First off don't inflate it all the way! Most say that about half way is good. It's not like you're using it for padding, just warmth so you don't need it inflated all the way.

The other trick some people have done is the same as for keeping them in place on the tent floor - put small dots of McNet seam sealer on either the pad or the hammock.

But mostly, there's no good way to keep a pad in place in a single layer hammock like the HH.

You could go do some research over at hammockforums.net but the sliding mattress in a hammock is why the majority use underquilts instead of an inflated pad.

I make and carry cotton pads that have been swiped through candle wax. Summertime with dry kindling a half pad is all that's needed. For winter and/or wet kindling a whole pad or better, use 2 or more of them in different areas of the kindling pile. Burn time for a 1/2 pad is at least 5 minutes.

To make: melt any candle wax on hand (I buy old candles at yard sales, colour and fragrance don't matter) in a double boiler style assembly - I use a meat pie sized foil pan in a small saucepan. Take each cotton pad and using a pair of tongs, swipe it through the molten wax. Do NOT soak in wax, you want them lightly imbedded with the wax. Too much wax and you'll have no cotton pad left to fluff and light. Lay each pad on a cookie sheet lined with either parchment paper or tin foil. When dry, cut in half with scissors and pack. I use an old Altoids tin that holds 9 or 10 half cuts of the pads.

Barbara wrote:

Are bears a problem in the winter?


Barbara
 

Ya beat me to it Barb!!

One of the most common misconceptions is that one needs to break in a hiking boot or shoe.

Not true! Let me repeat it's not true - it's a lie perpetuated by shoe sales persons who are more interested in selling than fitting.

You should be able to walk out of the store and go hiking without a problem.

One memorable shoe salesperson tried to tell me that I didn't have wide feet - ummm, I've been wearing a wide width shoes since I was in my 20's and probably should have been before that! It turned out that they didn't have any wide widths in stock in my size so she was trying to cram my foot in a regular width to make the sale.

Unfortunately I have yet to find a store that does a good job fitting shoes to the foot properly.

I simply had to keep trying different shoes in different stores until I found a shoe that fit from the very start. In 3 seasons of wearing my Merrells I have had nothing more than an eraser tip size blister on one foot and that was because I wasn't washing my wool socks inside out and had an accumulation of fluff that put pressure on the spot.

I have a set of fitting instructions written by a very knowledgeable person but unfortunately it's a pdf file on my laptop and I'm not sure about posting it here. PM me if you're interested and I'll send you the file.

 

Chipz03 wrote:

Oh boy, this sounds like a whole new level of camping! Lol. Getting the impression that the snowfall level will be completely different than what we get in the city.

Thanks for all the details everyone. This should be very interesting..

Umm, yes, the snow levels will be definitely different than those in 'the city' which I assume you mean Toronto.

We don't get snow that turns to slush the next day and we measure the amount on the ground by inches and centimeters, not millimeters. Last year I think we had at least a foot on the ground by New Years and that was where it got swept away by the wind and melted down by the winter sun. In the bush there might be 18 to 23 inches by that time of year.

Snowshoes are recommended for getting around on the trails and for tamping down the snow where you want to pitch your tent.

Here's a website that shows snowfall etc for you for the park.

http://www.farmzone.com/statistics/summary/cl7086380/so087

Keep in mind that driving up here in the north should not be done without a good set of snow tires on.  All season tires won't cut it up here!
 

Steve E wrote:

Martin can you repost?  I can't seem to see your pic!

Me neither!
 

The dates for opening season are part of a province wide (divided by regions) fishing policy and has absolutely nothing to do with camp permit availability nor when Mother Nature makes the lakes blue again.

We're talking three different 'bosses' here - Ontario Parks, MNR and Mother Nature. As we all know, the two provincial agencies don't always work in tandem and MN has her own unique timetable!

token wrote:

I was told that its not a huge deal as long as its sealed. When you go car camping they tell you to store it in your car, if it was such a huge deal why wouldn't they have food lockers setup or a place for you to hang it? I know I have seen many people do it with easy access backcountry sites.

Sealed doesn't count for a whole lot! I don't know anyone with any backcountry experience that would tell you that!

Car camping rules are different and if you notice all the warnings and sightings, there's quite a bear problem around the car camping areas precisely because people don't store food properly. But at car camping spots, there's people around including rangers for scaring the bears off.

At the access points there is no one around to scare the bear(s) off all night long. It's an access point not a camping area (except for the jump off spot) so there's no expectation that people SHOULD be leaving food. Cars have been broken in to with nothing more than a Timmie's coffee cup left in sight.

Once a bear figures out what a cooler looks like and that there is likely to be food in it, they become a break and enter expert in really short order. Then everyones' vehicles are at risk of being damaged.

My apologies to ZenSoloist for hijacking his thread.




 

Last October I woke up to an inch of snow on my tarp (I hammock)!

I stayed warm and comfortable at night by using a fleece liner under my top quilt (it's summer weight) and wearing microfleece thermals that I bought at Marks W/W. I also found a pair of MaxHeat thermal socks there that actually had an R factor. Either a hoodie or a hat are really needed as well.

A lot of people camping in colder weather with a dog make a fleece sleeping bag for the dog - they don't normally need a full sleeping bag thickness but something to supplement body heat and to keep them out of your sleeping bag!