I'm sure that I am not telling a lot of folks something new but for anyone new to hammock camping this is for you. Also for old timers who haven't thought of it or forgot about it. 
Lets say you are camping ( It's a safe bet you are not at home :roll: ) and want the rain fly to be horizontal to the ground but there are no trees within the limit of the lines you have on the rain fly. I noticed Joe had to do the same to a couple of the lines on his rain fly , Mother nature planted those trees just a few feet to far apart for us.
My Hammock...........
The answer is simple. Take some extra line ( you did bring some , I hope ) and then measure the distance you will need and add a pinch more for safety's sake.
Now tie a loop in the one end , toss it around the tree and put the free end threw it , snug it down so it is secure. Take the rest and tie a couple of loops in it along the length of it. After they are made up remember to pack them with the hammock for future trips.
At this time take the line from the rain fly and feed it threw one of the loops , then tie a Taut-line hitch about a foot from the loop the line is threw it and you are set. The Taut-line Hitch http://www.netknots.com/html/tautline_hitch.html will let you adjust the tension on it as you desire and that foot distance is for adjustment , up or down the line , when desired.
Since the line is about throat level and to keep camping buddies from choking themselves I like to use a bright colored line ( Yellow ) for safety sake. ( and to keep me from running into it ) :wink: Or you could just hang some dirty socks from it to dry them.
Another trick we did on the trip was with the tarp. We hung it by tying off the 4 corners at the desired height , then in place of a pole in the center we tied off a rope to two more trees that were centered on both sides of the tarp. We tied that line higher ( about 16 inches ) then the corner ones so it worked as a ridge line threw the center of the tarp. It made a nice "A Frame shelter that let us have the whole area under the tarp for ourselves.
Hint.......
On the Taut-Line Hitch when you make the last turn and pass the line threw the loop , double it so when you tighten it the loose end is stinging back out opposite the way the line went threw it. After your camping and you want to take everything down , just give that loose end a tug and the whole knot will come apart.
Lets say you are camping ( It's a safe bet you are not at home :roll: ) and want the rain fly to be horizontal to the ground but there are no trees within the limit of the lines you have on the rain fly. I noticed Joe had to do the same to a couple of the lines on his rain fly , Mother nature planted those trees just a few feet to far apart for us.
My Hammock...........
The answer is simple. Take some extra line ( you did bring some , I hope ) and then measure the distance you will need and add a pinch more for safety's sake.
Now tie a loop in the one end , toss it around the tree and put the free end threw it , snug it down so it is secure. Take the rest and tie a couple of loops in it along the length of it. After they are made up remember to pack them with the hammock for future trips.
At this time take the line from the rain fly and feed it threw one of the loops , then tie a Taut-line hitch about a foot from the loop the line is threw it and you are set. The Taut-line Hitch http://www.netknots.com/html/tautline_hitch.html will let you adjust the tension on it as you desire and that foot distance is for adjustment , up or down the line , when desired.
Since the line is about throat level and to keep camping buddies from choking themselves I like to use a bright colored line ( Yellow ) for safety sake. ( and to keep me from running into it ) :wink: Or you could just hang some dirty socks from it to dry them.
Another trick we did on the trip was with the tarp. We hung it by tying off the 4 corners at the desired height , then in place of a pole in the center we tied off a rope to two more trees that were centered on both sides of the tarp. We tied that line higher ( about 16 inches ) then the corner ones so it worked as a ridge line threw the center of the tarp. It made a nice "A Frame shelter that let us have the whole area under the tarp for ourselves.
Hint.......
On the Taut-Line Hitch when you make the last turn and pass the line threw the loop , double it so when you tighten it the loose end is stinging back out opposite the way the line went threw it. After your camping and you want to take everything down , just give that loose end a tug and the whole knot will come apart.