READERS COMMENTS

Hey, Chris. Not to sound sarcastic but there's some comments below that talk about it. Just scroll on down! ;)
Posted: Sep 19, 2009 JDH

My friend has sleep apena. She needs a CPAP machine to sleep safely. Can any one help me find a good portable machine that will allow to go camping together? As CPAP machines become more common, being able to go in the back country with one, plus make it through a power outage would make great reading. Thanks, Chris
Posted: Sep 12, 2009 Chris

I've always had exactly the same experience as Grant, wondering why the heck I couldn't get a good night's sleep on the trail. Tried a hammock for the first time last month and slept better than I do at home. No more tents--my new Warbonnet Blackbird just arrived in the mail!

RichTL
www.dancinglion.us

Posted: Sep 08, 2009 Love my hammock

Like you Grant, I slept miserably for years so I could enjoy the beauty and solitude of the outdoors. Then I discovered the camping hammock. I have never in my life slept so well on a campout. They're also great for an afternoon nap or a chair. For the record, I have a Hennessy Expedition and my wife has a Warbonnet Blackbird. Both are great sleepers.
Posted: Aug 20, 2009 swampfox

Hang! Just got a Warbonnet Blackbird hammock for a 10 day canoe trek in Maine. Hung for the first few nights, then spent two nights in a tent on a grassy point (too many skeeters in the trees and there was a nice breeze). OUCH! Back to the trees! Don't know if my tents will ever get used again, but the Blackbird? My wife wants me to take it down and sleep in the bedroom...
Posted: Aug 13, 2009 paddlin' dan

I learned alot from this article however I do feel for you all...I'm usually the snorer that you guys complain about.
Jim
Posted: Aug 13, 2009 Jim

Skip the bourbon and you won't be hot and sweaty in the middle of the night. Take a couple prophylactic acetaminophin or ibuprophen an hour before sleep instead, with adequate water to dissolve them and keep you hydrated. I agree alcohol is esp bad at even medium altitude. I bring a little flashlite like a Princeton Eclipse with a low beam so I can read myself to sleep, or read myself back to sleep in the middle of the night, without disturbing my tentmate. If you pick the right book, reading programs your mind so you can sleep.
Posted: Aug 12, 2009 Bob W

There is a dental appliance used for treating sleep apnea called the TAP appliance. It's often used when people can't tolerate the cpap machine. It opens an airway by advancing the lower jaw. I hope this helps you Randy.
Posted: Aug 10, 2009 Dr. Steve

I'm lucky enough to have my lodge set up for the whole summer and enjoy the comfort of a cot. My problem with the cot was freezing to death in my bag. I found that the thermarest pad I used backpacking worked great with the cot.

I have sleep apnea and now need a cpap machine. I lug around a 12 volt marine battery hat weighs 50+ pounds. I haven't figured out how to go backpacking and use the cpap with a small battery and solar charger. Any body have this problem? a solution?
Posted: Aug 06, 2009 Randy

I'm lucky enough to have my lodge set up for the whole summer and enjoy the comfort of a cot. My problem with the cot was freezing to death in my bag. I found that the thermarest pad I used backpacking worked great with the cot.

I have sleep apnea and now need a cpap machine. I lug around a 12 volt marine battery hat weighs 50+ pounds. I haven't figured out how to go backpacking and use the cpap with a small battery and solar charger. Any body have this problem? a solution?
Posted: Aug 06, 2009 Randy

I've found an adequate pillow is key to all-night comfort. My solution is a dedicated stuff sack in which I insert a down or fleece jacket. The other secret I've found is a change in approach to the turning and tossing issue: Rather than think in terms of turning inside the bag, my approach is to use a less-roomy mummy bag that tightly encases me so that when I turn, I turn bag and all. That eliminates the issue of cold pockets and drafts into the bag, and the flattened down quickly restores its loft after turning. That approach, on top of an 1 1/2" of Thermarest, does the trick for me.
Posted: Aug 03, 2009 James Hankins

My problem is in my head. I get too hyped up about tomorrow's hike. Worse is usually the 2nd night out. A sleeping pill and a shot o rum (arr) is in order. If I'm not in minimalist mode, one of those gravity chairs works pretty good, too.

Posted: Jul 30, 2009 al

My problem is in my head. I get too hyped up about tomorrow's hike. Worse is usually the 2nd night out. A sleeping pill and a shot o rum (arr) is in order. If I'm not in minimalist mode, one of those gravity chairs works pretty good, too.

Posted: Jul 30, 2009 al

Enjoyed the article, did not enjoy the profanity!
Posted: Jul 28, 2009 MICK

Lower back pain was always a problem for me when sleeping on a flat pad. My mattress at home lets my butt sink in a bit so my lower back is supported. When camping, I remedy this problem by elevating my knees 3 to 6 inches by putting my empty pack under my sleeping pad in the knee area and elevating my head a few inches by putting all the soft stuff in my pack under my head and shoulders. Try to mimic the profile of your recliner or patio lounge chair at home. I can get by with a much thinner pad this way. When winter camping, I form the snow under by body like a recliner chair. Show me one man in his 50's who can't fall asleep in a recliner.
Posted: Jul 26, 2009 Cordell Briggs

Lower back pain was always a problem for me when sleeping on a flat pad. My mattress at home lets my butt sink in a bit so my lower back is supported. When camping, I remedy this problem by elevating my knees 3 to 6 inches by putting my empty pack under my sleeping pad in the knee area and elevating my head a few inches by putting all the soft stuff in my pack under my head and shoulders. Try to mimic the profile of your recliner or patio lounge chair at home. I can get by with a much thinner pad this way. When winter camping, I form the snow under by body like a recliner chair. Show me one man in his 50's who can't fall asleep in a recliner.
Posted: Jul 26, 2009 Cordell Briggs

Thanks Brad - appreciate your help!
Your RE: altitude accomodation technique will be put into practice this August when I attempt to drag my sorry flatlander butt from sea level up into loftier zones - in this case, I hope to the summit of Rainier.
Posted: Jul 24, 2009 Jan Liverance

RE: altitude accomodation. As a Military (Army) Physician, I have had to prep troops for altitude operations without prior acclimitization. There is a very inexpensive prescription medication I have used in Bolovia at 13,000 feet that worked very well for me. Diamox. it prevents altitude sickness and other than having a mild diuretic effect has no side effects. You are prone to dehydration anyway due to moisture lost in respiration due to the low humidity at high elevations, so another cause of poor sleep at altitude is dehydration. So when you go to new heights, grin, take it easy, take diamox (one tab twice a day) an aspirin or other Non-steroidal if you can tolerate it, and drink water. Avoid alcohol, it dehydrates you even more, and hits you harder at altitude, making you even more prone to doing stupid things, and having poor sleep. After three days most folks can stop the diamox. It is the intial shock to the system that hits the hardest.
Your tax dollars at work!
Brad
Posted: Jul 24, 2009 Brad

For lower altitudes and where this form of "harvesting" is not a problem: try creating an extra mattress from leaves, pine needles or dried grass. I discovered that by accident and now sleep better in the wild that at home. It also adds insulation.

In about 15 minutes, I can create a pad-sized layer on which I pitch my tent and it's definitely worth it.

Obviously, this is not appropriate in high-traffic areas or fragile eco-systems, but it really helps in the right place.
Posted: Jul 24, 2009 Dale Garrison

WEll, I learned years ago(I am 64 now) that my back could not take sleeping on the ground anymore; even on a pad etc. I started to experiment. I found that the best remedy for my "aching back" was a hammock slung between two trees. I was up off the ground. My sleeping bag fit nicely in the hammock and the rocking motion put me to sleep in record time! If the rain looked ominous, I slung a tarp over my hammock, put all my gear under it or better yet, hang it up offf the ground on a rope. Let the thunder, rain and lightning come. What a great way to experience mother nature. Best of all, when I wake uup in the a.m. my back does not hurt at all. A word of caution; if you have never tried sleeping in a hammock,in a sleeping bag, do some practice at home first until you develop a system of getting in and out etc. Happy dreams.
Posted: Jul 24, 2009 skip shephard

ADD A COMMENT