Last Friday was my scout troop's first overnight campout since the summer, and boy was it interesting. We went up into the El Dorado National Forest, between Sacramento and Tahoe on Friday night, and it was also my first chance to test out some of the gear that I had recently made or modified. Here is a couple pics of my set-up.
I'm using a Yukon Outfitters hammock with structural ridgeline (not the best idea; the bug net sagged onto my face), a Guide Gear tarp that I shortened from 14' to 11' (worked suitably well), and a PLUQ that I recently made with cheap batting from Joann's for insulation (worked really well in conjunction with a self-inflating pad). The temps dropped to about 20* that night, but I was toasty warm.
One of my fellow ASM's however, did not fare nearly so well. His son's sleeping bag was pretty badly damaged, so he gave his son his sleeping bag and then spent all night trying to sleep next to the camp fire. I didn't know about this until the next morning, so I couldn't offer up any of my extra gear to help. Needless to say, he didn't sleep well that night.
Later in the afternoon, we went a little bit up the road to do some fishing and hiking. My fellow ASM really wanted a nap, so I strung up my DIY tablecloth hammock for my poor sleepless buddy to get some rest. He was out cold in a matter of minutes and bought the hammock from me on the spot. We then went home a few hours later on Saturday afternoon. Here he is, contentedly napping out.
The next day at church, he was telling me how impressed he was with the simplicity of the hammocks and how he was thinking about finding a way to manufacture and sell them. We'll see how that part goes, but I'm glad to see someone else in my area excited about hanging in the trees.
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