). I am blind in one eye and have 30% vision in the other. I simply can't see the poles. Most one-eyed people have a very hard time seeing things that close to their body. I tried hiking poles for one hike and darned near killed myself. If you have no depth perception, hiking poles just aren't a viable option.

Give it a try - cover one eye and see how those hiking poles work out!

[TrailSlug]

Actually, vision dictates when I will use hiking poles (which is never). I am blind in one eye and have 30% vision in the other. I simply can't see the poles. Most one-eyed people have a very hard time seeing things that close to their body. I tried hiking poles for one hike and darned near killed myself. If you have no depth perception, hiking poles just aren't a viable option.

Give it a try - cover one eye and see how those hiking poles work out!

Dang, if I were blind in one and and couldn't see out the other I'd stop backpacking.

[SilvrSurfr]

Dang, if I were blind in one and and couldn't see out the other I'd stop backpacking.

Oops, I have 70% vision in my good eye, not 30 percent. I still drive, and rarely notice the loss of vision unless it's trying to look at both feet and two hiking poles with no depth perception. The constant focusing and refocusing is just too much for my brain to handle.

[TrailBlaser]

I am just not a lounger - I can count on one hand the number of times I've laid in my hammock during the daytime. A hammock is for sleeping, and I sleep at night. So there's no view to be had when I hit the hammock.

Also, I don't use trekking poles, and probably never will. Many years ago, when I read Carlos Castaneda's books about Don Juan, a Mexican brujo, Don Juan said that you should never hike with anything in your hands. Made sense to me then - makes sense to me now.

SilvrSurfr, I don't how old you are, your physical condition or where you hike. I never used trekking poles until I was in my 60s. They do help by taking some of the strain off my old knees and hips and on occasion have come in handy for balance when crossing wetlands in the areas I backpack (mostly the Adirondacks). Also, I find nothing more enjoyable than relaxing in my hammock with a view of a beautiful pond or lake in an Adirondack wilderness area.

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[cmoulder]

Here in the NE there are many places that appear to be not too hilly on topo maps but do in fact have innumerable little ups and downs for which I find trekking poles very helpful. A few years back I did the Cranberry Lake loop in the Adirondacks and there were some fairly long stretches that were like a big washboard, with constant 'ripples' that made hiking much more difficult than a quick glance at the map would suggest.