During the short but nice outing this weekend I did my first wilderness hammocking. On the train down to the town where Micheal (zie cumbrian) were supposed to pick me up I realised I had forgotten some key items, namely my wool shirt (things got a bit colder than anticipated) and my stretcher bag (which is basically a rectangular version of a sleeping bag, very similar to a underblanket, thing could hence get even colder).
Anyway, after I had ben assured that sleeping bag and sleeping mat would be fine for the around zero temps I was sitting by the fire. And suddently I got a struck by a good idea, this happens more and more seldom so I was impressed myself. Sitting by the fire, as I said, I thought that my old trick of using stones from the fire in the sleeping bag could provide some nice warmth if the temperatures plummeted. I have used this trick a lot, either with really hot stones under a raised bed or more moderately warm stones stuffed in woolen socks and tucked closed to the body under a blanket. After presenting my idea to micheal he also assured me that it was not only possible to get a nice warmth, it was also possible to get a few nice holes in my new hammock!
I wouldn't that remark get me down so a few tens of minutes before we were getting in bed I pulled out a few stones out of the fire, damn werw they hot! I settled for four stones, and had to come up with some ways of protecting my delicate skin from becoming loose from my flesh and my flesh full of blisters. My thick outer socks (knitted by my dear mother) proved to be very good stone insulators, so good that the sooty and ashy stones refused to come out in the morning. For the remaining two stones I used my gaiters. Not as good as the thicker socks, although I suspect they weren't as damaged by the stones as my woolen footwear.
As a first time hammocker I had feared that getting in to the sleeping bag, in the bivvy, in the hammock would be a challenge. As I am no stranger to challenges I decided that I would increase the stakes by not only introducing hot stones into the equation but also a slight alcohol influence and a compact darkness. Keeping two hot stones, now somewhat protected by my gaiters, in the foot end of sleeping bag, placed in inclination inside a hammock while desperately trying to crawl into the sleeping bag seemed to be quite manageable. After the initial crawling and worming around I could easily lift the sock stones of the ground and place them were I wanted them. Victory! Or so I thought.
After I had messed about and constantly moving the stones around inside my sleeping bag I found that one stone at my feet, one at my bum, and two around my torso would seem optimal. I couldn't be more precise than my torso due to the fact that those two stones were b****y hot and had to be moved constantly for the first 20 minutes. After the initial 30 minutes testing I realised that I was heat panicing in the bag and I had to open it up to get some air. After some more rearranging of clothing and stones I could close it and fell into a comfortable sleep. It was not until the early morning when three of the four stones had went cold that I awoke, and that was probably mainly due to the difference in temperature because a hour later I fell asleep again without any problems with the colder temperatures in my sleeping bag.
So if you're thinking about a way of raising the temperature in the hammock or lowering your comfort zone for hammocking I could recommend using hot stones inside your setup. Sort of at least.
Anyway, after I had ben assured that sleeping bag and sleeping mat would be fine for the around zero temps I was sitting by the fire. And suddently I got a struck by a good idea, this happens more and more seldom so I was impressed myself. Sitting by the fire, as I said, I thought that my old trick of using stones from the fire in the sleeping bag could provide some nice warmth if the temperatures plummeted. I have used this trick a lot, either with really hot stones under a raised bed or more moderately warm stones stuffed in woolen socks and tucked closed to the body under a blanket. After presenting my idea to micheal he also assured me that it was not only possible to get a nice warmth, it was also possible to get a few nice holes in my new hammock!
I wouldn't that remark get me down so a few tens of minutes before we were getting in bed I pulled out a few stones out of the fire, damn werw they hot! I settled for four stones, and had to come up with some ways of protecting my delicate skin from becoming loose from my flesh and my flesh full of blisters. My thick outer socks (knitted by my dear mother) proved to be very good stone insulators, so good that the sooty and ashy stones refused to come out in the morning. For the remaining two stones I used my gaiters. Not as good as the thicker socks, although I suspect they weren't as damaged by the stones as my woolen footwear.
As a first time hammocker I had feared that getting in to the sleeping bag, in the bivvy, in the hammock would be a challenge. As I am no stranger to challenges I decided that I would increase the stakes by not only introducing hot stones into the equation but also a slight alcohol influence and a compact darkness. Keeping two hot stones, now somewhat protected by my gaiters, in the foot end of sleeping bag, placed in inclination inside a hammock while desperately trying to crawl into the sleeping bag seemed to be quite manageable. After the initial crawling and worming around I could easily lift the sock stones of the ground and place them were I wanted them. Victory! Or so I thought.
After I had messed about and constantly moving the stones around inside my sleeping bag I found that one stone at my feet, one at my bum, and two around my torso would seem optimal. I couldn't be more precise than my torso due to the fact that those two stones were b****y hot and had to be moved constantly for the first 20 minutes. After the initial 30 minutes testing I realised that I was heat panicing in the bag and I had to open it up to get some air. After some more rearranging of clothing and stones I could close it and fell into a comfortable sleep. It was not until the early morning when three of the four stones had went cold that I awoke, and that was probably mainly due to the difference in temperature because a hour later I fell asleep again without any problems with the colder temperatures in my sleeping bag.
So if you're thinking about a way of raising the temperature in the hammock or lowering your comfort zone for hammocking I could recommend using hot stones inside your setup. Sort of at least.
