Bicycle Touring 101: A hammock and no trees

My hammock setup for sleeping on the ground. On the right you can see it attached to the sign post. Off picture on the left it is connected to the picnic table.
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Another shot of the same setup. This picture was taken during a windy period just before I tightened up the sides.
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During my Round Lake Erie tour I came to a state park in southern Michigan that had no large trees in the camp site area for me to hang my hammock. It was raining that night and the park staff decided to grant my request to camp amongst the large trees in the beach area rather then make me use my hammock as a bivy sack along the ground.

Last year I circled Lake Ontario and unfortunately I visited two camp sites that didn't allow hammocks to be attached to trees. One was in New York State at a state park north of Niagara Falls while the second one was in Ontario at a conservation area in Toronto.

Luckily using a hammock isn't really that difficult. The entire trick is to get the hammock fly and bug netting above your face. You can do this rather easily using sticks, picnic tables, signposts and other similar objects. Remember that you don't need the objects to hold your weight and the weight of the hammock. All that you really need is enough tension in the main line to hold the stuff off your face. Some people like to take walking sticks or light tent poles along on tour so that if they end up in a region where trees are scarce then they have an easier, more controlled way to get everything setup.

The other problem is related to how hard the ground will feel when compared to the wonderful luxury of a hammock in the air. For me this wasn't a real problem either because I still bring a Thermarest pad on tour with me. I carry it because hammocks are very, very efficient at removing heat. By taking along the Thermarest I obtain the ability to have it protect me from large heat loss and mosquito bites through the hammock's outer skin. While there are other, lighter options available few of them can also act as a reasonably comfortable cushion against the hard ground.

Remember that out of well over 117 hammock sessions I have only experienced two times when I was required to sleep on the ground. With all the convenience that I obtain from a hammock and the vastly improved sleeping experience I receive when I use one I fully intend to keep on taking it with me.