Just did a five day out and back solo walk on the Approach Trail and AT covering a total of 66 miles. While I did shoot some video, the quality is so disappointing that I may or may not make a vid from it. Meanwhile, since this is hammockforums, I'll give you this short trip report concentrating on the hammocking aspects.
Day 1: Amicalola Falls State Park to Hawk Mountain Campground - 16.2 mile day: If you're not familiar with Hawk Mt. campground, it's about a half-mile south of Hawk Mt. Shelter. While not particularly scenic, it does have a good bit to recommend it as a stopping point. There's a water source, a privy and three bear boxes, along with 30 designated campsites, all numbered. The placard at the start of the trail leading to the campsite helpfully lists which sites are good for hammocks with a large "H" symbol. I stayed on site 18, where I've hung before. Lows were in the mid to low 40s all week, including this night. One couple arrived after me but they stayed pretty far away from me, so I paid them no attention and don't know if they tented or hammocked.
One highlight of the day was being on Springer to see a SOBO thru hiker finish up. Whip started in Maine on May 25 and happened to end at Springer the same time I walked up there.
Day 2: Hawk Mountain Campground to Lance Creek - 16.8 mile day: When I first arrived at Lance Creek it didn't seem that promising. Part of the area is roped off for re-forestation and there were a lot of blowdowns. Camping, per AWOL's Guide, is in designated campsites. The first three I came across behind the sign were pretty poor: flat tent sites, very close together and very exposed with few trees. A dedicated hammocker might have made a go of it, but it would not be pretty. Luckily I kept walking and found much better accommodations.
AWOL's Guide doesn't mention it, but there are bear cables at Lance Creek. Just beyond the bear cables I found a much better site, obviously popular and well used by tenters, but also with ample trees. I easily found two that would allow me to set up my tarp perpendicular to the wind, which worked great until the wind switched direction in the night and knocked down the sticks I was using for porch mode on what had been the lee side of the wind. The stakes, however, held and after the initial scare of my porch collapsing in the middle of the night, I rolled over and went back to sleep.
It appears I had the whole place to myself as I neither heard nor saw a soul at Lance Creek that night. Despite the wind, it was one of the best sleeping nights I've had in a while.
Day 3: Lance Creek to 1 mile south of Justus Creek - 10.7 mile day: Since I was now 33 miles away from my car, I decided that rather than press northward, I would turn around and retrace my steps, taking 3 days to walk back what I had walked out in 2 days, which would turn out to be a good decision based on the weather.
I meandered south during the day and ended up about a mile south of Justus Creek where I found a nice patch of woods tucked away. The wind wasn't much of an issue that night and I passed another comfortable night.
One highlight of Day 3 was meeting another thru hiker. Iceman was finishing a flip-flop and I ran into him at Preaching Rock north of Woody Gap about 9am. We leap frogged each other south during this day and the next.
On top of Ramrock Mountain I found the first and only hammocker I saw during my trip. A young lady was setting up an Eno and I stopped to talk shop a few minutes. She and her husband were new to hammocks but had somehow had the foresight or good luck to start out with Warbonnet Blackbirds and she was very complementary about their comfort. The Eno was just for lounging and she said it was an impulse buy she was just trying out for the first time that day. She had never heard of hammockforums, so I encouraged her to log in and then went on my way south.
Day 4: South of Justus Creek to Black Gap Shelter - 15 mile day: The weather started looking more menacing, colder and with a stiff breeze all day that would last into the night. I contemplated staying on top of Springer, but I reached it at 3pm and had plenty of daylight left so I pressed on, which was a good decision because it left me closer to the car for the rainy cold walk the next day. I ended up having Black Gap Shelter site all to myself, which I enjoyed, giving me my third night in a row totally alone. The wind was steady, hard and cold and I was shivering when I arrived, quickly getting into my base layer and using my rain jacket as a windbreaker. While the temperature never dropped below 42 that night, the gusts were probably 20 mph and the heat sucking strength of that wind can't be overstated.
The trees around Black Gap are mostly big and old and not conducive to hanging. It took me a little bit to find two trees that would work for me, mainly getting the proper orientation to block the wind. I figured rain was coming and so pitched the tarp low and tight. I made supper and at 7:30pm the rain started. I hopped on into the hammock and hoped for the best.
That night was the worst weather I have ever camped in, certainly since I've been hammocking. The wind howled, the rain came in torrents and the tarp kept getting pushed into the hammock. The hammock itself was rocking from the wind and I could feel the trees moving. I was scared of blowdowns, but they never happened. Despite the rough weather, every time during the night when I woke up I was warm and dry. I could tell, however, that the wind was still killing the warmth of the UQ. Every once in a while I could feel a burst sucking the heat out. I was never cold, but the difference this night compared to all the previous nights was stark.
I was up early and lay there a while thinking about how to pack up in what was still a torrential cold windy rain. My pack was dry under the hammock, lying on my Tyvek and wrapped in my rain jacket. Eventually I got up, stuffed the quilts into the trash compacter bag in the pack, snatched the hammock down and just bundled it under my rain jacket. Since nobody was in the shelter I used it for a gear explosion and packing up center as well as my kitchen for breakfast. The shelter itself was nearly soaked inside from blowing rain in the night and would have been a poor choice had anyone been there that night.
Day 5: Black Gap Shelter to Amicaloa Falls State Park - 7.3 mile day: A windy, cold walk in the rain back to the car. I reached the car at noon and motored the 2 hours home.
Notes of interest to the nerdy: I was mostly satisfied with my gear choices for this trip. I used my netless Dutchware hammock I've had for the last 4 years, along with the AHE Jarbidge UQ and Jacks 'R Better Hudson River TQ. With lows ranging from 42 to 47 each night I was toasty. In fact I was very nearly too warm the first few nights, mainly because I would put on my base layer when I reached camp and then wear it to sleep in when it really wasn't necessary. The quilts would have been perfectly adequate had I worn shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. I hiked mostly in shorts and shirt and sweated going uphill.
The Quest tarp performed very well, especially considering what it weathered that last night. Had the wind shifted at all, I might have gotten wet but with the low tight setup perpendicular to the wind, I was dry and warm. There was some mist blown in near the head end of the hammock, but that's it. Only a tarp with doors could have prevented that. I was very pleased with the Quest's performance in those conditions and glad I had the 12-foot ridgeline version.
There would have been some value in having an UQ protector and/or a Grizz beak style door add-on for the tarp. I'll most definitely be thinking about one or both of those items for a future purchase. The UQ didn't get wet, but having another wind barrier would be valuable under the conditions I experienced that last night. On the other hand, I didn't need it 3 nights out of the 4 and would have had to carry the weight all week long, so it's still something to think about and ponder. It's also a good lesson in what the wind can do. The actual air temperature was 42 degrees and my quilts are rated well below that, but the wind wouldn't allow the quilts to function the same as they would in colder but less windy conditions. In other words, wind chill is real.
The whole purpose of the trip was for me to see how far and how fast I could go if I pushed myself and I have to say I'm a little disappointed in the results. I thought I had a 20-mile day in me. I don't. Even walking from 7:30am to 5:30pm, I got just under 17 miles at most. My breaks were few and short but I just can't get as far as I was hoping. My strength is okay but the stamina just isn't there. But now I know and can plan accordingly for future trips.
My sincere thanks to you guys on hammockforums. Using knowledge and techniques I learned here kept me safe and comfortable and allowed me to do something I dearly love, which is to be by myself in the woods.
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Originally Posted by TrailSlug
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