Sam's Knob and Flat Laurel creek

**Haligen** · 10-09-2011, 22:31

Finally managed to use my new eno this past week. My church had a mens outting at Shining Rock Wilderness Area and it seems like a perfect time to start hanging instead of playing rock and root removal. The view from the summit of Sam's knob was stunning and the weather great albeit a tad colder then planned for. We hiked in on the Flat laurel creek trail and setup camp a few miles in. I found two perfect trees and strapped up. I did make a HUGE mistake this trip. Even after all I read about bottom insulation and using a pad I was being a oz weenie and figured I would be fine with just my bag. I mean it was only supposed to get down into the low 40's. Needless to say I learned the error of my ways real quick the first night. I was so cold I got up put on my silks, fleece, pants, and wool socks. Even with all the extra clothes I still couldn't stop my teeth from chattering. We had about 15mph winds that night and nothing I did seemed to warm me up. 4 extra miles of hiking, 1 hour of car riding, and one trip to walmart later I had a foam pad and fleece bag I used as a liner. The next day was spent hiking to the cascades on flat laurel creek and just general exploring. I will tell you the water in the creek was heart stopping cold but that there is an excellent swimming hole there that begs further use in warmer weather. The final day we woke up and took the trail to the summit. 48 minutes later and we had an awsome view in every direction. All in all I it was a great trip. I learned some hard lessons about hanging while falling in love with it at the same time.

**Bruciehi5** · 10-10-2011, 03:46

I think most of the people here have learned the same lesson – I have. Even, like you, after reading all about the importance of good insulation, on my last trip, I took a summer top quilt, because it was supposed to be warm enough for it. Luckily it worked out well, but it wasn’t looking good there for a while. Hanging cold is no fun at all! It’s a good lesson to learn once!

**Running Feather** · 10-10-2011, 11:51

Glad you didn't get too beat up. It did get pretty frosty

We were really close to one another. Wish we knew of each other's presence. We could have hooked you up with anything you needed

We were essentially car camping, which means - "BRING IT ALL!"

We had extra sleeping bags, CCF pads, tarps, UQs, TQs, you name it

Probably even saw you on Sam Knob from Black Balsam

Thanks for sharing and taking us along

RF

**Haligen** · 10-10-2011, 12:09

You were right down the road. I guess I should have stuck my head into the trip forums for a sec before I left. I added insult to injury by only bringing my 40 degree bag. We had two other brand new hangers with us as well as myself. The first one abandoned his hammock and jumped into a tent with his dad and the other was ever so grateful to share the fire with me that morning. One good thing is now the cold has given me an excuse to come up with new gear.

**Str1der** · 10-19-2011, 08:59

I learned that exact same leason the exact same way. Then, I tried a folded up fleece blanket before "giving in" and getting a winter Incubator. Now, I'll never go cold again. On my last trip, it started raining in the night and the temperature plummeted. All the tossing and turning from my friends in the nearby tent only woke me up long enough to cinch down the uq and go back to sleep with a smile on my face.

**Bruciehi5** · 10-19-2011, 13:58

Originally Posted by Str1der

I learned that exact same leason the exact same way. Then, I tried a folded up fleece blanket before "giving in" and getting a winter Incubator. Now, I'll never go cold again. On my last trip, it started raining in the night and the temperature plummeted. All the tossing and turning from my friends in the nearby tent only woke me up long enough to cinch down the uq and go back to sleep with a smile on my face.

That’s a great story, Str1der! I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing a warm and fuzzy hammock hanging success story, which includes the pain and suffering of near by tent dwellers! lol

**Str1der** · 10-19-2011, 14:35

Originally Posted by Bruciehi5

That’s a great story, Str1der! I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing a warm and fuzzy hammock hanging success story, which includes the pain and suffering of near by tent dwellers! lol

I know what you mean. In the sober light of day, I'm not happy that my friends were uncomfortable. But in that semiconcious state when my sleepy brain started to pannick and think, "Awww crap, I don't want to get up yet. If only I could be warm and comfortable again-Oh wait! I can. I'm in a hammock!" I can't help but feel some schadenfreude towards those guys that thought I was a bit looney tunes for hanging when there was a perfectly good tent available. They thought I was gonna be cold and uncomfortable!