Sunday, April 13, 2014.
I had just finished a very long, tiring day of work managing the kitchen of a very popular breakfast joint here in Edmonton and was looking forward to my day off. I had no plans, and no responsibilities to keep me at home, so I decided to surprise my best friend with a visit. Usually when I go to see him, I sleep out back in his motorhome because there is no where to hang my hammock, but this time I decided to take my rig with me on the off chance that I could find a suitable local to hang it. I am extremely happy that I did.
My friend lives in a small rural town smack dab in the heart of Alberta's prairies. His house is situated on the very west edge of town limits and receives some nasty northwestern winds. The only relief is a row of spruce along the western fringe of his yard. Last year he cut two of said spruce down to create a twelve foot gap to be used as an access into the back of the property, and unknowingly, a perfect place to hang a hammock.
I arrived home and quickly packed my SUV with my gear including my new fire bowl which really came in handy. I departed a little after 1700 and was at my destination within two hours.
We sat around for the rest of the evening, indulging in spirits and catching up on missed times. Around 100 hours I was getting sleepy but I had not set up my abode. We groggily left the warmth of his house and traipsed around back to where he had made the incision in the wind break. I studied the dimensions for a minute or two, removed a few problem branches (with his permission of course), and unpacked the contents of my trunk.
First things first, I fired up the portable fire bowl while my friend turned on some lights. If you do a lot of car camping, I seriously recommend picking one of these up. They throw a fair amount of heat and they don't spark, so you can burn them during fire bans.
Now that the lights were shining and the heat was on, I pulled out my Simply Light Designs Streamliner in 1.9 Multicam and hung it between the two towering spruce. It was a near perfect fit, which I made ideal by tweaking my adjustable ridgeline; the lay was nearly flat.
Next I hooked up the incredibly warm Mount Washington Four under quilt from Jacks R Better and protected it with my UQP from 2QZQ. I remember thinking maybe I would have to vent in the balmy minus eight Celsius night air, but no need arose. For top insulation I was using my MEC Habanero zero degree sleeping bag.
Finally, out came the monstrous Warbonnet Superfly tarp in camo. I had just recently finished the no-sew pole mod, and was really looking forward to sleeping inside the mammoth coverage. My buddy was really impressed with the added space having only ever seen it hung without the sides pulled out. I think we may have another convert.
All in all, it took twenty minutes to set up, pretty good considering my inebriated stated. We sat a while longer around the fire bowl, and then finally I turned in. I got adjusted in my hanging cocoon and fell asleep.
During the night the temperature dipped down to minus twelve Celsius, and the cold northern wind picked up. I had the tarp staked out fairly close to the ground on that side, maybe only two or three inches off the deck, but that did not deter the blasting gale from entering my sanctuary. Fortunately I had installed the UQP, which was keeping the frigid gusts from entering my temperate envelope. I actually had no idea that the wind had picked up until my slumber was rudely interrupted by my flapping door, that I had inadvertently left open during an early morning pee.
I have to say that the night went very well. The tarp hid my presence from the early morning dog walkers and held against the fury of the northern gales, and my insulation did it's job flawlessly. My friend was very impressed when he placed his hand between my hammock and my uq and it was warm, again stating that he may be overlooking a very comfortable alternative to t@#%ing. He asked me to check out prices before we go away in June for our annual campout.
So, another successful hang for Snidetripod. I have included some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Cheers.
The next day during tear down. The poles have been removed from the side pull outs.
A pic of the rig, and beyond the open prairies. You can see my poles sitting on the tail end of a 77 trans am.
I was toasty warm in my hammock. I love how everything matches which was not planned.
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