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Thread: Whole Hog

  1. #1
    New Member
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    May 2010
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    Midway, KY
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    Whole Hog

    The journey of thousands of dollars spent must begin with a single forum thread... or something like that.

    My name is Sam, I am from the hamlet of Midway in the heart of the Bluegrass region of the fine state of Kentucky. I began backpacking on April 24th, 2004 at Neel Gap, GA on the AT. I was a cycling enthusiast looking for a cool way to watch Lance Armstrong race his first major race on US soil with a friend who was a backpacking enthusiast who thought it would be cool to watch me suffer up and over Wildcat Mountain. Neither of us were disappointed.

    I walked away from that trip with a love of backpacking and he walked away with a bunch of good stories about my retarded gear and basic and total ineptitude. I immediately came home and began pouring over forum posts and catalogs and quickly accumulated more gear than was used by the entire Lewis & Clark expedition. Since 2004 I have purchased 5 packs, 3 tents, 3 water filters and 2 stoves. Additionally, I have made 25 or 30 different alky stoves and various pot stands and windscreens. To borrow a southern phrase, I went "whole hog".

    Then, last fall, my local Sportsman's Warehouse decided that my beloved Lexington, KY location was not worth keeping open and had a clearance sale and shut the doors. On the last day of the sale, tucked in the bottom of a box of crap, I found a Byer Parachute Traveller Hammock. I'm a Scoutmaster for my son's Boy Scout Troop and I thought that it looked like the perfect "car-camping" solution for wasting away the hours at base camp during a week of summer camp. It was a mere $3 so what did I have to lose? I bought it, brought it home, and threw it into my very own box of crap and totally forgot about it.

    Last Saturday afternoon the family and I were invited to spend the day at my sister's lake cabin that is nestled in amongst a nice thicket of trees. I came upon my unused hammock while digging through my box of crap looking for my fly fishing vest. I grabbed it and took it along. Since it turned out to be a crappy day for fishing, I decided to cut my losses and take a nap in my hammock. I rigged up a quick suspension system using some 1" nylon webbing off a life jacket and gingerly entered the hammy. I awoke surprised, an hour or so later, to find that I was still in fact suspended between two trees and was completely comfortable.

    Now, if you remember the "whole hog" part from three paragraphs ago, it must be stated that "whole hog" is my basic modus operandi. Whenever something, hell ANYTHING grabs my fancy, I go all in. I came home last Saturday, remembered the hammockforums.net address from reading posts over on whiteblaze.net and wandered over here and created an account.

    I had always had the impression that you hammock hangers where a bit of an odd group but I couldn't have been more wrong. One of the first threads I read pointed me toward Shug's YouTube channel. I spent the rest of Saturday night and most of Sunday morning watching every single one of his vids. I now realize that you all are certifiably insane. But I digress...

    The pertinent "whole hog" part of my introduction to this forum is that I just came home from my local Hancock's Fabrics with 20yd of black ripstop. I believe it is 1.9 but I'm not 100% sure. I am now shaving yaks all over the place figuring out how to turn this black bolt of nylon into my first "real" hammock.

    If you have read this far, I applaud your persistence yet question your judgement. All the same, thanks for reading and thanks for a great forum. I look forward to becoming part of the fold.
    Last edited by Midway; 05-11-2010 at 19:39.

  2. #2
    Senior Member the2nddeal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Rome, GA
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    DIY 1.1oz or WB Traveler
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    HG Cuben / DIY
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    Whoopie Sling
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    Welcome to the insanity. Glad to hear you're enjoying the migration to hammocks. It's a fun journey.

  3. #3
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
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    Nov 2009
    Location
    West Kootenays,BC,Canada
    Hammock
    Warbonnet BB DL 1.1 & Lite Owl
    Tarp
    Black MacCat Del.
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    webbing/whoopie
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    I read your whole post and didn't see a problem or a question. Welcome to the forum , and while your acquiring everything don't forget A WBBB, a BB, Yeti, Crowsnest, Mamba, JRNHRTQ,,OES MacCat D, Whoopies, toggies,,etc etc etc .
    " The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."

    “The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.” ~Wayne Dyer

    www.birchsidecustomwoodwork.com

  4. #4
    Senior Member NCPatrick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Winston-Salem, NC
    Hammock
    WB Traveler
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    Custom OES tarp
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    Whoopie slings
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    Quote Originally Posted by Midway View Post
    I now realize that you all are certifiably insane. But I digress....
    Welcome to HF! I haven't gotten my certificate yet, but I'm definitely certifiable I guess. Sorry we'll miss meeting you at the RRG hangout. That one promises to be a lot of fun.


    "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
    - Mark Twain
    “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
    - John Burroughs

  5. #5
    slowhike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Winston-Salem, NC
    Hammock
    DIY, gathered end , w/ spreader
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    JRB Universal
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    DAM/ HG Incubator
    Suspension
    Webbing and rings
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    11,677
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    You thought hammockers were a little odd but then you watched Shug's videos... Oh Boy!
    Welcome aboard. Hope you'll get that first hammock put together & like it.
    If someone doesn't beat me to it (or maybe you already been there) I'll find a link to Just Jeff's website. Lots of good, basic info there. It's called "tothewoods". You could probably just google that.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  6. #6
    slowhike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Winston-Salem, NC
    Hammock
    DIY, gathered end , w/ spreader
    Tarp
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    DAM/ HG Incubator
    Suspension
    Webbing and rings
    Posts
    11,677
    Images
    319
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Northern Ky
    Hammock
    currently my DIY bridge
    Tarp
    8 x 10 sil tarp
    Insulation
    DIY tq,pads
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    whoopie sling
    Posts
    588
    Welcome to the forums from another Kentucky hanger. Sounds like you will fit right into the insanity.

  8. #8
    SlowBro's Avatar
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    Mar 2008
    Location
    Eugene, OR
    Hammock
    DIY-Darian UL-like
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    z-Packs cuben
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    Whoopies/Straps
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    389
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    Hmmmmm..... A Scoutmaster calling us Crazy?
    Welcome, and a word of advice-- Careful around the troop when talking about things like Whoopie slings. They may not understand
    -Mark

    P.S. I used to be a Scoutmaster, too. Between the parents and the boys--that IS crazy!
    -SlowBro
    "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."-Theodore Roosevelt

  9. #9
    Senior Member Albert Skye's Avatar
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    Jun 2009
    Location
    coastal B.C.
    Hammock
    DIY (&c.)
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    375
    Thanks for introducing yourself Sam; interesting.

    You make music (bluegrass or otherwise)?

    In any case, keep them clippers sharp!

  10. #10
    New Member
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    May 2010
    Location
    Midway, KY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Albert Skye View Post
    You make music (bluegrass or otherwise)?
    Not since my freshman year in college. University of Kentucky Wildcat Marching Band, mellophone section. However, I am a "roadie" of sorts, run the mixing console for various musical events as well as during church a couple of Sundays a month.


    Thanks everyone so far for all the fine welcomes... this place is a nice change of pace from over at whiteblaze.net.

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