What a wonderful weekend! I arrived on Friday night after a long haul up I-85N with my dad, ED. It was raining for the whole trip to Falls Lake Recreation Area group campsites. Since the gates close at 8pm and don't reopen until 8am and I didn't get there until 8:45pm, I had Cwbybld come pick me up at the gate. ED is still new to the hammock camping scene and is used to setting up a tent in the rain...thus he is yet unaware of the great ability to stay dry while setting up camp with a hammock. Needless to say, ED drove into Wake Forest to spend the night with my younger sister.
Once I found a nice spot to set up my site and a nice spot for my dad in the morning, I set up and joined some of the late-nighters for introductions and conversation. It was great to finally meet Gresh, Gunner, Paulie, Catavarie , and Pretbek.
The night was really going to be interesting with a Tornado Watch just having ended at 9pm. Just as I started to walk around because the rain was letting off, the top of a tree fell right by where I was set up. I looked up in the dark and in the rain, but didn't see anything. The one big widowmaker was outside of my campsite's radius and I missed the one that came down. Yikes...that was close. :scared:
Saturday morning I awoke to the sound of firewood being chopped. That meant breakfast would be ready soon. With a night low of 50F, I was a bit cool in my summer insulation, but I would be using a 1/8" Gossamer Gear thinlite pad with my UQ for Saturday night. 4WLO made an incredible mountain man breakfast.
Everyone, with now full bellies, began walking around looking at different people's setups. It was great to be able to talk to Paul from Underground Quilts. What an approachable and helpful guy. Very willing to help.
The day's events called for a paddle trip on the lake. JuneBugDawn, Pretbek, cbamos, Cwbybld, and I paddled from the campground East past the marina (where they were having a free wakeboarding demo) to the outlet of a creek the MST crosses. Five of us went out, only five of us came back. I would say that we lost someone of something, but really we just lost part of ourselves. That was a wonderful amount of paddling.
Upon our return, we could see the smoke lingering hazily around the smoker. Our sense of smell was not sure the best way to interpret the sure ecstasy our tongues would be experiencing soon enough. Everyone was starting to pull out their dishes and I brought out two "meat pillows" of my chili. It was requested to be my "hot and spicy" version, but I felt the need to tone it down a bit, not knowing everyone's tolerance.
Silverpalm2x, ED, someone's young boy and I got into a round of ladderball. I think the game went to ED and Silverpalm2x. Good game, though we didn't get to finish.
I can't begin to describe the intensity of tastes at this hang. I was great and had to be experienced. :boggle:
After the food was the raffle. There were a lot of great items to be had. My dad, ED was able to get one of Underground Quilts fleece hats. His first win! Grannypat one a $20 gift certificate to Hammock Gear, but I had to accept it for her since she was not able to make this hang...what a pain in the butt it must have been to miss out. Between Loki and Gresh, few of us would have had a chance had it not been for their kindness and passing up on winning more than they did. They cleaned house, and passed up on winning more times than they choose to pick something out of the stack.
Not long after we congratulated those who won and maybe coveted their winnings a bit, Cwbybld lead JuneBugDawn, Pretbek, 4WLO, ED and me on a night paddle across calm waters. As the moon's light reflected off the still water and we navigated the roughly mile and a half to our desination we found what we had not earlier. Last we paddled, I lost the calories I needed to build up an appetite, but here, I found a deep spiritual peace. This was easily more filling than the wonderful meaty meal that caused me to loosen my PFD for this paddle.
The night continued long into the next morning with joking and much ridiculousness courtesy of Gresh and Appalachian Hammocks.
The night was cooler: 47F. ED and I slept well in our respective hammocks near the parking lot away from the lake. In the morning,when we walked back down to the lake, ED almost lost his hat to the cold breeze. Visionarylion and his clan made breakfast burritos. It was fantastic to sit down with Old4Hats and Chigger. What really interesting people. Thanks for the wonderful biscuits.
Sadly, we had to say goodbye for the 4.5hr drive. A great hang! Thanks Catavarie for organizing this hang! Aptly named, but I almost believe that it needs another adjective, like "Awesome Smoked Butt Hang."
04-21-2013, 19:21
jdk
Quote:
Originally Posted by FireInMyBones
Silverpalm2x, ED, someone's young boy and I got into a round of ladderball. I think the game went to ED and Silverpalm2x. Good game, though we didn't get to finish.
That would be my oldest, Daniel, who almost beaned Silverpalm2x with the balls. :scared:
For all who want to try the Dump Cake (or Cobbler if you like), it's really simple:
Mix 1 can cherry pie filling and 1 can crushed pineapple in DO. Sprinkle 1 box yellow cake mix on top. Top with 1/2 to 1 stick butter, sliced. Bake for ~45 min at 350 or so (something like 8-9 briquettes on bottom and 14 on top).
And it was my wife's idea - I just happened to make it. ;)
We had a great time and enjoyed putting faces to pseudonyms.
04-21-2013, 19:36
grannypat
Sounds incredible. Yes, FIMB, it really was a pain in the butt to miss this.
04-21-2013, 19:49
PappyAmos
Quote:
Originally Posted by grannypat
Sounds incredible. Yes, FIMB, it really was a pain in the butt to miss this.
And I hate you did have to miss it. Your ears must have been burning with the (truly) kind things folks were saying about their "favorite fire tendor." I hope to get to meet you in the future.
04-21-2013, 19:53
gunner76
If you missed this hang...shame on you, it was great, tornadoes and all.
Made it home safe and sound. Will submit a report as soon as I have time to write it up.
04-21-2013, 20:08
PappyAmos
Cold!
Thanks to FireInMyBones for posting our story. An Addendum:
The Friday night low was predicted to be 63*. I rigged my new PLUQ and PLTQ for the night. I was good at 61* at 1AM. I woke up cold at 3AM - it was 53* and going down - had to grab more warmth. Apparently I wasn't the only one who did "the insulation shuffle" during the night.
04-21-2013, 20:09
Gresh
So, I typed about a REALLY LONG trip report post, then hit the back button on my mouse by mistake. I suck SUPER hard.
TL;DR version (since I'm lazy): A GREAT time, thanks to everybody who came out and lent to the spirit of fellowship and camaraderie that make these hangs what they are. Thanks to Catavarie for organizing this, and the people who generously donated time (to cooking or cleaning), money (to the raffle, the funds from which went to some very worthy causes), and raffle items (I'm looking at you, Underground Quilts, Warbonnet Outdoors, 2QZQ, Hammock Gear, Appalachian Hammocks, and so many others).
I always have a good time when I go on group hangs (and thanks to HammockForums members, my non-member friends now think I'm "internet famous") because of the people, and this was NO exception. God willing and the Creek don't rise, I'll be there again next year.
In the meantime, see y'all at the Fall Sprawl, if not sooner.
04-21-2013, 20:21
mullinax95
I wasn't far from where that tree fell either. It woke me up and I heard you guys talking about it. So realizing that nobody got hurt including myself I just rolled over and went back to sleep. lol
04-21-2013, 20:33
grannypat
Quote:
Originally Posted by cbamos
And I hate you did have to miss it. Your ears must have been burning with the (truly) kind things folks were saying about their "favorite fire tendor." I hope to get to meet you in the future.
I like poking the fire. :D
04-21-2013, 22:00
Catavarie
I had a great time this weekend and would like to start off by thanking everyone who showed up for making not just my first organized group hang, but my first ever group hang a success. And so being my first every group hang I didn't know what I didn't know. Luckily Gunner76 was there and knew what I needed and hadn't thought of ahead of time. Thank you, Gunner and Trish, for all you did to help things flow smoothly.
I arrived at the group site around 1 pm on Friday and was greeted in the parking lot by Paulie, JunebugDawn, and Cowboy. Handshakes and introductions were immediately made and could instantly tell that them South Carolinians were some fine folk. Was then greeted by Loki, Old4Hats, Chigger, and 4WLO who were also already on site. I felt like a bad host for not being the first to arrive and greet them all, but that feeling soon went away thanks to everyone's wonderful attitudes and genuine joy at being there. I walked around a bit and found myself a pair of suitable trees which were reasonably protected from the predicted weather and proceeded to setup my rig. The next few hours were a haze of people arriving and unloading and adding to the merriment in camp. A few were first timers to group hangs and even more greeted each other as old friends. Paul and Missy from UGQ had made the drive down from Michigan on the promise of warmer weather and BBQ and I don't think they were disappointed by either. Pretbek had also made a true journey out of coming from Pennsylvania having taking the scenic route through West Virginia and spending the previous night Monongahela National Forest. He had spent a good bit of time riding his motorcycle that day through the rain and storms we had been promised.
There had been talk of the impending "bad" weather throughout the afternoon and around 6 pm it finally hit. The winds picked up and the rain started coming down. Thunder could be heard rumbling in the distant, but I never saw a flash of lightening. Thanks to the topography of the camp ground the site was mostly protected from the apparently strong gusts of wind that Gunner and his wife had encountered when heading out to the store. Five minutes later the winds died down, the thunder dissipated and the rain slacked to a steady sleep inducing rate. Not wanting to sleep just yet I tossed on my rain jacket and escaped the dry security of my tarp to venture out.
I wondered around camp a bit realizing that I was the only one out from under my tarp and came upon Loki's setup and found him amazingly not enjoying his Ridgerunner, but instead sitting under his tarp with a great view of the lake. We talked for several minutes there before deciding to head back up to communal area to welcome any other people who arrived before the gates were locked. Slowly people began making their way from there tarps and ventured back out to join us and an Easy Up was provided by Gunner76 and his wife (I seriously can't thank you two enough.) for everyone to enjoy. FiMB arrived around 9 pm and we had a bit of excitement upon hearing the tree fall in the general vicinity of his setup and all going on a hunt to make sure everyone and everything was okay. I retired to hammock around midnight and was quickly welcomed into slumber's warm arms.
I awoke around 4 am feeling as if I had slept an entire night, it is amazing what a hammock can do for you sometimes. I laid in my hammock for around an hour enjoying the silence and stillness of the woods at night while simultaneously wishing I had dropped the porch side of my tarp as the wind had done a 180° turn after the rain and it was now blowing right in my face and leaving my quite chilled even in my quilts. Unable to find my insulated jacket I had packed (I know I packed it because I found it when I was packing up on Sunday.) I tossed on the fleece vest and wind jacket I could find. I decided that in an effort to warm up a bit that I would get up and start moving around and it was nearly another hour until there were signs of others waking up. The fire which we had forgone the previous day due to the impending weather was lit and as people woke up breakfast was made ready. This meal would prove to keep my fed until nearly BBQ time.
Gresh was generous enough to assist me with the transportation of my grill which was used to smoke apparently twice as much meat as was needed, but hey go big or go home right? During the quick drive to my place I realized that Gresh is one of those people that I could easy hang around everyday and never tire of. He truly is good people with a hilarious sense of humor. Butts were in smoke and the waiting, along with the continuing chorus of is it done yets, began.
FiMB led several people on paddle on the lake and few decided to hike the Falls Lake Trail section 13 from Hwy 98 back to camp (approximately 4 miles). More people showed up, including many that had decided not to tempt fate with the Tornado and Thunderstorm warnings we were under, and soon it looked like a homeless camp for hammockers. Some people wondered around and looked at different rigs that were setup, some decided to do a bit of arts and crafts with Reflectix making pot cozies, and some seemed content to just sit around the fire and pass the day away in great company. We had about a half dozen people show up for just the day and look around and ask questions. Some stayed for the meal and raffle and some didn't. I spent the day keeping the charcoal fire and smoke going in the grill. All the while I was trying to not looked stressed out over getting the pork on the table in time for those not staying to eat and get out before the gates were locked. Finally about half the pork was done so I pulled it out and got it on the serving table for the stomach growling masses to enjoy. Everyone was filled and satisfied at this point and it was raffle time. I would just to thank everyone who donated prizes to the raffle:
The evening went on longer than it probably should have with wonderful conversation and company around the camp fire.
Sunday morning was bitter sweet for me, it was pack up day and though I wanted to spend time with my wife and daughter I didn't want the weekend to end, nor the wonderful people I had met to leave. I blew the fire back into life and had a good flame going for those few who woke earlier than the others. Visionarylion and his wife Loren made wonderful breakfast burritos for everyone and we all packed up our gear with happy stomachs. Goodbyes where said. Hands were shaken. Many people had a far further drive than I and were in just as much of a hurry to get home to loved ones as I. A final walk through of the camp site left things looking better than I had found them to be when I arrived on Friday. We really do have some wonderful people who think nothing of picking up someone else's trash that had been left for us to find, it warms my heart.
Again I just want to thank everyone who came out, whether you stayed all weekend or just popped by to chit chat for an hour everyone added to the experience.
Now to start planning for Smoked Butt Hang 2014. :thumbup:
04-21-2013, 22:01
Junebugdawn
Re: Official 2013 Smoked Butt Hang Trip Report Thread
Paul, Cwbybld, Max and I made it back to SC safe and sound. Paul dropped me off in Columbia and just had to squeeze in one more night of camping, so he is hanging tonight at Sesqui State Park and will head home in the morning. I got home to Greenwood a little bit ago. Will upload pics and write trip report tomorrow. I had an awesome time and miss the woods already.
04-21-2013, 22:45
gunner76
Is was great to see such a large SC crowd attend. I figured it was revenge for my attending one of your hangs last year. I have to ask why you guys didn't bring any of your mustard based BBQ ??
04-21-2013, 23:01
Junebugdawn
Re: Official 2013 Smoked Butt Hang Trip Report Thread
We'll have to definitely bring some mustard based BBQ next year....is it next year yet????????????
04-22-2013, 05:09
Gresh
Quote:
Originally Posted by gunner76
Is was great to see such a large SC crowd attend. I figured is was revenge for my attending one of your hangs last year. I have to ask why you guys didn't bring any of your mustard based BBQ ??
It was a planned and carefully carried out invasion. We came, we saw, we consumed the delicious and succulent meat from the shoulder area of a pig...then vanished with nary a trace back to our state.
04-22-2013, 06:11
Loki
Good meeting with old friends and making new ones too. Catavarie did a great job on this "First Annual" and as always everyone helped make it memorable in their own special ways.
I'll post a few photos later this week. Meanwhile... thanks to all the vendors for donating prizes and thanks to Paul and Missy, and to AppalachianHammocks for joining us at the hang and taking the time to answer everyone's questions about their gear. Quite a special thing being able to talk with the manufacturer of great gear face-to-face. Makes it easy to understand all the design nuances ;)
04-22-2013, 06:21
FireInMyBones
Quote:
Originally Posted by gunner76
Is was great to see such a large SC crowd attend. I figured is was revenge for my attending one of your hangs last year. I have to ask why you guys didn't bring any of your mustard based BBQ ??
I asked this prior to the hang. Mustard based BBQ is my favorite kind. I had some sauce to bring and left it in the fridge. :( Good thing the BBQ tasted great without sauce.
04-22-2013, 07:08
old4hats
OK, I'm still on the road with out my Mac, so am hindered more than usual on the computer, I had a great time on this hang. I was accompanied by one of my oldest and best friends, Chigger, and we made a whole bunch of new friends at the hang, great people there. One of my enjoyments was in bringing my Dad's old dutch oven and for th
e first time baking biscuits in camp. Too bad I can't pack it for hiking.
I had a long write up done and tried to enter it on this infernal machine and lost it, probably will loose this one as well, but in case I make it, I had a great time at the hang, tons of good people, let's do it again next year.
04-22-2013, 09:53
sr1355
What a GREAT weekend in NC at the first of hopefully many to come Smoked Butt Hang. Missy and I headed down Thursday to get the long drive out of the way, 13 hrs each way. The gates at the campground close at 8:00 pm and I knew it would be close, like five minutes close. After a GPS user error we arrived at the gate at 8:15.... LOCKED!!! Cowboy and Ground Hog came to our rescue and we had a nice evening meeting CowBoy, GroundHog, JuneBugDawn, and Paulie. Weather was warm and sticky, I'd forgotten how nice it is to lay in the hammock at night with no TQ. LONG COLD WINTER in Michigan.
Friday after picking the car up we all moved to the group site, set up camp and relaxing. Great day meeting people as they arrived and the weather was pretty nice first part of the day. Clouds, thunder, wind and rain were heading our way for the latter part of the day. We all made to best of it and rode the weather out.
Saturday had a brisk start to the day but turned out to be a really nice day for hanging out. Talked to pretty much everyone and had a great time discuss gear, food, bikes, and just about everything else under the sun.
BIG THANKS to Catavarie and Bonepile for the BBQ, Gunner and his wife for the beans, FiMB for Chili #1, Pretbek for Chili #2, Gresh for Cowboy Stew and all the others that helped feed the masses at dinner time. Thanks to 4WLO, Visionarylion, and those that helped out at breakfast. Your efforts are certainly appreciated by those that taste your delicious food.
Is it bad that photo makes me hungry for more Que?
04-22-2013, 11:44
tommyhawk
Looks great love that cooking butt.
04-22-2013, 12:11
Gresh
For what it's worth, I'm having leftover butt for lunch today, and had barbecue sammiches for supper last night. Five butts goes a LONG WAY, apparently.
04-22-2013, 13:38
JollyGreen
Great pics, looks like a great time. Curious, did anyone try the Appalachian Hammock? What did you think?
04-22-2013, 14:16
PappyAmos
Quote:
Originally Posted by JollyGreen
Great pics, looks like a great time. Curious, did anyone try the Appalachian Hammock? What did you think?
NC>Falls Lake> April 19-21, 2013 - 1st Annual Smoked Butt Hang
A few pics...
Arrived Friday midday a bit worried about the weather. Despite severe weather forecasts and a tornado warning - our campsite, being leeward of the winds, received only a bit of wind and a light steady rain most of the evening. Decided to setup before the rain and enjoyed this view of the lake from under the tarp. https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...1/img_0258.jpg
the circle of professional story tellers continued throughout the weekend. If you can hold your own with this crowd then you are an accomplished liar umm, storyteller! https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...1/img_0272.jpg
Thoroughly enjoyed the 1st Annual Smoked Butt Hang - Nice one Catavarie! Thanks to Paul and Missy and Ryan for attending. It is really nice to learn about the unique features of gear from the folks who made it.
As always, getting to know HF forum members is a treat! Good people. Good times.
Actually the only comments there are about the site, I was looking for some from someone who actually slept in one.
04-22-2013, 18:29
AppalachianHammock
Quote:
Originally Posted by JollyGreen
Actually the only comments there are about the site, I was looking for some from someone who actually slept in one.
No one actually slept in one, but I had both the Original and Thru-hiker strung up, as well as the new Big sil 12x10 tarp. I think Fireinmybones has video showing the tarp and original all set up.
I also have a bunch of pics and a write up coming, but I am busy playing catch up with orders atm.
First.....A big thanks to Catavarie for putting on the hang.
It was fun. For those of you who did not show because to the weather, you missed a great hang. Also it was a reunion as I got to see some fellow hangers whom I have not seen in several years and also got to meet many others for the first time. Also nice to be able to place faces to the posts on the forum.
It was also fun to watch the kids running around having a great time.
Now on with my report..........
Wife met me at work and we left Morehead at 1pm on Friday. Took 3 hours to get to Falls Lake. Got a little concerned as we kept seeing all these “Tornado Warnings” on the electronic signs along the highway as we got into Raleigh area.
Got to the camp site and found a place to set up at the 2nd of the two group sites reserved for the hang.
Wife and I both set up our BB's.
Shortly after we set up camp the rains started and killed our plans to cook out for dinner so we drove out to a Subway and got something to eat. Just as we left the campgrounds the bottom fell out and a for few minutes we could barely see the road due to heavy rains.
When we got back we set up our pop up canopy and a bunch of us grabbed some chairs and sat under the canopy trying to stay dry as we swapped lies and introduced ourselves.
A motorcyclist pulls up soaking wet and we find out it was Pretbek who drove his bike over from Holland which would explain why he was so wet. ( actually he drove down from Pennsylvania where he lives ). Still it gave our hang an international flair.
The rain gradually slowed down to being an annoying rain, the type of rain where its not raining hard but rains just enough to force you to wear a raincoat or poncho. It stopped sometime during the night but while it lasted it made a nice patter against my tarp as I was sleeping. I did not hear anyone say they got wet during the night while they were in their hammocks.
During the night I heard some voices and looked out and realized it was Junebugdawn and someone else walking around. I called out to her but did not hear a reply. Later Junebugdawn said she made a wrong turn while walking around during the night but did not realize it until I called out to her.
Was rudely awaken Saturday AM to the sound of power boats on the lake.
Saturday started off with group breakfast. Catavarie and my wife made pancakes and I cooked up a bunch of mystery sausage ( they are a mystery as I am not sure what kind the were). Someone else made a dutch oven pot of something (not sure what it was called but it had 3 lbs of bacon in it and we all know bacon makes anything taste good).
More and more people kept showing up.
Went for hike along a section of the MST that runs thru the area with EagleJ (at least that is is I think it was, if I am wrong I apologize). Caught a ride with a group going to get a load of fire wood which was along the way.
Got back just in time for lunch. Met some new hangers who were attending their first group hang. They do not have any hammocks yet but they attended so they could see all the different set ups. I took them over to check out my BB's and gave them chance to climb in side. I saw them going around after that checking out the other rigs. Looked like a couple of kids in a candy store. So many choices...what to get.
Talked to Paul from Underground quilts. Real nice guy. He was showing off one of his UQs. Has some very nice details like built in loops along the sides for attaching to your hammock. A draft collar at each end to eliminate those pesky cold spots and a double suspension system. One to hold the UQ up and the second to allow you to fine tune the placement of the UQ. After seeing the UQ in person I can see why these quilts are so popular. Lets see, how much $$ do I have …... I know, Honey... I know what I want for Christmas and I have been real good this year.
Also go to met the Ryan, the partner in crime from Appalachian Hammocks who brought some some of their gear to show off. Very nicely made hammocks and it is made here in the Greenville NC
area.
Survivalen of VersaShelters was suppose to be there to show off his gear but did not make it.
The DIY bug was in the air as several people were making cozies for their pots and or making alcohol stoves. Note...how do you tell if your alcohol stove is burning ? You stick your hand over it and if it smells like pork cooking then the stove is lit.
Also lots of kayaks and at least one canoe present and several folks braved the cold water and winds and went paddling out in the lake.
The guests of honor, 6 large pork shoulders got the special attention they deserved as Catavarie massaged each butt with a dry rub. I am not sure but I think he was getting into the massage part a little too much. Then the butts found their home on the grill where the were allowed to slowly cook for the next 6+ hours. A long wait but good BBQ takes time.
Finally about 6pm the guest of honor were removed from the smoker, allowed to rest and were then chopped to perfection. Someone else whose name I did not get brought some 'Q he made at home for us to enjoy. Various stews and chilies, cornbread, potato salad, beans ect ended up on the table and the dinner bell was rung. Unfortunately the Q disappeared all too quickly. I got a head count of 40 people for dinner.
By the way Shug...I ate some 'Q in your honor. You enjoyed it.
My wife asked me to get her some of the dessert ( a pineapple, cherry cobbler made in a dutch oven ). I went and got her all that was left, literately a partial spoon full that I was able to scrape off the inside to the pot. The wife now wants to get a Dutch Oven.
I got a head count of about 40 people present for dinner.
After dinner the raffle was held. I still think Gresh and Loki had figured out a way to rig the raffle as they seemed to win every other prize. Ryan from Appalachian Hammocks won one of the grand prizes, only problem was it was a choice between the hammock he brought for the raffle and a gift certificate from Warbonnet Hammocks. After thinking about it he decided to pass.
Congrats to the winners and a big thanks to the vendors who donated the prizes.
To the winners, please remember to thank the vendor for donating the prizes. Vendors I have contacted to thank in the past for stuff I have won tell me they rarely hear from the winners.
After the raffle we all sat around the campfire and told bad jokes and decided we should start Hammock Forums After Dark. This consisted of making bad comments about Gresh and his ability to “scamper” thru the woods. If Gresh scampers thru the woods and no is there to see him, is he really scampering or is he lumbering. Deep philosophical questions and discussions continued. Someone made the commit that we need bigfoot at the hang. I reminded him that Gresh was already here.
The wife and I finally decided it was past our bedtimes so we departed the nice warn fire and went to bed. During the night the temps dropped and the winds picked up. Got the bit chilly but we stayed warm. If I had known it was going to get so windy I would have set up my hammock sock.
Broke down camp and packed up. Had a breakfast wrap before I left. Very tasty. I heard 96 eggs were used to make breakfast.
Went by the REI in Durham and got the wife a new day pack and used my massive $2.10 dividend towards the purcahse. A young lady was next to us was also trying on packs and told the REI clerk she was a hammock hanger. Was tempted to ask her why she wasn't at the hang but the wife distracted me as she needed help in selecting a new day pack for a planned hiking trip to the AT in few weeks.. The REI has ENO, Byers and Hennessy Hammocks on the shelf for sale.
Also stopped by a Shoe Carnival and got some hiking boots for the wife and found a couple in my size 15.
I will post photos after I have a chance to go thru them.
04-22-2013, 21:31
Gresh
Hey, look! A new addition to my signature.
04-22-2013, 21:37
gunner76
Glad to be of help to the mighty Gresh
04-23-2013, 05:47
Junebugdawn
Slideshow Link!
I finally got the pics uploaded. Here is a link to the slideshow. The password is: smokedbutt.
I will add my trip report and link in individual pics later today, but wanted y'all to be able to go ahead and see them. Miss all of y'all already!
First off - HUGE thank you to Catavarie for planning the hang - definitely awesome for your first!!:) Secondly another HUGE thank you to Catavarie, FIMB, Gresh, Gunner, 4WLO, and everyone who fed us, that was the most I've ever eaten while camping :lol: And third - thank you to everyone in attendance for just general awesomeness, ya'll are the best group of strangers I have ever spent the weekend with :D
Ok on to the trip report...
So for the entire week before the trip our house was chaos; finding gear that hadn't been used since before we moved, doing inventory for six people, and just generally packing too much :) But by Friday morning we had most everything packed, so after work and a quick stop by the store we loaded the car and headed out around 11ish...to the other store...then we really hit the road.
We made it all the to Durham before the kids starved to death and stopped by Wal-Mart (yes ANOTHER store :) ) since we needed to renew our NC fishing licenses and ate at the Subway. Talked to a crazy lady who asked if there were animals around when you fish? :confused: (glad she wasn't camping with us)
After following my directions and almost getting lost and actually having to ask for directions - we finally made it to the site sometime in the afternoon (I lost track of time in my hurry to put more space between the kids :scared:) After a warm greeting and quick introductions, we set out to find several good trees because I was determined to be set-up before the storms hit. We settled on a spot between the bathrooms and everyone else (kids) and figured out how to bunk the hammocks for the boys!!
After settling in we went over to be sociable and start a little fire for our hobo dinners. The rain came about the time we sat down to eat :mellow: And then we went to make sure our stuff was staying dry and find the rain gear. The kids got soaked...then dried, and tucked into the bed :D After I dried myself out and the rain eased up, I settled into my (already claimed) hammock, and got to try out a sock from Catavarie (thanks!!)
Slept pretty well, except I kept thinking I was gonna dump my little one :unsure:. Apparently my tarp broke during the night and Visionary fixed it...ain't he sweet :) Around five am I was awoken to "Mommy.....Mommy, I gotta potty!!" So after a quick (and cold) trip to the tree, I snuggled back in, actually in the sleeping bag this time. Got up for real a little later and started coffee...and shoes :huh: The rest of our group was slow to get up but they had some wonderful breakfast all the same.
After much nagging, we took the kids to the lake to fish. The wind was blowing so hard, that there were ocean-like waves crashing! But we fished anyway, and even caught one (by the eye!) :D :cool: The kids ran around in the woods and Visionary and I hung out and chatted most of the day. I borrowed a hammock from Catavarie (thanks again) so I could sleep a little more comfortably. Then the dinner bell rang! Yummy!! Lots of butt, chili, beans, stew (need that recipe btw Greesh), and finished off with dump cake. :thumbup: :drool: The raffle was a huge success (even tho it was rigged :tongueup: ) The kids made smores and FIMB pied-pipered them away. We found them (good ol' glow sticks) and settled them in for the night and attempted to hang out by the fire. After a few potty trips, we scampered back and joked and laughed with the grown ups!!
After a better nights sleep, I woke Visionary so he could do breakfast :) We weren't in a hurry for the weekend to end so we hung around the fire for a while...I received a very unexpected and wonderful gift!! (thank you so so much :thumbup1: :woot: ) Eventually we broke camp (and my percolator :crying ), a long process apparently because when we went to get our stuff from the main camp, almost everyone was gone. We collected the rest of our stuff and said our last goodbyes. Then homeward bound (gah....the return to civilization always sucks).
Another huge thank you for being the type of people I want my kids to know, and for an awesome weekend. :boggle:
P.S. - I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but this is MamaLion - not Visionary's alter ego :D
Awesome video...love that we have hard evidence of the rigged raffle!! :eek: (just picking guys)
And no worries I think they just wanted to be pirates too! :shades:
~MamaLion
04-24-2013, 11:08
FireInMyBones
Quote:
Originally Posted by Loki
Reall nice video FIMB! Appreciate your taking the time to capture it all :thumbup1:
No problem. This way it makes it easier for me to remember all that happened one day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4WLO
Cool vid, thanks for taking the time to put it together.
This was truly an awesome hang. FIMB's vid sums it up well.
Thank you. It was pretty sweet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Junebugdawn
Would it be possible to make the video available on mobile, please? Can't wait to see it!
I'm not sure, but it might not be visible on mobile because of a song that's used in the video is copyrighted. I wonder if that might be the reason. It won't even give me the option to have it visible on mobile. All of my videos normally are accessible by mobile though. Anyone else have any thoughts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by visionarylion
Awesome video...love that we have hard evidence of the rigged raffle!! :eek: (just picking guys)
And no worries I think they just wanted to be pirates too! :shades:
~MamaLion
I think they'd make great deck hands. Your kids are too well behaved to be pirates. ;)
04-24-2013, 12:25
Catavarie
Great video, FiMB. Feel like I was there, oh wait I was. :D I didn't realize how stoned I looked, I guess I was just high on nature and BBQ. Can hardly wait till next year and will have to see about possibly putting together something for the fall as well.
04-24-2013, 16:07
Junebugdawn
What a great video, FIMB! Thank you so much for making it!
04-24-2013, 16:26
visionarylion
that was a great vid FIMB I hadn't realized how many RR their where at this hang
04-24-2013, 16:49
FireInMyBones
Quote:
Originally Posted by Catavarie
Great video, FiMB. Feel like I was there, oh wait I was. :D I didn't realize how stoned I looked, I guess I was just high on nature and BBQ. Can hardly wait till next year and will have to see about possibly putting together something for the fall as well.
I wasn't going to say anything but Saturday was 4-20 and there was a lot of smoke coming from over by where you were. :lol:
If next year is any better than this year, I'm not sure what I'll do with myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Junebugdawn
What a great video, FIMB! Thank you so much for making it!
Thanks! I enjoy making them, so I'm glad you liked it too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by visionarylion
that was a great vid FIMB I hadn't realized how many RR their where at this hang
I think I counted five RRs. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
04-24-2013, 20:33
Missy Lou
Great Video!! Maybe next year it will be a little warmer so we can go paddle with you guys :) Thanks to everyone for making us feel so welcomed and making this an AWESOME hang!! Can't wait till next year to do it all again.
04-25-2013, 05:48
lugnut
Great video. Looks like you guys ate real good.
04-26-2013, 07:50
FireInMyBones
Quote:
Originally Posted by Missy Lou
Great Video!! Maybe next year it will be a little warmer so we can go paddle with you guys :) Thanks to everyone for making us feel so welcomed and making this an AWESOME hang!! Can't wait till next year to do it all again.
Thanks, Missy. We'd love to have you along for the paddle. We're all one big family. Of course you're welcome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lugnut
Great video. Looks like you guys ate real good.
We most certainly did. Thanks for the compliment. Perhaps we'll see you out with us sometime.
04-26-2013, 08:14
old4hats
Only after looking at the video a few times did I realize that you had made the mistake of putting some old guy with a big hat on in there. Oh well, one never knows what is coming these days. Seriously, you did great with it and I truly enjoyed watching it several times. Hope to meet you on the trail somewhere some day.
05-04-2013, 20:50
Tacoma96
We attended this hang also. We parked at the Falls Lake Mountains to Sea trailhead and hiked on in. We took our newest member of our family (a 7 month Chihuahua) out on the hike with us. We arrived at campsite 4 at 2:30Pm on Saturday. I guess most of the crowd came later. We walked around for a bit then headed back into the woods going west towards the Rollingview swimming area. The Chihuahua did fine until about the 3.5 mile mark, so we had to head back to the car. The overall hike was about 4 miles. Wish we could of stayed longer.
