Destinations

[Crash]

Me too! Could be a great "reference library" over time.

Now if Hammock Forums has a Destinations forum, then people would see that they would not want to go to the C&O Canal trail because there are so few places to hang there. It would save someone from having a real disappointing trip!

Posters would have to keep it short and specific on why or why not to go there.

But I bow to our Moderators and their wisdom in these things,

[Crash]

Or you could search the Trip Reports subforum. Why don't we stick to the C&O Canal in this thread, rather than how the forum is run?

I searched the trip reports before hand and didn't see any C&O Canal trips.

The Problem with Trip Reports is it can contain anything. So you have to read a ton of excess to get to the substance. Trip reports on how your equipment worked or didn't, is important but a different report from Destinations.

Posters don't always list where the location really is. Many a time the location could be anywhere in this country. Where is Bay Circuit or Lake Hartwell to just name a few. List the State its in and the Nat, or State park its in would be so helpful. What you know the place as may not be what the rest of the country knows it as.

Destinations forum would be SPECIFIC info based on the location:
Title: Location, then Nat./State park/ State : i.e.:Blue Lakes, Delaware Water Gap National Park, New Jersey.
1-Trees - can you hang there, too many dead trees,
2-water - pump, spring, creek or lake, pollution,
3-terrain- hilly or rocky, difficult to access, too close to noise (interstates or civilation)
4-reasons to want to go there- great views, swimming, biking
5- things to avoid there- party hangouts,
6-Distances- approx miles in from the trailhead,

There's so much info to make hammocking a better way of camping that we all can benefit from. Hammocking is a different way of camping so helping out other hammockers and newbies by telling them where to camp or not to camp would surely help in this steep learning curve.

The C&O Canal trip brought to my attention on how locations can really effect your hammock camping trip. It could be life-threatening - lack of water, cliffs, rock slides, avalanches, etc.

I travel solo so I have to get more info to lessen the risks. But even multiple campers especially if they are newbies can be at risk from the unknown. Useful input from those who have been there before me can make the difference.

[Cannibal]

Crash-
Have you given any thoughts to the Google Map concept? I think that would be a fantastic resource to have available and a thread could always be started and made to be "Sticky" in the Forums. That would make it easy to find and anybody could go in and edit/add/remove locations. It would also eliminate the need to do a search here, which doesn't always work as well as one expects.

[angrysparrow]

There's so much info to make hammocking a better way of camping that we all can benefit from. Hammocking is a different way of camping so helping out other hammockers and newbies by telling them where to camp or not to camp would surely help in this steep learning curve.

I totally understand your point.

But, consider that hammocks are a means, not an end.

Unless you go to a 'hangout', you don't go somewhere 'to hammock'. You go to kayak, or hike, or bike, or snowshoe, or swim, or whatever. It is the activity that defines the trip, not the camping details. Therefore, 'Destinations' is a project best up to sites and forums about the activity...hiking, paddling, etc. and the places to do those activities.

Hammock Forums is great, because it is nicely focused. Broadening that focus won't necessarily improve it.

[Just Jeff]

It sounds like you have pretty strong feelings on the Destinations forum. Why don't you honcho the Google Maps idea? That way we could see the landscape around the site, and even plot the trails in the area. Regardless of my thoughts on keeping HF organized, I think Google Maps is a more effective way of doing what you're talking about. You want to take it on as a project?