AT Woody Gap Hang Report

[mtndew]

How far is that from Trey Mtn Wilderness? I was almost struck by lightning there a couple of summers ago. I was in my hammock wondering if lighting was going to arc up and bite me in my butt.

[Cutter]

Great report and good times.

I was wondering how the roads were? Do the FS roads stay open year round?

Thanks,

cutter

[WLMiller54]

Roads were actually very good. The parking lot was not. Looks like they plowed the roads, but missed the lot. We were actually pretty concerned because there was supposed to be freezing rain during our hang. However. The morning was clear and cold. slush froze, but there was no new ice.

[Cutter]

Thanks for the report.

[RandyMan]

A report from the aforementioned brother-in-law:

I had my HH Exp Zip and Hex Tarp out for their official first overnight hang. I also had brand spanking new quilts (Under and Top) my wife made me for Christmas. I was toasty warm, even in the wind at night. My right foot was the only thing cold. It got cold since I did not cinch down the foot box on my TQ and my foot made its way to the mesh. So you can say it was operator error.
The temps were in the mid 30s at start of hike, and dropped into the 20s overnight.
My biggest problem with the hammock and tarp were adjustments once the knots were tied. The suspension system was stock HH - ropes tied to tree huggers. The thin lines on the tarp from HH are horrible in cold/wet weather. I will replace them soon (probably 2mm dyneema with knot bones). I will add whoopie slings (7/64 amsteel) to the hammock and use the marlin spike hitch and toggles to attach to tree huggers. These enhancements should make adjustments much easier.
I also had a chance to use my DIY alcohol stove. I made it out of an aluminum bottle. I used 1 oz. of denatured alcohol and brought 16 oz. of water to a near boil. The water was in a Snowpeak Trek 900 titanium pot. I was happy with it.
So, overall we had a great time. I stayed warm and dry in the snow/slush. My trekking poles saved me several times on the way down on the icy trails.

Happy Hanging - Randyman

(As a side note on the hammock - I had a weird problem. On Christmas day my younger son and I did a test hang to ensure we would stay warm. I had my new quilts, so was abandoning the pad and sleeping bag I had planned on using. We decided we would set up our hammocks and take a nap in them during the afternoon. He zipped my hammock shut after I was in it. He zipped it all the way to the foot end of the hammock, and when I wanted to get out of it, after my nap, I could not reach the zipper pulls. So, I flopped around in the hammock and was finally able to get a toe between the zipper pulls and eventually opened them. I'm glad this didn't happen when I had to get out of the hammock in a hurry! So, I will add some line to the zipper pulls to enable me to reach them if they are moved to the extreme head or foot of hammock. This should not happen normally as you would zip yourself in, but I don't want it to happen to me again.)