Sounds like you might want to try a camping hammock.
I don't like hammock tents! and I live in Southern California and Stealth Bicycle Camping/Bicycle Touring in Southern California and very little trees to no trees
Sounds like you might want to try NoGround Poles with a hammock!
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Like I have said "I don't like hammock tents!"
I wasnt trying to be a jerk... I know you said that, but the thing is, you may not like them now, but your pain may disappear if you get off the ground.
Using the No-Grounds poles, which are trecking poles that have extension pieces that allow them to support your weight in a hammock and string up a tarp, I can hammock-camp on sand (though it takes a lot of prep, and the correct stakes, for success) with no trees. Heavy compared to an Ultalight ground system (I think a 2 pole system weighs about 3lbs) , but if you're mainly staying in one spot for long periods of time and only change locations occasionally, the weight only comes into play occasionally, and not needing trees more than makes up for the weight and cost.
I won't lie, there's pain issues you can run into in a hammock, too, if it's not set up properly. When I first started hammocking I slept great, but as that first summer went on, I started noticing that I was getting a pain on one side of my back and neck. At first, I attributed it to my job, because I carry equipment all day that hangs from my belt on that same side. But then in the autumn I changed locations so I wouldn't be discovered by hunters during hunting season and the pain went away. Over time I noticed that it depended on how the hammock was hung wether I would start experiencing pain after a few weeks. If it's hung too tight you get shoulder squeeze; a little looser and you can sleep at an angle but if it's still too tight, it causes a shelf to form in the side fabric. I would use this as a pillow, and I think this was causing my pain over time; now I hang even looser, and I know by feel what is the optimum tightness of hang.
For you, it could be a similar thing: maybe you need a pillow, or maybe the pillow you have is too thick, or maybe it's the location you've chosen... Maybe there's a slight depression or crest in the ground that you can't see that is just enough that your pad can't compensate for it... Or as someone else pointed out, maybe it's an actual medical condition and nothing will fix it without surgery or therapy.
I guess it comes down to: do you want solve your problem or don't you?
If you come over to the hammock forums, you see all kinds of posts from people that just can't sleep on the ground anymore due to medical issues, and many even put up hammocks in their bedrooms and got rid of their frame beds all together because they're comfortable in a hammock but experience discomfort or even pain in a bed. It goes the other way too, some love to sleep in hammocks but can't anymore due to pain
I have been stealth-camping full-time, 4-season, in a hammock for three years now, and ¾ of the time, 3-season for two years prior to that. Granted, I'm also in Upstate NY where there's more trees, but that's what No-Ground Poles are good for. They break down into two trecking poles that I mount on my front racks, and a stuff-sack that doesn't need to be protected from rain, so it can be strapped on anywhere.
Sure, hammock vs ground there's a little more effort required to find a good location where your setup won't be noticed, and you won't be bothered, and where you can get in and out without someone taking notice and wanting to investigate. But all of that's already an issue if you're sleeping on the ground anyway. And you can still sleep on the ground with a hammock kit, use the same pad in the hammock, the only difference between the two systems is the hammock itself and the taller height of the final setup.
If I remember right, you said your in So. Cal., so a pad is all you need for under insulation, and you can use the same top insulation on the ground or in the hammock
If you DIY, Ripstop-by-the-roll now offers custom design printing... So you can literally take a photo from each approach to your camp and have it printed on a tarp... Best cammo ever if you're like me and staying in relatively the same location, but other people have come up with some interesting cammo designs for different environments too.
As to advantages of hammocks:
★ I'll sleep dry no matter what: I can sleep over an upland bog if I want... due to mosquitos that would be a last resort for me, but I could do it, I could sleep over standing water and still keep all of my gear dry. This is not to say that I haven't made setup mistakes I'm my early days and gotten wet, I did, but I won't ever be wet again.
★ I will never experience waking up to find that my air mattress has deflated in the night and there's a rock or root poking at me uncomfortably
★ a hammock is also a chair: I will always have a dry comfortable place to sit.
★ my hammock packs up to the size of a softball, my winter tarp the size of a small Nerf football, as do each of my 0° Down quilts. My Summer Series Down Quilt-set includes a top and bottom, together packs down to what just one of my winter quilts will.
In the end, it doesn't matter to me what you do, what you like, or don't like... You asked a question, and you got answers. What you do with them is up to you
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