Well after owning and tweaking my hammock for a few months, I decided it was time for the maiden hang. I grabbed my buddy and hit the Harper Creek Trail in the Wilson Creek area of NC. The forecast was a low of 40 and small chance of rain for Friday night.
My gear:
ENO Dub
BA Encampment
BA Insulated Air Core
Thermarest 3/4 closed cell
Kelty Noah 12
After dinner the skies were clear and we commented on how nice the weather was. I hopped into my rig and briefly fall asleep. I woke up to a flash of light. I dismissed it as my buddies flashlight, but then heard the thunder associated with wicked spring mountain weather. Temps had to drop to the mid 30's and we had around 3 to 4 thunder showers roll through.I was pretty cold and stuffed ever piece of clothing into my bag to keep warm.
My plan was to share my buddies tent in the event that I do not stay warm enough. Unfortunately, his loose rain fly resulted in a wet tent. I hung tight (although a little chilly) all night in the hammock. I am really impressed in how the Kelty (in lock down storm pitch) kept me dry in the down pour. My Dutch biners also worked well to keep the water from dripping down into the hammock.
I thankfully learned how to hang the tarp from the contributors to this forum. I used a continous ridgeline with shock cord loops on the tie outs. The tarp was bullet proof all night despite the wicked spring weather. I was just too cold.
We only camped 3/4 mile in so I was able to hike back and set up the trusty Sierra Designs tent for night 2. I had to down grade the hammock to camp furniture for the rest of the trip. I don't want to give up on hammock camping but I think I need to improve set up for cold weather or just wait for warmer temps.
The scenary in Harpers Creek was great and we had a blast. Here are a couple of picks. Thanks!
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