Trip No. 2 with a Hammock

It was fairly easy to adjust the underquilt, but the previous owner hadn’t really set the elastics up properly, so it required a bit of a fight with wild knots and a pair of scissors. I also did a quick test lie in the hammock to check that everything felt right. The trick of raising the foot end and lying diagonally made a huge difference.

I packed everything into a DD Hammock XL sleeve. It works perfectly – it fits around the hammock, underquilt, and Carinthia Defence 4, so it’s really easy to pack down and set up.

Ridgeline and Setup

I’ve been tinkering with a way to set up the ridgeline quickly and easily. In my head, I’ve been playing with different wooden locks to secure a ridgeline without using knots. But then I came across exactly what I had in mind – just small and in aluminum. From there I also came across another design that I think might work even better – at least it locks the line really well.

I set up the tarp in semi-darkness, as I got out late. The system worked great and will work even better with a polyester tarp – because the oilskin tarp is quite heavy, and bankline actually gives quite a bit.

I deliberately set the tarp low because it was really windy. I wanted as much “wall” as possible under the hammock so I wouldn’t get cold again.

The Night

I managed to fall asleep quickly. I woke up once during the night and then slept well for a long time. It was a really good experience to have success with the hammock and that setup. Underquilt all the way!

If I had gotten cold, I could have put on both a wool sweater and used the CF anorak on my upper body.

Gear

I packed light and minimal – my small satchel and my gear belt. No axe, since I only planned to use a hobo stove. The hammock setup was packed inside the tarp. Light and compact gear.

Cooking and Hobo Stove

What speaks in favor of a hobo stove is the compact setup. Everything fits together – bottle, cup, stove, and lid. It’s light.

I dug a small hole and made a small dirt wall to control the fire. Unfortunately, I think the hobo stove works quite poorly. It’s very hard to keep it going when used as intended. I’ve also tested it earlier with a gas burner – and the top simply absorbs too much heat.

It works best when turned upside down and used as a fire bowl. But that takes away part of the idea, because then the cup and bottle have nothing to stand on. In this case, it wasn’t a problem since I had the small pot with me. But then I might as well have brought my Savotta folding stove.

I used sticks as a grate. It creates better airflow – you just have to be aware that the pot doesn’t suddenly fall.

But I really like the challenge. It’s always good to practice small fires – fires that are just big enough to do the job. It’s safer, and you can have them inside a shelter.

Dinner was a noodle dish. Breakfast was oatmeal with cocoa and pumpkin spice (it tastes really bad in cocoa, but good in oatmeal) and coffee.

I only brought the Pathfinder bottle. It holds 0.95 liters of water. It worked. There was enough for both meals and a cup of coffee. There were also a few mouthfuls of water during the night. But next time, I’ll bring more.

Coals Overnight

After dinner, I cleaned the pot with a wet wipe. I placed it over all the embers in the hobo stove and covered it with soil. It’s fire-safe, but I also thought it might give me good coals to start with the next day.

It worked perfectly! The wipe (it’s some kind of bamboo viscose) didn’t burn. The soil smothered the embers, leaving nice coals behind. It was easy to remove the soil by simply lifting the wipe.

The wipe and coals were then easily used for lighting the fire for breakfast. Really great!

Lessons for Next Time

It’s really great to go on quick trips. Set a small goal, try it out, minimal planning. The goal this time was to test the hobo stove and minimal packing – and to sleep well in the hammock. Both worked, even in fairly strong wind.
Tarp setup: Next time I’ll set the tarp in a diamond/diagonal configuration. A 3-meter tarp is too short for a hammock setup. But diagonally, the ridgeline will be about 4.25 m. It won’t give the same wind protection, but it needs testing.
The oilskin tarp is great – I love it. But it’s not optimal for a hammock because it’s heavy. It works really well when you can prop it up with a couple of sticks. But that’s a bit of a hassle with a hammock. Unless you run a long ridgeline from a tree – but that’s more complicated compared to cord. So maybe I’ll want a 3x3 m polyester tarp (I just sold my 4x4) for the hammock setup. Needs more testing.
I have the Pathfinder (now made by Helikon-Tex) bottle, stove, and cup. It’s a good set. But since I got it, a copy of the American canteen cooking set has come out. Same idea. But:

The canteen holds 1.15 L vs. 0.95 L – so 200 ml more (just over 20%). That’s significant for a trip like this.

The stove for the canteen is 13 cm x 9 cm x 9 cm. Mine is a circle at 9 cm x 7 cm. That gives significantly more fire space for small fires.

So the new set goes on the wishlist, and the old one can be sold or traded. It’s a fairly significant upgrade/improvement in function.

Final Thoughts

I love these small trips. It was a completely magical experience to lie in the shelter in the dark with an oil lamp and a small fire, eating a late dinner and listening to two owls.

It really doesn’t have to be complicated to go on a trip – you don’t need a full weekend or to go far away.

Youtube

I have a youtube channel. Short videos, mostly for the vibes. No long stuff, no words. Check it out.

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