10th Annual Mid-Tenn Fall Hangout at Meriwether Lewis Natchez Trace Pkwy

[THeath2]

I was so fortunate to attend my first hang this weekend and met some WONDERFUL people!!! As soon as I arrived, I felt at home. I certainly didn't expect to be greeted with a gift of a Costco quilt that I can modify to use as a top quilt or under quilt. I had been a little nervous, and almost backed out, but I'm soooo glad I went. Rain Man helped me set up my hammock and gave some good advice, then Neo put my tarp up for me and showed me some knots. They already had dinner plans in town, but allowed me to tag along. Saturday morning I met other nice people, many of whom I can't remember their names, but Jim tutored me in Dutch oven cooking since I haven't done it in awhile. It turns out, I never knew what I was doing, lol. I believe it was Fishbone who brought his guitar; beautiful! I enjoyed the campfire and all of the the hammock/backpacking talk. Oh yeah! The food! Lots of yummy food. Loved it. Thank you, Mandy, Beth, Jenny, Pat, Pat's wife, and all the others for welcoming me and making me feel like part of the group.

My husband is not outdoorsy, and he thinks I'm a nut for becoming a hammocker, but when this group told me to call him up and invite him to breakfast, he accepted. It really put his mind at ease to see that I was with good people, and I know that he will be less apprehensive the next time I want to go.

Even though I live in the neighboring county, I'd never camped here before. It's a really nice place; it had clean, warm bathrooms and lots of trees for hanging. I will definitely be visiting again, and I highly recommend the Meriwether Lewis campground. What a great hanging group!

[TrailSlug]

Excellent report. The hammocking guys and gals are almost always a friendly group and know how to make a new hanger more than welcome. I so wanted to make this hang but my wife had surgery and I thought I should stay behind to help. I'm glad you decided to go and even more so that you were so welcomed. I've not met these guys but they sure seem nice here on the message board. Maybe next time.

[Rain Man]

Terri, it was my wife's (Jenny aka Stitch) first time there, too. And on the way home she thanked me for inviting her and said she'd like to do it again. It was super nice to meet you ... and thanks for the chauffeur service to the Junkyard Dog Steakhouse on Friday night!

Please do come again. Feel free to check out the "Nashville Backpacker" group on Meetup.com. We do about two backpacking trips a month (and many of us are hammock hangers), usually in or within a few hours of middle Tennessee. Several of the folks you met this weekend are also in that Meetup group. Here's the link: www.meetup.com/NashvilleBackpacker

Nice to meet Randy too! And on a separate note, what super nice weather we had!!! LOVE it when I can set up and break camp in sunshine and without cold fingers.