How far from trail to hang?

[rosst]

How far off the trail do y'all go to make a hammock camp? I suppose there are rules in some places, but is there a general best practice?

I'm a newb and I have some concern about getting off the trail and getting lost.

[Wise Old Owl]

There isn't any rules per say. Just an odd common sense of attempting to do the right thing... a few hundred feet from the water source and please do not pee in it. Use good thick straps to prevent damage to the trees... and a FYI if there are drunks about a few hundred feet from the shelter as they tend to keep you up most of the night. Bring on the Wax Chiclets to reduce the noise. You will never please everyone and at some point you will develop a thick skin of IDGAD eventually. Just be open to new ideas.....


Woo.

[imscotty]

Hello RossT,

It vary's according to preference, terrain and other factors. Myself, I almost always want to be out of sight. In some areas that might be as little as 50 feet off trail, sometimes much more. You are correct to be concerned about misplacing the trail, so if you are not comfortable with that, I would suggest sticking closer.

Some people like to hang in close proximity to a shelter, for the camaraderie, the water source, fire rings, or whatever. Myself, I like the fact that hammocking lets me stop most anywhere on the trail I feel like. I usually stay away from the shelters and the crowds.

Till you get comfortable with it, and determine what you like, you might want to just hang near a shelter.

[tiptoe]

A little trick for not losing the trail when you hammock a certain distance away. Place your trekking poles (or just any sticks) so as to form an arrow pointing toward the trail. Do this right after you settle on a campsite. It has helped me more than once.