S.o.t.D. - My Mind Was a Fog... My Heart Became a Bomb – Hammock

My Mind Was a Fog... My Heart Became a Bomb – Hammock

Don’t know too much about these guys. Two American guitartists, Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson, who used many other instruments in creating stuff like this gorgeously melancholy ambience.

I read a quote of Marc Byrd’s recently that I can totally relate to. “There are times when the need to create a thing begins to interrupt your life. And if you don’t give in to it, everything else starts to suffer.”

S.o.t.D. - You Lost The Starlight In Your Eyes – Hammock

You Lost The Starlight In Your Eyes – Hammock

I like the name of this group, but the chilled out shoegazer track I like too.

Hammock - North Mountain

The view out of my hammock on the North Mountain in Nova Scotia. Ahhhh....a night in the forest.

Hard to see, but it’s there.

I was hoping for a more scenic spot, looking out across the Bay of Fundy or the Annapolis Basin, but after a long day of walking, and another long day of walking ahead, I just needed to get my head down and go to sleep.

Hammock Hang

Went for a hike and went into the forest to hang out for the night. Nothing particularly scenic to look at, but a nice, quiet spot. Some might think badly of me going into a forest and pitching a hammock if it’s not really an “official” camping spot. I don’t really know who owns the land. Don’t really know what they might think of me doing it. I get if they object to a bunch of drunken teenagers having a loud bash on their land, smashing bottles, setting fires, etc. My hammock leaves no marks, I’m not damaging any plants, I’m not hacking down trees, I’m not starting fires, I’m not making any noise, I take out all my garbage, I’ve never stayed in the same place twice, the muted colours of all my stuff means I doubt anyone could see me unless they walked right into my site, and five minutes after leaving, anyone other than a really experienced tracker would be hard pressed to know I’d been there. Maybe that makes me a scofflaw, maybe I’m justifying trespassing, but doing this doesn’t gnaw at my conscience. *shrugs* 

Other than the first photo, most of these were taken about 15 to 20 paces away. Not easy to spot at all.

The view around my hammock.

The view above my hammock.

Making dinner. Quiet, no smell, no damage caused to the ground.

Exped SI Cushion 3.1

Perhaps not the most glamorous item in my collection of kit, but a pretty valuable one nonetheless.

Since I’m an avowed hammocker, I don’t bother with a ground pad anymore. If my hammock was a double bottom model with a slot that fit it perfectly, I would. But trying to get on a pad inside a hammock and trying to stay on there is an exercise in applying suction to spherical objects. But that pad was handy those times when I need to sit on the ground. Not only for some padding for my delicate posterior, but more importantly to prevent body heat from being drawn out through the ground, or conduction as its called. And not getting a soaking wet ass from sitting on damp ground goes hand in hand with that.

To prevent that from happening I got this seat pad from Exped, the SI Cushion 3.1. Available in a few different colours, I of course opted for the stealthier green colour. (I think the model shown here has been changed somewhat and the colour options are somewhat more limited now also.)

In its packaged state it measures in at 18 cm (7") long by 10 cm (4") wide. Its circumference is 28 cm (11"). 

Next to an MSR Titan Kettle for size comparison. 

All I have to weigh stuff is a pre-war Dutch postal scale (which isn’t really hyper accurate) and it measures it as 170 grams (6 oz.) with the stuff sack.

The cushion is self inflating, but given that all it takes is one puff to inflate it, that’s what I usually do. Although I never over inflate it. I figure that’s where problems with pads like this start. Over inflated, on hard ground, and then plunking your full weight on it, just can’t be good.

It’s constructed with high frequency welds, and has proven to be airtight.

42 cm (16½") long by 32.5 cm (12¾") wide by 2.5 cm to 3 cm (1" to 1¼") thick.

The laminated, polyester fabric is UV and abrasion resistant, and also slip proof.

There are loops on all four corners. Useful for lashing it to a canoe seat for a little added comfort.

If I bother taking the stuff sack, I’ll tie it to one of the corner loops, both to keep the two together and also to prevent the bag from blowing away.

The loops are also useful for staking it to the ground, or to tie it to a pack or a rock in order to prevent it blowing away.

Some might want to forgo the stuff sack altogether, and just stuff it flat in the front or back of a pack, to save a little weight. But the stuff sack, while not water tight, will help keep some of the damp and dirt that inevitably gets on the bottom of it, off all the other stuff in a pack.

A field repair kit is also included, with some squares of the green bee hive pattern material.

I generally use this in combination with the Kifaru Field Chair. But it is about to be replaced with a multi-purpose item of my own making soon. Sorry Kifaru.

All in all, great little bit of kit. I suppose I could live without it, but being warm and comfy rates as very important in my books.

Hammock – Annapolis Stealth

After my wonderful trip to Kejimkujik, there was a hitch with my pickup, so I needed to find a spot to spend the night. I had spent every night next to a lake and really didn’t want to spend my last night in the middle of a forest. It took some bushwhacking but I found a spot next to a lake. I was in a spot I was perhaps not supposed to be so I still wanted to be hidden.

The night was warm with no chance of rain, so I didn’t even bother putting the tarp up.

Hammock – Springfield

Went to visit friends in the lovely little town of Springfield this summer. Now that they have two kids space in their house is limited. But, they have lots of room in the backyard, and trees spaced a good distance apart.

Hammock – Killarney

The hammock and tarp encased in the SnakeSkins. I end up pulling both quite a bit tighter. There tends to be a bit of tying and retying before it’s set up correctly.

Closeup of the SnakeSkins. They part in the centre and slide back to the ends to reveal the tarp and hammock.

I always spread a MEC TARN footprint beneath the hammock. Provides me with a dry place to put my stuff and sit down.

My hammock on the right and Jay’s on the left. He has the smaller diamond shaped tarp that comes stock with the HH, whereas I opted for the larger tarp. Heavier of course, but actually makes for a very liveable space underneath. I’ve had four people beneath it for dinner, aperitifs and card games. It’s also a handy place to hang your wetsuit after a swim.

I tend to do a lot of stealth camping, where everything tends to be very contained. It was nice to be able to have everything strewn about as I set up. It all gets repacked, put in a contractor grade garbage bag and stowed under the hammock.

The Inner Space Craft.

Hidden Hammock.

Jay’s Hennessy Hammock.