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  1. #1
    Senior Member samsara's Avatar
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    Grinder's birthday hang (2012 edition)

    I can report another successful hang down on the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest near Frostproof (FL)! This annual hang will forever be known as "Grinder's birthday hang" from now on (come down next year!).

    This particular hang was on the Walk-in-Water tract for a change of pace since the other hangs that I have put on were on the Arbuckle tract. Olddog and emcee arrived early on Thursday and headed out to get some time in the woods. They made it to the camp site fine and set up camp (olddog snagged the premium site!) and were treated to two motorcycles literally riding through the middle of the camp (no motorized equipment is allowed on the forest but maybe we'll catch them next time).

    Grinder got out to the site Friday morning (on his birthday) and Great White and samsara got there a little after noon. Later in the afternoon MAD777 and lilricky arrived and the final piece to the puzzle (and the one that drove the farthest) was SkunkApe a little before sunset. Everyone got settled in and had dinner around the campfire. Bear bags were hung *ahem* and olddog started the birthday peach cobbler in his dutch oven. The cobbler was delicious (of course) and we all wished grinder a happy birthday and sat around the fire visiting late into the night.

    Saturday started with breakfast and preparations for our day hike. We headed out and experienced some world class sugar sand and hills (yes... hills in Florida!!). There were many nice views, lots to see, a cypress dome up in the sandhill on the Lake Wales Ridge, and 6 miles later we were back at the camp for the afternoon. Naps, relaxing, and food filled the rest of the day and most turned in early after a days hike through sugar sand.

    Sunday brought breakfast and packing up to head home again. We had a nice hike back out that brought the weekend total to about 12 miles of hiking/backpacking and 12 miles of sugar sand is like 24 miles of regular hiking. We said our goodbyes at the parking lot and headed towards home. It was good having SkunkApe come along to join our hearty crew of regulars. I know we would all love to have him come back again and we'll probably all see each other at the big hang in January if not sooner.

    Pics to follow,

    Dave

    P.S. I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world to have such a great group of friends to hang with
    Last edited by samsara; 11-11-2012 at 11:53.
    The best things in life aren't things. -- Art Buchwald

  2. #2
    Senior Member samsara's Avatar
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    There will be more pics to follow since I didn't really take very many but here is a start...

    The gang standing by the pond (our view from the camp site). From left to right: SkunkApe, grinder, lilricky, olddog, emcee, MAD777, and Great White.



    The view that olddog had every morning.



    The view from the main camp site/fire pit.



    Everyone heading home after a great weekend.



    Dave
    The best things in life aren't things. -- Art Buchwald

  3. #3
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    Real fine fellers.......looks nice out there. Down jackets in Florida))))) Chilly morn I take it.
    Good to see ya'll getting some Hang-time.
    Shug
    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  4. #4
    richtorfla's Avatar
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    Looks like a success! Ya'll had some great weather! Now I really wished I didn't have to work!

  5. #5
    Senior Member samsara's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by richtorfla View Post
    Looks like a success! Ya'll had some great weather! Now I really wished I didn't have to work!
    Hey Rick, I thought I would mention that I cooked all weekend using your stove. It's a trooper
    The best things in life aren't things. -- Art Buchwald

  6. #6
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Just made it home from this fantastic weekend hang.
    I will post a few pictures but the shower is first priority!
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  7. #7
    Senior Member Grinder's Avatar
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    The birthday boy is home. I felt like a rock star, being the dedicatee for this hang!!

    We have begun to develop a core group for the Lake Wales area hangs that is a true treasure chest full of friendship!!

    Lilricky helped me to resurrect my old Garmin LC GPS. I got the Florida Maps loaded and puzzled my way through translating the track ro Garmanese. With that, it was easy to go straight to the site.

    Actually, It would have been easy in any case because of Old Dog's "Sherpa Trail" That sucker leaves some clear sign!!

    I got to the camp site in time for lunch. cheese, summer sausage and tortilla were on my menu.

    We restarted the campfire from Old dog and eMCee's fire from the night before. I cooked a meatloaf and baked potato in the coals-- 45 minutes was about right.

    I went to bed at 8, explaining the tradition of "Hiker's Midnight" After all the birthday attention, I needed the rest.

    Enough details. Others can document Saturday. The most fun,IMHO, is sitting around the fire BS-ing. <G>

    It was a great time. I hope there's many more.

    Grinder/out
    grinder

  8. #8
    Senior Member olddog's Avatar
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    Just arrived home and showered/scraped the hiker's funk off. The short, very short, dip in the pond hadn't done much to alievate the problem. Another great weekend with friends old and new. It was a pleasure to meet Skunkape and look forward to many other hangs togeather. Sure missed those that were unable to attend. A few more pics. A couple of the hammock and view, some flora and fauna and Saturday's sunset. emcee or Great White should have better sunset shots.
    Most of us end up poorer here but richer for being here. Olddog, Fulltime hammocker, 365 nights a year.

  9. #9
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    I can't explain in words how much I enjoy the company of my dear friends around a campfire or out on the trail, so I won't even try. But, a few pictures will help! Samsara took us to scenic overlooks with beautiful vistas..., no really..., stop laughing already, he really did! OK! Our standards for overlooks are kinda low here in FLorida
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by MAD777; 11-11-2012 at 16:16.
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  10. #10
    Senior Member emcee's Avatar
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    What a great weekend. Thanks to Olddog for getting out there early with me! We were greeted with a 44* morning on Friday. Yeah, it was only tank top and shorts for Shug, but it was chilly for us.
    That sugar sand was nice on the feet, but tough on the knees (shins too!). It was great to see everyone again and a real treat to share another year of wisdom from Grinder!!
    Thanks Dave for showing us another fine section of LWRSF!
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