New Years Eve Hang near Morgantown, West Virginia

[HappyCamper]

New Years Eve Mini-Hang in West Virginia! Anyone interested?

RockRat, Country Rat and I are starting to plan a New Years Eve hang at Chestnut Ridge Campground (http://www.chestnutridgepark.com/)near Morgantown WV (http://www.tourmorgantown.com/), just minutes off of Interstate 68. No hiking in -- just hanging at a year round campground. Although great hiking nearby. . . Virgin Hemlock Trail (http://www.coopersrockstateforest.com/trails.html)and Coopers Rock State Forest (http://www.coopersrockstateforest.com/). West Virginia University (http://wvu.edu) and Morgantown are just 15 minutes down the mountain.

Right now we’re only thinking about Thursday night to ring in the new year and practice for Mt. Rogers. But if more people are driving in, we could make it 2 nights to make it worth your while for the drive.

We know there aren't that many hangers near us on the HF map, but maybe there are some lurkers out there or tenters who want to learn more about cold weather hammock camping.

Post if interested. The 3 of us will be there, Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.

[tagalong]

Sounds interesting to Biker650 and I HappyCamper! Can't let you know for sure until a little closer to the date. I seem to be hogging up the vacation days around the holidays this year at work......

[HappyCamper]

Sounds good. Keep us posted!

[HappyCamper]

New Years Eve! It's still on! If it snows I'm bringing large tube for sledding, baby! Great hill there! I'm also bringing some firewood but we can always use more. I'll check and see what's available at the campground.

HappyCamper - yes
RockRat - yes
JD - yes
Country Rat - probably
Tagalong & Biker650 - maybe
JD's friend - maybe

[HappyCamper]

Lisa is another maybe! Yes, I know a lot depends on the driving weather.

We checked with ranger and yes, showers are still on and are hot at campground. Plus water available for tent campers.

Also, for those leaving campground on NY day, I'm inviting all to my house for pork and sauerkraut lunch at around 1 pm or whatever time we decide to leave the campground. Mark will have it cooking in slow cooker all morning. Plus hot cider for all!

I'm told having p&s on NY will bring you good camping weather for rest of year!

PM if coming to lunch so I know how much to make! Thanks.

[NCPatrick]

Sauerkraut huh? In the South it's black-eyed peas and, well... here's a quote from Wikipedia:


The traditional meal also features collard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens), turnip (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnip), or mustard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_plant) greens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greens_(vegetable)), and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-eyed_pea#cite_note-3) Cornbread (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornbread) also often accompanies this meal.

Not trying to hijack with food, but thought it was interesting, I'm not sure about the "positive motion" thing either.

Wish I could come hang out with you guys (y'all), but my sister will be visiting us on New Years from St. Louis.

[HappyCamper]

Black-eyed peas, eh? Learn something new here all the time. I looked up the pork and sauerkraut. It's a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition and since I'm from PA originally makes sense. "Pork is traditional because the New Year is a time to look forward and a hog can not look back."

[DougTheElder]

A New Year's Day without Black-Eyed peas, Greens (collards, mustard, turnip, etc) and Pork is blasphemous, outrageous, downright dangerous. To begin a new year without the Good Luck brought on by this meal would bring disaster at worst, mediocrity at best. The Peas (copper colored) are for pennies, the Greens are for green-backs, and the pork, which I knew only as a necessary part of the good luck meal, is apparently for progress and going forward. I'm glad to have learned that. This forum is a wealth of information- see, Good Luck kicks in again.

[trigger hurt]

mmmm hopping johns and collard greens.

the collard greens provided by...my garden.

can't wait.

[HappyCamper]

Kirk is coming so the list now looks like . . .

HappyCamper - yes
RockRat - yes
JD - yes
Kirk - yes
Lisa - yes
Country Rat - probably
Tagalong & Biker650 - maybe

[HappyCamper]

Kirk is coming so the list now looks like . . .

HappyCamper - yes
RockRat - yes
JD - yes
Kirk - yes
Lisa - yes
Country Rat - probably
Tagalong & Biker650 - maybe

The park also has firewood for sale but it's probably a bit pricy. Good to get it before you come into park, but this may be good fall back if we get low.

[HappyCamper]

JD sent me this email today about the NYE Hang.


The 10-Day Forecast...! Yes, we are only 10 days from NYE...!!! High 25F -- Low 18F. No precip in forecast. Too cold for mud...<g>... J.D.

------------------

Perfect for driving in, perfect for testing gear! My first winter campout with scouts in a hammock was 18 degree low. Did it with a WallyWorld blue mat and a bottom loading Hennessy. Almost went upside down fightin' with that mat. Lived to tell. Lived to hang another day. :)

[rock_rat]

They claim that what your doing on new years eve is what you'll spend the next year doing. So lets hope that this leads to a year full of great camping trips and not sleeping out side in 18 degree weather come August.:confused:;):lol:

[WV]

Very tempting, for a number of reasons. I'm visiting my southern in-laws for Christmas and will eat the obligatory collards, but sauerkraut ....mmmmmm!
I probably won't know if I can make it until the 30th. Post directions from I-68 Coopers Rock Exit.

[HappyCamper]

Hey that would be great! Here's map of park. (http://www.chestnutridgepark.com/maps.html) At top of map you can see directions from I-68 Exit 15.

1a. From I-68 heading West, take Exit 15 (Coopers Rock) and turn right off of exit.
1b. From I-68 heading East, take Exit 15 (Coopers Rock) and turn left off of exit.

2. Go to end of road (1/8 mile if that) and turn right onto Route 73.

3. Come to stop sign and go straight through stop sign, still on Route 73.

4. Take next left. Go 1.5 miles to main entrance of Chestnut Ridge Park on left.

I'm not exactly sure where we'll be at this point, but it's not a big park and you should be able to find us.

I have red Tacoma pickup truck with camper top. JD has grey Subaru station wagon. And RockRat has a Jeep. Lisa has a van. And of course you can always look for hammocks !

[rock_rat]

I have red Tacoma pickup truck with camper top. JD has grey Subaru station wagon. And RockRat has a Jeep. Lisa has a van. And of course you can always look for hammocks !

I think this time of year that may be a dead give away.

[HappyCamper]

Hey all, you ain't gonna see a NYE hang like this but once in a blue moon! Really! There's gonna be a full moon on NYE and it will be highest in the sky at midnight AND it's a blue moon, so wear blue to the hang for luck ! ! JD contacted a local guy and we're getting a bunch of firewood to keep us warm the whole time.


Updated weather report the Chestnut Ridge
Thu
Dec 31

Snow Shower
34° high
31° low

---------------------------

Celebrate This New Year's Eve with an "eclipsed-blue-snow-moon Party!
The month of December, 2009 will have two full moons. The first full moon will shine bright near the beginning of the month, December 2, and the second full moon will illuminate the skies on New Year's Eve. The second full moon is called a blue moon. Two full moons in the same month is rare and happens only once in every couple of years. Months with 31 days have the greatest chance of showing blue moons. July, August and October are at the top of that list, and the only month that might have no full moons is the short month of February. So celebrate! This party could be a "once -in-a-blue-moon, New Year's Eve party!"

American Indian names for December's full moon!

The Cherokee call December's full moon the "snow moon," so, this one might also be called the "blue snow moon!" Other American Indians, also, had names for December's full moon: the Creek called it "big winter moon," the Kiowa named it the "real goose moon," "moon when the deer shed their horns" was from the Sioux, and it was the "big bear's moon" to the Winnebago.

[HappyCamper]

Back from the overnight NYE hang! The weather could not have been crappier so most all the out of staters dropped out and I can't blame them. But for gear testing it was great because it's the type of weather everyone hates. Lots of snow on ground, but 38 degree high, low probably about 28 to 30 degrees, hours of rain, fog, then snow and ice after it got dark. One bright spot is that we got a nice load of firewood and were able to keep the hammock fires burning even in the rain.

So it was me, JD+SkyDog, and RockRat car camping. Good amount of snow on ground so only one tenting area plowed out and open. Had a great pavilion with 3 picnic tables. Because of all the rain, JD and RockRat decided to setup their hammocks under the pavilion but with all the fog, RockRat still used his tarp. SkyDog was the smart one, stayed snuggled in car, trying several times to paw the heat on. :D

I setup outside of the pavilion, as always wanting to test gear. Did well with my JRB large tarp hung low with one end criss-crossed shut. Piled up snow at edges to keep out wind. Edges pretty much to the ground.

The fog rolled in and out the whole time got everything that was out on the picnic tables wet. I've fooled a little bit with undercovers and overcovers, but I’ve had condensation issues with them. So I just decided to carry the extra weight as down this time using my JRB Mount Washington 4 and JRB NoSniv+5 in this cold wet weather. Overkill for the temps, but I figured I'd be cold, cold, cold from the wet weather and even if the fog affected the loft, there's still plenty of down to keep me warm and that logic worked fine for me. I was plenty warm most of the night. At 5 am I got chilled but I figure it was because I refused to get up and go for biobreak. Just put on my down liner jacket and was good for another 2 hours.

My biggest problem once again were my feet freezing up, but JD had an extra pair of Sorel boots in his truck and man, those are great. My feet were toasty warm for the rest of the night. Even walking around in sloppy wet road slush. Gotta get me a pair of those.

So we howled in 2010. Looking forward to more great hanging all year long.

PS: My whoopie slings froze up again. When my fingers are cold and my feet are freezing, snow coming down fast, the last thing I want to do is use my hands to melt the slings. I'm going back to webbing for winter hanging.

[tagalong]

Happy Camper, Glad you had a chance to get out. I received my Hudson River quilt in time for this hang but my husband was home sick NY eve so I spent the evening at a church function. We'll get together another time-maybe around Ohio Pyle in the spring??? Happy New Year!

[Crash]

Sorry I couldn't make the WV Hangout. Sounds like you still had a good time even with the weather.

[Peter_pan]

Happy Camper,

Great that you all got to hang NYE... Thanks for the report... I note that you finally figured the formula out.... Down + more Down beat all the extra covers/shields etc... bottom line "MO down is better"...

Hope you can make the Mt Roger Winter hang again this year.

Pan

[ref103]

good point to learn about the whoopie slings in wet winter weather. i like the ohiopyle idea. i'd be in on that.

[HappyCamper]

Great to hear ref103! Ohiopyle is one of my favorite areas. Glad we have someone else who's interested in joining. More the merrier.


Happy Camper,

I note that you finally figured the formula out.... Down + more Down beat all the extra covers/shields etc... bottom line "MO down is better"...

Pan
Yeah, I thought you might like that statement since you've been mentoring me along on that point for quite some time. :laugh: Down works, down works! And as soggy as it was, my quilts did quite well under the well positioned tarp. The open end was angled away from the direction the rain and fog came blowing in, but allowed for some air circulation. Some dampness but not near as wet everything on the picnic tables under the pavilion.

[rock_rat]

The weather definitely sucked but the company was great and it the chance to test out our gear was excellent. All in all a great way to roll in the new year. Of course the heated bathrooms didn't hurt at all.

[Bug-Bait]

You guys rock and are real troopers. Rockrat...I saw that you had a bottle of fire water in your hand. Did it help keep you warm?

Tracy and J.D...you are my "heros". While I talk about it ... you guys go and do it!!

MQ

[HappyCamper]

JD sent me a few more pictures from hang. One is my setup with JRB tarp. I use only one micro gripclip as side tieout. Since I only enter on one side of hammock, I just need the extra room on one side. That's me with my setup and the last one is RockRat staying warm in his ENO hammock and big Speer tarp. :)

[Crash]

Tell us outsiders what makes Ohiopyle a great place to hang?

I 've been looking at the C&O canal & Great Allegheny Passage to do a trip there on bike.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I don't know that area.
Its within my reach to go out there.
I would love to hang with all of you out there.

Nice photos Happy Camper!

[rock_rat]

You guys rock and are real troopers. Rockrat...I saw that you had a bottle of fire water in your hand. Did it help keep you warm?

Tracy and J.D...you are my "heros". While I talk about it ... you guys go and do it!!

MQ

Technically that was J.D.'s Firewater but I may have at some point imbibed just a bit of it. :rolleyes:

[HappyCamper]

Crash,

Ohiopyle is a great outdoor recreational area. The webpage (http://www.fay-west.com/ohiopyle/)says it better than me, but everything from white water rafting, swimming, canoeing, picnicking, waterfalls, beautiful railtrail biking along Yough River, and of course hiking and camping. Ohiopyle is one end of the well-marked 70-mile long Laurel Highlands Trail (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Forestry/hiking/laurel.aspx). Here’s a great webpage (http://www.shol.com/featheredprop/index.htm) for the trail as well.

Ohiopyle is also close to the internationally know Frank Lloyd Wright designed home, Falling Water (http://www.fallingwater.org/)and also Kentuck Knob (http://www.kentuckknob.com/) is another one of his designed home that is close by and open for tours. Falling Water is the one to see though. Breathtaking.