Boy it was a busy summer. Between work and family, I have not found any time for hammocking, that is until the universe cooperated and granted me thirty six hours of time off from the world. I had a plan to pack my kit and hit the trail, but by the time I had left the city, darkness was already creeping up fast. I decided to do a little car camping overnight trip to Miquelon Lake Provincial Park as it would drastically cut down on the time it would take to get there and set up camp.
Taking only minimal food, water and gear, I headed south down the highway towards my destination. Suddenly I remembered this other little known jewel of a campground called Centennial Park, situated on Joseph Lake, and closer than Miquelon. I turned left off the highway on to a gravel road, and headed towards my new hanging haven. I had only been to Joseph Lake once before, and it was in the winter when everything was closed up and the gate was locked, so I knew very little about what kind of camp sites that would be there. I figured worst case scenario there would be no trees at all and I could just go to ground under my Warbonnet Superfly. I drove on.
About ten minutes later I arrived at Centennial Park, the view of the lake was breathtaking and, to my relief, there were lots of trees. I pulled up to the office and looked around. Everything was locked up and there were no signs of life anywhere. Fortunately the caretaker was around back splitting wood and noticed me pulling up. He merrily jaunted around to the front where I was patiently assessing my options, and greeted me with a thick newfoundland accent. I explained that I was out for the night, and needed a well treed site for my hammy. He directed me to go down the road and on the right hand side I would find the perfect Hammock site. Without hesitation I jumped in my car and headed down the road.
Perfect was an understatement. This site had trees for about six hammockers to hang their rigs, plus, two picnic tables and two fire pits. The trees were spaced about ten feet apart and there was only one widow maker, but he was off in the back away from possible lines of hang. This site was like the Valhalla of hammock sites. Anyways, happy with what I saw, I returned to the office and paid for one night.
I had to this day not slept under my new Superfly, and I have had it for six months at least. The first test was a failure and I had to bail, and on my mountain trip I hung inside the cook shack because it was pouring rain the whole time. I tell you, setting it up was a breeze. It just seemed to open up, and stake itself out. I was done in about five minutes with another ten to find good tie out spots for the center pulls. My hammock was set up soon after that, and I was into fire building.
The rest of the night went as planned, dinner, relax, drink some beers and go to bed. It was so spacious inside my Superfly, and I only had one side pulled out. I laid down in my Hennessey, got comfortable and passed out.
When I woke in the morning my feet were chilly, so I got up and out quickly. No lazing around today in the comfort of my Jacks are Better Mount Washington Four underquilt. My feet quickly warmed up on the walk to and from the washroom, and I did not see any point to going back to bed. I kind of get antsy in the morning and want to get a move on, so I decided to break camp and go home, besides, I do have things to do on my day off. The tear down went even faster than setup, only taking about fifteen minutes, with some of that time spent trueing bent shepherd hooks. With camp broke, I got in my car and headed home.
This was truly a grand experience. I am so glad that everything went well, and that I had time to practice my setup before my trip to Enderby, British Columbia next week. Anyway, another successful hang. Cheers!
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