I am not even a n00b yet...probably a "pre-n00b"! I have no hammock, suspensions, etc., but have been lurking around this site for the past week or so after having pretty much decided I wanted to plunge (no pun intended) into the world of hangers. I am recently retired ...OK, OK, I lost my job , but my lovely wife decided I should just retire. As she is a good bit younger than me, I am now enjoying my status as a "kept man"! I highly recommend this!
I have enjoyed back-packing sporadically since I was in Scouts many, many years ago. My lovely spouse and I did a little section of the AT about 5 years ago and have done a few trails around So. Indiana, but have mostly camped in a pop-up with her kids and now have a large travel trailer that we enjoy sharing with friends. We were sharing that trailer with some friends a month or so ago and did some hiking in Red River Gorge (KY) and I realized how much I missed it all.
So...I decided I needed a new daypack for future hikes and some new footwear; during my research I ran across this forum...lucky me! I have a lot of stuff from my earlier back-packing days...little of it UL, but much still with a useful life. My plan is to begin with some dayhikes to build myself up further. We haven't back-packed in a while due to my relatively poor physical condition. However, I have lost 10 lbs. since I "retired" ( again!) and we have now been going to the local YMCA for a couple of months, so I am getting stronger. I have already warned my kind spouse about this new direction and she is at least very open to it, so we'll see. She likes back-packing because of the exercise, the vistas and I feed her some darn good food! Please note that in out 53 miles in 5 days on the AT, we didn't lose a single pound...hard fo us to believe!
While reviewing my equipment for the "10 essentials" I realised that I didn't have a suitable tarp. So...after much research and consideration...thank you all of you that have at some time posted about the merits of the Mamajama, the MacCat, the Tadpole, etc... I ordered a Toxaway yesterday. Price on sale seemed too good to be true and it seemed to fit all that I was planning for it. Now on my dayhikes, I can play with set-ups, etc. and try to figure the best way for me to rig it.
I have a good idea of what I want in a hammock, but am not yet ready to commit...want to see how the knot-tieing, etc. goes with the tarp. Tieing knots was NOT one of my core competencies in Scouts ...I still only get a square knot right about 1/2 of the time! LOL!
Anyway I am excited to join this community and hope that I can be of service to someone else down the road.
Bookmarks