Myself & 2 others went to Red Top Mntn yesterday for a lazy hang around - float in the lake, sit by the fire type overnighter.
Keith & I get there - set up & proceed to be lazy.
For anyone wondering about camp sites at Red top mntn
no problems with hammock there
and the sites without water or electric have the best locations
$19 a night per site
We knew some pop up storms were going to come thru
at about 4pm we starting hearing thunder in the distance.
Keith looks on his phone and sees a wall of red cloud coming right at us. a little more than what we expected
So we gather junk laying around throw stuff in his tent.
I already had any clothes, towel & top quilt in my hammock
Had WB Superfly tarp pitched tight to the hammock, close to the ground
Was using DIY hammock sock with some PE foam in the built in pockets - no UQ.
The wind was VERY VERY strong & lightning. at first we all hopped in the car. about 40yrds from the camp site. keiths tent looked like it was about to fly in the lake. so he hopped out of the car & stayed with his tent.
My tarp was taking a good beating from the wind & rain. (wish I could have gotten video) My friend Sarah & I stayed in her car. she asked if I want to go out by my hammock. I said NO! it is what it is.
So we left & took a ride to the store to get marshmallows & chocolate. Hung out there for a little while till the storm eased up.
we get back and I had no clue if my gear was going to be in pieces wrapped around several tree or in the lake.
When I looked -- I noticed my tarp is just flopped/sagged over my hammock. it was still drizzling at this point so we went over to check on Keith. He was wet inside in tent - evidently the rain came thru the rainfly & seams. But he was not in the lake!
within 10 mins or so the rain stopped. I lift my tarp -- the hammock & gear inside the hammock was bone DRY!
my lines were still attached to stakes & stakes in ground but the lines loosened. Dutch tarp flyz held the ridgeline. I retied the guylines on tarp and all was good.
Once it got dark we hung around the fire for a little while . Cooked hot dogs & smores on a stick.
It did feel cool last night before I went to sleep. Temps I think were mid 60's last night - the hammock sock did its job. Along with a DIY summer weight TQ.
Rained again at 5am with a little wind for about 20 mins. The side panel tie out held up during the morning rain.
This was the first time this kit was out in a storm like this and I am VERY pleased with its performance!!
What I did learn is my food bag needs improvement. It soaked up the water off the floor of keiths tent. and the PE foam in the pockets of the hammock sock is a pain in the butt. I will prob remove that & just use it for a UQ protector - unless I can tweak the design better cause it does work well for a summer UQ/ protector. The sock & hammock was dry is all I cared about.
The pic attached is the only one I took with my cell phone after the storm once I fixed the tarp.
just got back a couple of hrs ago - gotta go clean gear
I know I'll be returning to Red top mntn in the near future.
OH! and anyone wondering if they need to seal seams on a superfly - dont waste your time. Evidently it passed the test for the hurricane like down pour it was in yesterday
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks