Hommocks/tents on VT Long Trail

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#1

Could I get some feedback from experienced LT hikers? I’ll be stealth camping where possible, but there are long stretches of the LT on which camping is not permitted except at shelters. I’ve heard that a good number of the shelters have poor to nonexistant tenting areas.

I don’t like sleeping in shelters, but I don’t like tenting on roots, either. Are hammocks a reliably good alternative for the LT? Or is there always a quirky little spot for the tent if you look hard enough?

Thanks, all.

Creaky

#2

You will be able to find enough trees to adequately string up your hammock. The LT is very wooded (some call it the green tunnel). I have found that there are more tent spots available where the AT and LT are together (southern LT) than in the northern half. The terrain is much more rugged on the northern half than the southern half.

The only shelters/camps where you may not be able to pitch a hammock (depending upon the altitude, caretaker’s rules, lack of trees big enough, etc.) are Battell shelter, Montclair Glen Lodge, Butler Lodge and Taft Lodge. All have caretakers and charge an overnight fee to stay there. Also, Sterling Pond shelter and Watson Camp have caretakers and may not allow a hammock. You would have to ask them, most are willing to work out something like that for you.

With a hammock, you should be able to stealth camp almost anywhere on the LT. A tent could pose a problem in some of the northern sections (but not all) as there are fewer good spots to tent camp up there. But this is mostly at the shelter sites. Once again, the woods usually provides adequate places if you are willing to put in a little effort finding them. The only spots that might be difficult are the higher ridges where trees are close together and the ground rocky.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask for more details if needed.

Rob

#3

I thru hikes in 2002 and used nothing but a hammock from Ga to Maine. I could find places to set up when the tent people were wondering around trying to find that “spot”. Once in the woods I was very had to spot hanging in the trees.

Virginian

#4

I’m sure our very own Hammockhanger will chime in here. She did the northern section last June to Johnson. I believe she hammocked IN the shelters most nights. The woman I hiked with last Fall on the LT (also northern section) carried a hammock and hung it a few nights, but we also sheltered it quite a bit too.

Bluebearee

#5

Yes I did bring my hammock as I have trouble sleeping on the ground. There were plenty of places to hang the hammock. As said above at some of the shelters with Caretakers you might not be able to. But you say you are planning on stealthing anyway, so it doesn’t sound like you are looking to stay around the shelters. When I went thru it was early June and the only shelter I came to that had a Caretaker was Taft Lodge. There were very few other hkers out there and my partner and I spent most nights alone. It was very very, I repeat very cold. So a few nights I did hang my hammock inside the shelter. I would not do this if there were other hikers in the shelter. Sue/HH:girl

Hammock Hanger

#6

All helpful info folks, so thanks. I too am planning on bringing a hammock this june on the LT. H/H-can you elaborate on the COLD a bit more. I’ve assumed we’ll hit a couple chilly nights but didn’t expect it to be too cold. What should I expect and is it gonna make hammocking uncomfortable without an underquilt? Your journal says you have a 45 degree for the trip.

A-Train

#7

I used my Hennessey on my LT thru SOBO last year and it was great. On the northern section more often than not I had the shelter to myself and decided to stay, but if a group showed up I was able to quickly set up the hammock only a few hundred feet from most shelters and not even be seen. I used the hammock at Montclair Glen shelter and the caretaker didn’t have a problem with it. With the exception of the several mile ridge walk from Taft to Butler you will have unlimited options to hammock, especially in proximity to some nice water sources where there are no shelters. Yes, there are a few sections up north where overnighting is permitted only at shelter sites as stated in the GMC guidebook, but if you must for whatever reason stop and overnight in these areas, by using a hammock you will be out of sight and have no impact. I advise to practice setting up and staying in the rain with it though. I did experience one miserable night down near Big Branch due to torrential rain, wind, and not setting up just right.

O.J

#8

I brought only a 45 degree down bag and just the light windshield reflector pad. It was June and I just could not in my FLORIDIAN mind think of cold weather. Yes, cold but not COLD!!! It rained a lot and that seemed to make the cold go to your bones. It was in the high 30’s (35-37) most nights we were out there. On night we stayed in a refrigerator, oops I mean shelter near Sunlight Pond or something. It was so cold our breath looked like we were smoking heavy. There was a thermometer that said it was 32 when we got up in the morning and the sun was out. I figure it got down into the high 20’s that night. Then out of the blue we got a hot day where we worked up a sweat and got attacked by Black Flies. So the weather was just as crazy there as on the AT. - If I were to do it over I would have brought a warmer sleeping bag and either a open-cell pad or my underquilt. It definately would have made sleeping a little better. However, evn though I wasn’t prepared for the cold I still did okay in the hammock. Sue/HH:girl

Hammock Hanger

#9

I live here in VT. It can be quite cold throughout the month of June, especially if you are not used to cooler temperatures. June is also notorious for the black flies, which can be horrendous. Sometimes June is a hot muggy month too. I guess the best advice here is to be prepared for it and don’t assume warm sunny temps. Oh yes, June is usually a wet month up here, much more so than July or August. Of course, your results may vary, you never really know what it might turn out to be like. Since the LT goes over the ridge tops, the local weather forecast might be completely different than what you will experience in the mountains.

Rob

#10

I need to be horizontal in order to sleep well. Curled up like a shrimp is not comfortable. Also, they are colder- as you hang suspended in the air and do not have the earth to shield you. Try it out at home for a night.:cheers

woodstrider

#11

Hammocks aren’t for everybody, but if you’re curled up like a shrimp you were probably sleeping in it wrong. Or it was just too small. You’re supposed to be on the diagonal. I have no problem getting horizontal enough to sleep on my sides in my HH, and it’s the smallest model they make (Ultralight Backpacker A-Sym…I’m 5’10"). I can’t quite get horizontal enough to sleep on my stomach, which I like to do at home, but the time saved in looking for tent sites makes it worth the trade for me…especially since I live in the SC lowcountry, and there is a lot of swampy/moist area around here.

Actually, I slept in it with my 4yr old on Saturday night. He started the night sleeping on a poncho on the ground, and as I lay in my hammock reading I heard an elephant approaching. Turned out it was only a possum (but a BIG one!), and he walked right up to us, about 2’ away while I shined my flashlight on him, then decided we weren’t good eats and just walked away. My 8yr old was in his own hammock, so I raised his a bit and stuck my youngest in the hammock with me so he didn’t get his nose nibbled in the night. They both slept right through it.

I expected a pretty uncomfortable night, but it really wasn’t bad at all. I just had to help him adjust before I rolled over, but I ended up sleeping on my back and both sides throughout the night, with no problems.

I’ve been cold a few times, but a bit of planning can counteract that as well…and an hour or three of pre-hike work on keeping a hammock warm will probably pay off 12-fold in time saved looking for and leveling tent sites for the duration of a thru-hike.

Just my thoughts. Like I said, hammocks aren’t for everybody. But I’m sure glad I got mine.

Jeff

Jeff

#12

I carried one on the Long Trail although the shelters were so empty, and as it was my first long distance hike ever, I was often so tired I would just throw down in the shelter.

I went in August with a 45 degree down bag. I used my sleeping pad underneath me, it wasn’t cold in August. I HAVE slept in them at home (testing, testing) and had to bail out from chill after midnight, but not in August of '02.

The advice to try it out at home is wise, but you needn’t curl like a shrimp if you lie diagonally.

One night I set it up as a bivy, with the tarp off. The Perseid meteor shower (mid-August) was out and I wanted to sleep in the open, not under trees, to watch without the bugs. There are restrictions that require a hiker to camp at shelters above 2500 feet in some portions, if memory serves, so I just bounced my hammock ahead.

Only on one stealth site (??? near the end) were the trees not great for hanging; they were mostly dead. Nonetheless, I got the job done. It was tempting to string up across the Trail (and rising early), as those were the only live trees around, but the knowledge that moose use the trails for night travel discouraged me.

I could just picture the scene:

Moose: “Oooof! What the…!!!”

Me: “Ow! Hey! Put me down!”

Jan LiteShoe

#13

I loved my hen. hammock. I was able to camp on steep hills, over puddles, and even over a briar patch. make sure you bring a sleeping pad to go with it. Just a cheap light foam pad is great and put your clothes in your stuff sack and place under the knees this will help you get your zzz’s in a comfy matter. Happy Trails! Buttercup at04

buttercup

#14

My plan is to bring a hammock along starting in early June. I figure the shelters will be pretty empty so i can just string my hammock up in the shelter if its buggy of just drape the netting around me and zip up. I’ll have a 20 degree bag just to be on the safe side. Never know in Vermont.

Wondered what the feasibility of leaving the rain fly/tarp at home is? Is that stupid to save some weight??

I figured if it was nice out i could just string up the hammock without the fly and if its raining i can sleepin the shelters with or without the hammock. Only problem would be running into a full shelter on a rainy night which is pretty rare on the LT in june, but I guess possible. Is it worth taking a chance or did I answer my own question?

:slight_smile:

A-Train

#15

Having spent well over six months total time on the LT over the years I can tell you you will have shelters to yourself, but then there will be stretches where you will not, so bring the fly or tarp. Over the last ten years there has been a real spike in the number of groups on the trail and they love using the shelters. Last year a youth group of ten crammed into Whiteface shelter during a three day rain spell. The 20 degree bag is also a good idea as I have seen both hot and muggy as well as cold spells in all months of summer. A headnet is also good for May/June, but then again I have been out in those months without a problem and last year up at Goddard got chewed up in early August. In Vermont anything goes!

OJ

#16

I did the LT in 2001 and ran into groups several times that filled the shelters and all immediate tent sites. Not bringing a fly would put you in a tight spot in any of these situations. And you know murphy’s law. At least once or twice shelters were full on my hike was when it was raining.

Sil-nylon hammock flies weigh only 6-7oz…keep your self-reliance, that’s not weight that you’ll even notice in your pack.

-Howie

Hungry Howie