Re: Hammock Backpacking?

We are set to backpack from Tuolumne Meadows to Happy Isles (via Vogelsang, Merced Lake, into LYV) in July and considering the heat (and weight of gear and food for 8 days) I am looking into hammocks...

1. At the higher elevation points, is it going to be near impossible to find a place to set up a hammock?
2. Weight-wise - is this a moot point compared to a standard tent set up when you consider you need a suspension system, a bug net, a rain fly, etc? Our current sleep set up is aprx.10 lbs for the both of us (no we aren't UL).

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Rooberry
We are set to backpack from Tuolumne Meadows to Happy Isles (via Vogelsang, Merced Lake, into LYV) in July and considering the heat (and weight of gear and food for 8 days) I am looking into hammocks...

1. At the higher elevation points, is it going to be near impossible to find a place to set up a hammock?
2. Weight-wise - is this a moot point compared to a standard tent set up when you consider you need a suspension system, a bug net, a rain fly, etc? Our current sleep set up is aprx.10 lbs for the both of us (no we aren't UL).

Anywhere over 9000' can be problematic if not impossible .

If you are coming in at 10lbs for complete two person sleeping facilities you are doing just fine. I assume you have a two person tent, ground cloth, rain fly, tent poles, tent pegs if non-free standing tent, two Z-Rests, and two inflatable pads. Even if you are able to shave off 1-2 lbs with hammocks the comfort and convenience of a tent over hammocks is well worth the extra weight. A tent sets up in about two minutes and a tent with the rain-fly vestibule is very handy for cooking during a rainy spell which you are likely to encounter during July.

Finding good hanging space for two hammocks can be a challenge. Chick-on will be back on Tuesday and will have lots to say about hammocks.

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Old Dude

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mrcondron

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Rooberry
We are set to backpack from Tuolumne Meadows to Happy Isles (via Vogelsang, Merced Lake, into LYV) in July and considering the heat (and weight of gear and food for 8 days) I am looking into hammocks...

1. At the higher elevation points, is it going to be near impossible to find a place to set up a hammock?
2. Weight-wise - is this a moot point compared to a standard tent set up when you consider you need a suspension system, a bug net, a rain fly, etc? Our current sleep set up is aprx.10 lbs for the both of us (no we aren't UL).

Anywhere over 9000' can be problematic if not impossible .

If you are coming in at 10lbs for complete two person sleeping facilities you are doing just fine. I assume you have a two person tent, ground cloth, rain fly, tent poles, tent pegs if non-free standing tent, two Z-Rests, and two inflatable pads. Even if you are able to shave off 1-2 lbs with hammocks the comfort and convenience of a tent over hammocks is well worth the extra weight. A tent sets up in about two minutes and a tent with the rain-fly vestibule is very handy for cooking during a rainy spell which you are likely to encounter during July.

Finding good hanging space for two hammocks can be a challenge. Chick-on will be back on Tuesday and will have lots to say about hammocks.

Rooberry... Listen to Z Old Guy...
Well... cept the 9000... that's way off... it more like 10K... which is a whole lotta Yosemite.
I figured someone would say sumtin like this... so ... I took a picture of our setup at
Bernice Lake last Sunday:

Dat me in my sleepy bag ... no tenty required ... and the wifies hammock at 10,200 ft.

You realize that with a hammock you also need an underblanket? So effectively you have 2 sleeping bags you are carrying.
And a decent hammock is also gonna cost you a pretty penny... and you really need to find out if all involved
even enjoy sleeping the night in a hammock... so... in conclusion.. I highly recommend using the cash you may have
used on a hammock setup and upgrade some of your other gear... and if you don't "have" to sleep in a hammock...
I highly recommend sticking with a tent setup and share carrying the gear... you will have a LOT more options to
where you can pitch your tent and how close you are to your buddies with tent setups. And then I won't have to carry
the entire tent because all of your hammock stuff weighs nearly as much as a tent and it takes up your pack
and we need the tent because it's mosquito season. oops... I digressed...


Have fun... wow... that's a LOT of days for that trek... Enjoy
o... and find a nice shady spot for your tent... and stay above 9K for a number of days ... and the heat won't
be as much of an issue...
and .. from Echo to Little Yose Valley is closed to camping...

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There are a couple of hammock hangers on this forum. I'm sure they'll chime in.
If you decide to go the hammock route, I think you'll be fine on the route you described. Your highest elevation will be Vogelsang, and there are trees enough there to hang a hammock. Maybe not so true in other sierra areas at the same elevation.
IMO, it is a push, weight wise, on whether or not to use a hammock. You can get some good light weight tents and sleeping bags (or quilts, which is what I use). I've never used a hammock but i like the campsite flexibility
that a tent offers. Also, you have more room to move around inside a tent if you're trapped by foul weather. So for me, it's a tent.
Whichever way you go, I trust you will try out your gear on a local hike(s) to work the bugs out. This will make your Yosemite trip more enjoyable.

My husband laughed at me - apparently I grossly underestimated our sleep system weight... more like 15+ lbs... but still. Yes I would be looking to try out the hammocks before I head out to Yosemite - making sure I know how to set up and use my gear and I've heard mixed reviews on how comfortable they are (or not) to sleep in. But the bugs and rain are the biggest concern for me so I know I will need the bug net and rain fly and probably a gear bag for my stuff and then times that by 3 people. I'm not convinced it's worth it especially if everyone seems to think the tent is the better way to go.

Thanks for your input.

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Rooberry
My husband laughed at me - apparently I grossly underestimated our sleep system weight... more like 15+ lbs... but still. Yes I would be looking to try out the hammocks before I head out to Yosemite - making sure I know how to set up and use my gear and I've heard mixed reviews on how comfortable they are (or not) to sleep in. But the bugs and rain are the biggest concern for me so I know I will need the bug net and rain fly and probably a gear bag for my stuff and then times that by 3 people. I'm not convinced it's worth it especially if everyone seems to think the tent is the better way to go.

Thanks for your input.

You need to be more specific about the three people. Mom, Dad, and a tyke or three adults that are just friends. Finding hanging for three hammocks could be a problem as can tent space for three without having a two person tent and a one person tent or a three person tent. In any event budgeting about 5lbs per person for complete sleeping equipment is a safe bet.

Look into renting a three person tent and they come in at around 7lbs. The load can be shared by one person carrying the tent, another the fly, and the last the poles.

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Old Dude

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The Other Tom
Also, you have more room to move around inside a tent if you're trapped by foul weather. So for me, it's a tent.

Actually, it's the complete opposite. I have gone through 14+ hours of rain surrounded by buddies in tents. I can sit up, make tea, read, hang damp socks on the hammock lines to dry, keep everything up out of the mud, and be warm and dry all night, while all the tent dwellers have to lay in their sleeping bags, and if hungry they have to get up and get the food out of the can/bear bag, drag the wet back inside with them.... I can put on rain gear standing up under my tarp and never have to get in the actual hammock while wearing wet gear. Bugs are no problem - I have a full bug net over me, zips from end to end of the hammock, and ants or other crawlies don't come down my permethrin-treated tree straps.

So, no thank you. I have tents for alpine trips. But no tent is equal to a hammock with a proper sized tarp for comfort.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2015 10:14AM by AlmostThere.

Hammocks are a personal preference.

A nice two person tent in mosquito season ... where my wife and I
can take a nap, have breakfast, lunch, and dinner.. in and have
all our gear in there .. trumps any hamhock setup.

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chick-on
Hammocks are a personal preference.

A nice two person tent in mosquito season ... where my wife and I
can take a nap, have breakfast, lunch, and dinner.. in and have
all our gear in there .. trumps any hamhock setup.

So you say.

I like my palace. I do all that and sleep soundly too.

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AlmostThere

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chick-on
Hammocks are a personal preference.

A nice two person tent in mosquito season ... where my wife and I
can take a nap, have breakfast, lunch, and dinner.. in and have
all our gear in there .. trumps any hamhock setup.

So you say.

I like my palace. I do all that and sleep soundly too.

My wife would like to see you post a picture of
your palace and you cooking dinner in it out
of the bugs fly all zipped up and all.
She is very skeptical b/c she says no way
in heck can she cook in hers and she would
like to see how you do it.

My point w/r to personal pref is the orig
posters need to ALL say and commit to
sleeping thru the night in a hammock
otherwise... It's a moot pt.

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Um... I guess you don't want to post a picture?

I was serious. The wife really wanted to see your setup and how you
cook inside your hammock with the bug netting on.

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Eight days is probably to long for that trip. You could save lot of food weight by doing it in less. A friend and I di it in a leisurely
four nights a few years ago- One night near Vogelsang, then over Vogelsang Pass to camp near Merced Lake, and two nights in the little Yosemite Valley.
We are slow middle aged women who live at sea level. If you cut off three days you could save about five pounds of food weight each, and still have plenty of time.
Then use the time to hike somewhere else, explore a different part of the park.


Barry above Vogelsang Lake.

It's a classic, enjoy it.

Complete trip report and pictures are here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lschaaf55/sets/72157630717971716/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2015 08:32PM by lschaaf.

Considering last years Meadows fire, you are not going to want to spend any time between Merced Lake and Little Yosemite Valley- see Chick-on's post & photo's here

http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?17,77826,77826#msg-77826.

The trial between Merced Lake and LYV is day use only, no camping.