Eastern NC hang April 15 - 17

(I'm the buddy.)

Thanks for the invite! We'll let you know when we get out there.

Is the hang still on schedule? Is there more than one group campsite? I'm 80% certain to join. Thanks

Check in guys.

I don't know if this ever happened but the storms were pretty bad last night. The last report I heard before the power went out was a tornado warning for Williamston heading north. That's in the general direction of Merchants.

I haven't seen the news reports yet but I hear it tore Lowes in Sanford to pieces with people inside and while there's not a lot of damage near me the power is STILL out even to big chain restaurants along the highway. That really only happens on this side of the state if there's been a hurricane.

is all well, a lot of wrath blew in that direction?
did y'all hang in the wind and are y'all okay?

We all bailed out due to the forecast for severe weather. Lassiter Swamp is no place to be in a thunderstorm.

i am glad to hear that, and i'm sure some others are too.

We ended up staying. Once we got out there Friday night our communications were cut off as far as cell phones, etc.
The first rain hit us just at about 7 and was a heavy downpour with sustained winds. We knew that once 6:30 hit we were stuck there for the duration. As the first pass cleared us one of the guys in our group had an emergency radio and he caught the reports on the Tornado and the lives it had taken and some of the preliminary devastation tolls. That was a sobering moment.

Thankfully our group, was okay. Us two hangers stayed dry, and the two in tents were fine as well. There was a father and son tent camping at site #1 and they fared well also. The canoe trip back was beautiful and the winds weren't nearly as prevalent as the day before.

Glad to see you're OK.

Any suggestion on which canoe in site number to aim for as far as trees go?

The reservation system leaves a little to be desired. I'd love a map of where these places are. Are they all together or spread out around the pond?

Didn't get a good look at 1, but it didn't seem ideal.

2 and 3 were unoccupied and nothing special. If I recall correctly 4 had a couple of trees but little promise.

We stayed at site 5 and there were two solid spots that shared one tree on the left as you enter the site. There was one more that was a little tight but feasable depending on your set up on the right side near the fire pit.

6 I honestly didn't get a look at maybe my friend can chime in on what it looked like.

7,8, and 9 are bad...no trees at all. The path to the vault toilet is part of your actual site footprint on 8. 7 had maybe 1 tree. 9 looked like some loggers dropped a couple trees and just left it there. It's another one that hugs the path.

10 looked like it had a ton of options and was right on the waters edge. It is actually just to the right of the canoe landing, out of site. But it has a lot of CLEAR shore line for landing canoes.
When I called for reservations the girl with NC State Parks said," Open the park map and you can see which ones are where..." Uh, NO...you can't. it shows a shore line and that is it.
I am curious what the group sites offered. The palce is great but there is a TON of new growth in the area that is so thick you can see other hanging options but all of the small saplings are just in the way.

Renoutside -- I'm impressed that you stayed. Or, should I be unimpressed that you didn't keep an eye on the weather? :-)

Ggeek -- There are three paddle-in group sites. Site 1 is the largest and the site I prefer. Sites 2 and 3 are also good. Each is about 50 feet apart. All group sites have plenty of trees for hanging.

The park also has a car camping area as well as at least one hike-in remote site. I have not spent time at either area.