Manistee River Trail

[jeepcachr]

I hiked a Section of the North Country trail and then the Manistee River trail this past weekend, it forms a 21 mile loop. We got on the NCT at the Red Bridge trailhead just south of Mesick Michigan. We hiked that up to Hodenpyl dam and crossed the Manistee river on the suspension bridge and hiked south on the Manistee river trail to one of only 2 waterfalls in the lower penisula of Michigan. the waterfall isn't particularly impressive.

So we set up camp, 2 of us in hammocks and the 3rd supposed to be sleeping in a 1 man tent. He sees the hammocks and wants to try one out so he lays down in one and won't get out. Says he could get used to this. Then he asks me why I didn't loan him a hammock instead of the heavy 4 1/2 lb tent. I tell him I tried to talk you into a hammock and you wanted the tent. His response- "well you didn't try very hard". Which isn't true because I did try to convince him to take the hammock instead of the tent.

So thanks to this site I've made a few hammocks and have read a bit about making hammocks. All the ones I've made have been a sewn channel end but I knew how from reading about it to do a whipped end. It wasn't supposed to rain and I wasn't setting up my tarp any way so I took my 5x10 tarp and whipped the ends. Attached some suspension lines and the 3 of us enjoyed hanging bliss. He won't be carrying a tent next time.