First Annual NEHHA Mass Hanging!

[SkyPainter]

Well, we had 14 hangers and one ground sleeper make the Mass Hanging! A great turnout, considering the weather was supposed to turn to rain this weekend. Other than a few light fits and starts, though, it held off until just after we all left!

The Group Site was perfect for a large hang! Lots of nicely spaced, sturdy trees in an 'old growth' section of the forest. No one had any trouble finding a nice hang spot.

Here are a couple of shots of just a section of the group, which I took shortly before my cell phone croaked searching for service.

NEHHA.jpg

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Chocolatier and I got there early, and spent a little Recon time near the park. One cool thing was while we were waiting, the female park ranger came over and chatted, and pulled-out her digital camera with a cool pic she managed to get of a Kangaroo mouse!

Here are a couple of shots prior to the hang, near the park.

The Cold River.jpg The Cold River

Chocolatier in the riverbed.jpg Chocolatier in the riverbed in a poncho.

Other stories and pics will undoubtedly be forthcoming.

We 'formalized' the NEHHA Group (NorthEast Hammock Hangars Association), and elected genegene as the first official President, as he did such a good job getting this hang launched and booked. It also does not hurt to have A Department of Conservation and Recreation employee as the Prez....

There will be many stories flowing in about the hang. Those about me, or my gear are not true, whatever they are! Actually, it was nice to run into a few real 'gearheads' at the hang! I learned a lot!

The SPAM Cook-off was spectacular, with some pretty creative recipes being cooked! The Jersey Bears won - 'cause their food was great, and noone could read the languages on the cans and boxes they used. I will have to mail them their first place prize! Old Soldier made some nice SPAM Burritos that rocked, and I cooked-up a melange of Veggies, potatoes, SPAM and Pineapple chunks. There were some..ummm...unusual beverages there, as well to try (Habanero and Garlic infused Vodka rings a bell), and some nice desserts, as well. Lots of different stove types were present, and it was fun checking them all out!

That's about it for now, more will follow. We had an absolute ball! We are currently pre-planning the next hang - scouting for locations in different parts of the state(s).

Oh, yeah .... one cool thing was Old Soldier and RilMoigan Playing the bagpipes to start and end the hang! VERY cool! Could become a NEHHA tradition, methinks!

All secure in sector 7. This was way fun!

[SkyPainter]

Has anyone seen my glasses?

[HuskyHiker]

here is one from the phone... I have a few more just gotta find the darn cable for my camera


View from the hammock Saturday morning...

[oldsoldier]

First, thanks GeneGene for setting this up! What a fantastic weekend! It was great to put faces to names this weekend! I got there later than anticipated, as my plugger thought I meant Mohawk State Park in CT...once I figured out that my southerly direction wasnt a shortcut, I got on track & got there about an hour later than I wanted. Upon arrival, there was already a decent crowd there. Plenty of places to hang from too. My GF wasnt showing up until later, and this was her first hammock sleeping venture, so I brought a tent, just in case. I set the tent up, my hammock, and a tarp for her, and borrowed an HH exped from Skypainter. She got there, and opted to hang in the HH. The next morning (she couldnt figure out how to get out), I asked her about the tent, and she said to take it down-so, we got us a convert! She has been named "Hangs Wthout Fear", and I will get her to join here soon enough-she took a ton of pics too, so, we need them.
The Spam cookoff was great-to be honest, Spam, when flavored, and mixed with good tasting spices & food, isnt bad at all. There wasnt a bad dish among them, and this may become a regular event. The weather Friday was great, and Saturday was fine, until it started drizzling in the evening. I played the pipes a little that night, and again the next morning-even tried out the kitchen pipes, or DudelSack, that RM brought-interesting little instrument, that I, oddly, couldnt play....
All in all, this was a very successful weekend. Thanks to everyone who came out. It was a good group of folks, and I hope we can have a couple more of these-next time, Nicky SHOULD have her own hammock.

[oldsoldier]

And, some pics:




River near the campground


Nicky on the rocks in the river

[Otis_Hiker]

Had a great time putting faces to names and swapping stories and laughs of past times. To be honest I was scared of the spam cookoff but after tasting the delicious meals I found I was stuffed!
See you all in the fall or hopefully sooner!

[Tripod]

For my first Hang I had a great time. It was fun meeting everyone and being able to put faces to names. The food was great, thanking GeneGene for organizing and the cheeseburgers and The Jersey bears for the spam stir-fry. Had some great Chilli on Friday evening. All in all a great time in spite of the Saturday evening drizzel . Even got a hike in to the top of Todd Mountain.[IMG][/IMG]

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[oldsoldier]

one more pic (stole this from Nicky):

[SkyPainter]

Flashbacks:

* Old Soldier constantly setting himself on fire. The boy is definitely flammable! Do not allow near open flame. His JetBoil was more like a hanger boil! (Are there Ultralight Fire Extinguishers?)

* Baking my lovingly blended 4-grain bread dough for the first time in a cast iron Dutch Oven. Put the thing directly on a pile of charcoal briquettes I brought, and covered it in coals on the top cover.

Result:

1) Put WAY too much charcoal on it, and
2) Kinda lost track of time there for a bit (good company!)
3) Never actually checked the bread while it was baking.

Came out like a hockey puck. Or a hocky football. Totally blackened and burnt crust, but the inside was still soft and delicious! Chocolatier saved a lot by taking the inside, flattening and then toasting it with some oil, and placing some of the various cheeses which were in abundance at the hang! NICE SAVE, Rich!

* Bringing four pair of eyeglasses, and quickly losing three of them. Russ (Jersey Bear) found two pair under my hammock - in the leaves - in the morning. I must have dropped them and not noticed when shooting my Insulin in the mornings. Someone asked, "What color are they?" I responded, "Clear!" D'Oh! Thanks, Russ! I have more someplace in the SUV (AKA The Magic School Bus) but I do not know which Paleologic layer they may be in. Haven't cleaned the truck out since ....you don't wanna know! I think the layers near the bottom may be petrified, and contain stuff I don't even know I ever had. And I'm not kidding. It is sad. People could get lost in there.

* My cell phone got swallowed-up in the truck, and we spent a long time rooting for it. Being so laid back after the hang, I didn't worry about it. We had no cell service out there anyway. We eventually stopped at a rest stop on Rte 495, and emptied all four backpacks, and churned the flotsam and jetsam (all gear, either fishing or camping) and finally dug it out! Could have been lost forever in there. Was a work phone, too.

* Veto's ceramic bear in a hammock. Too cool! Will probably become an iconic part of NEHHA. As might my Beanie Bear dressed in all camo.

* Owls. LOUD Owls! First night the male set to calling - a lot! Soon enough a couple of females were calling back. The calls got closer and closer, and then stopped. I guess the Owls hooked-up. Was fun to listen to lying in the hammock.


* The actual lack of bugs, other than the midges which hatched in the mornings and late afternoon off the Deerfield River. Never saw even ONE mosquito! Couple small black flies, but very few, and no bother. NO Deer Flies! YAY! Those suckers hurt!

* Making a supply run with Peggy (Jersey Bear) and noticing a bar built right in a trailer park! When I mentioned maybe a few of us should come back that evening to see what's up there, she responded; "Oh, yeah ....now THAT'S an episode of COPS waiting to happen!" Rethought that idea quickly. Besides, it was right beside a field they were plowing sewage and manure into. We could smell that all the way up the road a few miles!

* Finding the new Warbonnet SO comfortable, that I didn't want to get up each day!

Can't wait until the next hang!

[oldsoldier]

In my defense, my Jetboil has some gas issues, apparently. As for the alcohol stove mishap, I have nothing to say...I will take the blame for that one .
Again though, falling asleep while reading in my hammock, and instantly thinking I was on fire, was due to YOU guys...thanks for that!!!

The owls were very cool-I have never heard them that close. They were literally right above us!