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I'm brand new here. Here are a couple of pictures from my latest adventure in the White Mountains of Arizona from 4-6 July. That's my coyote brown HH explorer deluxe tied off on an Aspen on the right and a pine on the left in the first picture. In the second, I buried myself deep in the pines with only the company of the squirrels and birds. I love stealth camping.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/DSCF2919.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/DSCF3059.jpg
we4lcome to hammock forums wareagle.
that looks like a perfectly quite place to hang. it doesn't look like what most people would think of when they think arizona, but i know it that's a state w/ a really diverse landscape... desert to snow.
my dad once drove out to california to visit my sister & stopped in arizona on the way. he liked it so much that he stopped there for a couple days on the way back too.
made my sister a little mad that he spent more time in arizona than he did visiting her<g>.
we had a subscription to the arizona highways magazine after that. ...tim
Welcome WarEagleNR88.
That's a really beautiful spot you chose to hang. The hammock is very stealthy in the second pic.
I'll offer a 'welcome' as well; and while I'm at it, remark on the beauty of that camping site. That (and a water source) looks like a perfect location.
TWS
Welcome WarEagleNR88,
I would really like to see what everyone is talking about, but for some reason I cannot see any pictures attached to your message and there is nothing in the gallery.
Hmmm...maybe you could post the pics again :)
Welcome WarEagleNR88!
Looks like you found a couple of primo spots. Watch out for those squirrels, I had the pleasure of waking-up with one yelling at me while standing on my ridgeline!
Welcome. Very nice site. I often wondered if a squirrel has ever chewed through a suspension line.
i don't know what to tell you on that one. maybe jj or attrol can make a suggestion.Quote:
Originally Posted by cameronjreed
never herd of it... & lets hope we don't:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by gstepclassical
Wow, WarEagle, you are making my mouth water! I used to live in first Phoenix and later Flagstaff. I made my very 1st backpack ever, in about May of 84, in those very same White Mountains, along the Little Colorado and up towards Mt. Baldy I believe it was! And later all over the state. For some reason, it had never occurred to me to think of it in terms of hammocking, but now with my memory being revived with your pics, I'm reminded that above 5000 feet or so, it would be a hammocking paradise! Must go back soon!
Now I can see the images... I think my corporate network was blocking them (they are pretty strict about where images are posted)
Those sites make my mouth water. Absolutely breathtaking.
Once again...Welcome to HF:D
Welcome to crowd. Nice place to hang. BD
How I wish we have foiliage like that near here! Top stealth camp.
Thanks everyone. The area is really prime for any kind of hiking/exploring. BillyBob, this area is exactly the area you were talking about. Pretty much all of the White Mtns are perfect for hammock camping. A couple of bad things about hiking long distances here: water can sometimes get pretty scarce and most of the White Mtns are Indian res. and you're supposed to buy permits to go there--unless you're real stealthy. Then the key is to really Leave No Trace--sometimes not even footprints.
Here's another teaser from the trip:
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/DSCF2959.jpg
My HH is still stock with the stock tarp. I really like the room inside the exp. deluxe edition, that's why I went with it. I still lash my ropes to the tree-huggers, but I leave the loop in the end so all I have to do is pull on the end rope for it to come loose so I can undo the lashing. And I wrap it tight after every lashing. Also I've looked at the fancy cat cut tarps, but who thinks of these colors for silnylon hammock tarps? Grey? Blue? Bright Green? I vomit a little in my mouth when I see things trying to blend in to the surroundings with these colors. Even the black tarps are a little too much. Nothing beats the stock coyote brown asym tarp and the way it looks in the bush. If only there was a cat cut tarp in this color. Where does Tom H. get this color?
Anyone else deep into stealth camping? The more I do it, the more I find regular camping at an established campsite incredibly bland.
It's not cat cut but HH sells a silnylon HEX in coyote brown and also a PU coated hex. The pu coated is kinda heavy but I got it for free with a Scout I bought for my son. It's huge! Something cool they did was make some nice 'pockets' on the corner reinforcements. That way you can store the tieouts inside those pockets for storage.Quote:
Originally Posted by WarEagleNR88
Totally with you on that! I suspect most people here will agree that stealth camping is great. I try not to break any laws while doing it, but you can't beat the experience of being a part of the woods. Campsites are great for parties, but deep in the woods is a better experience. Well, for me anyway.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by WarEagleNR88
The grey isn't so bad, actually...it kinda blends in from a distance. Especially during the day with sunspots shining down through the trees. But I'd give up a pinky toe if I could find some olive drab silnylon, just for the reason you say.
I am right with you on this, I would much rather camp in some out of the way place. The top of the mountains we have here are my favorites.Quote:
Originally Posted by WarEagleNR88
Gunn
WarEagle, you're killin me with those pics! I dearly loved camping all along the Mogollon (SP?) rim, in the San Francisco Peaks of Flagstaff and thru out the White Mtns from 83-85. ( I also loved the desert in the winter!)
And all of that was before I was a hammock hanger! Man oh man, what I could do out there now! Once I was camped right on the edge of a multihundred foot sheer cliff, on the Mog. Rim a couple of thousand feet above Payson. With my little North Face Westwind tent door facing the empty air over the cliff. The next morning as I was waking up with the sun rise, I was still in my tent drinking coffee I boiled up on my little stove without even getting out of my bag. All of a sudden a large flock of turkeys flew in and landed a stones throw from my tent, roosting in nooks and crannies in and trees growing around the cliff! What a beautiful morning that was. I also would often come across Elk and deer. Wasn't there a HUGE fire in the whites a few years ago, destroying a vast amount of beautiful forest in the White Mountains?
That river in your last pic reminds be of camping and trout fishing along the Black River. I think that was the name of it. Man, that was great too! Which river is that one in your pic?
I don't live out there anymore, but it has just occured to me there is no reason not to plan a hammock backpacking trip!
You guys really need some rain, don't you? I can't stand the thought of any more of those beautiful forests burning down. But, nature will do what nature will do.
Send more pics!
Bill
PS: Litchfield Park. Isn't that pretty near Luke AFB, where I was stationed 1970-73? ( Yep, I'm a bit of a geezer! age 58.) I think my old bones contributed greatly to me falling in love with hammocking and getting off the ground! ;)
Oh, you're not kidding. The desert winter is the best. Although it can get pretty nippy if you're not prepared for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyBob58
Every morning is nice when stepping out of the comfort of a hammock. Just thinking of all of those bugs and rain if you had any you escaped from during the night makes it so much better. Plus with the HHs, no scorpions in your boots! And yours--even though you were tenting--sounds like one for the record books. Any pictures from that event? And you're correct on the fire and fires. I was out in the Mazatzal's back in January and it is slowly recovering from its most recent fire. Mt Lemmon in Tucson had a bad one on the south side a few years ago. The desert around Kitt Peak just went through a pretty bad fire--I could see it really well in my NVGs the other night. And there was a fire in the White Mtns a while ago but I think it is recovering really well. I think someone got lost/hurt and made a fire that got out of control after they rescued them--not sure on the specifics though.
Funny you say "River". Yes this is the West Fork of the Black River and it was cold. More like a creek. But I wish I'd have caught some good sized mudbugs out of it and cooked them up. That would have been good.
Yes, you should make a trip to Arizona and explore some with the multiple degrees of freedom a hammock provides. Pack light and bring an extra Camelbak pouch if you do decide to come here. The rain situation is fairly bleak. Everyone is counting on the monsoon to help out, but we haven't had a good rain here in a while. I just can't believe even though we know we're in a drought, we still use water like we're not. Screw oil and gasoline, water is gonna be the most precious commodity in a few years if we don't stop acting crazy with it. Then there's the forestry control. I've no doubt that many of the forests in the western US are to the brim with undergrowth and kindling just asking for a fire--already we have witnessed the continual yearly increase in forest fires. Oh then get this, once they start blazing what do we do, pour as much water on them as we can to get them to go out. What a cycle!
That's the one--Litchfield Park. Although there are probably many more homes and metro cities around Phoenix than you remember or that you would believe. The city stretches from nearly the Superstitions in the east to the White Tank Mtns in the west if you can believe that! And 70-73, what did you do then?
Geez, I've gotta stop writing these books! More Pics to come. I took 220 pictures on the trip without a single roll of film--digital cameras are great!
Self PicQuote:
Originally Posted by WarEagleNR88
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/DSCF2966.jpg
Aspens and pines on scree slope. From here on in all of the pictures, notice the beetles that have killed and are killing the pines. In this picture there are two you can see really well.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/DSCF2972.jpg
I lerned that lesson the hard way in 29 Palms, CA. I was in Field Radio Operator's Course (FROC) and when we took our first field excercise for pratical application and stupid 19 year old me didn't believe the instructors and didn't bring hardly anything in the way of insulation. Idiot! After a couple times out, you learn what you need and that the desert can indeed get right chilly at night. Lessons learned the hard way a long time ago. I'm nowhere near the desert now, but still remember those days years ago. I wonder if I'd had a hammock back then if they'd let me hang it between HMMWV's?Quote:
Originally Posted by WarEagleNR88
WaeEagle:What do you tie the hammock to in the dessert? There's all those Saguaros, but that could get a bit prickly!Quote:
Oh, you're not kidding. The desert winter is the best. Although it can get pretty nippy if you're not prepared for it.Every morning is nice when stepping out of the comfort of a hammock. Just thinking of all of those bugs and rain if you had any you escaped from during the night makes it so much better. Plus with the HHs, no scorpions in your boots!
No, I don't think I even had the camera with me, and as soon as I came out of the tent/bag they were gone in a hurry! If I later find some pics, I'll post 'em.Quote:
And yours--even though you were tenting--sounds like one for the record books. Any pictures from that event?
That's the one I'm thinking of. A fellow, I belive a White Mountain Apache and part time fireman, started the fire on purpose to make some work!Quote:
And there was a fire in the White Mtns a while ago but I think it is recovering really well. I think someone got lost/hurt and made a fire that got out of control after they rescued them--not sure on the specifics though.
Wow! I should have known! I used to camp and quail hunt in the white tanks, and of course the Superstitions. What did I do? Well, first I was sent there for advanced training in aircraft support equip. Fixed bomblifts and such. Then I was cross trained to the medics. I was a Georgia boy who hated that desert for the 1st year, but after 3 years I was now in love with all aspects of the Arizona outdoors. Even without a hammock!Quote:
That's the one--Litchfield Park. Although there are probably many more homes and metro cities around Phoenix than you remember or that you would believe. The city stretches from nearly the Superstitions in the east to the White Tank Mtns in the west if you can believe that! And 70-73, what did you do then?
I've yet to figure that one out. If you camp in the desert, the only thing I've found to do is to find a wash with some of the scrubby trees. Even then it's difficult to find two close enough and large enough to hang without sagging to the ground every time. Saguaros are just not a good idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyBob58
Here are a couple more pictures from the hike. Picture #2 is my first one of Mt Baldy. It's the peak on the very far left. I like the clouds in these pictures.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/DSCF2995.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/DSCF3034.jpg
I'm trying to figure out where to go hang next. Mt Humphreys? Granite Mountain? Some out-of-the-way canyon? One of my friends is thinking about heading out to Mt Whitney sometime in September.
Anywhere in within a 360* circle 10 miles or so in diameter of Humphry's peak (12,680?) would make superb hammock hanging, as long as you take plenty of water with you. On the east side of Humphry's, Lockett (sp?) Meadow is a beauty, or a hike from there into the inner basin, the crater of the extinct volcano. Or Hart Prairie(sp?) on the west side. Endless large aspens and ponderosa pines and such suitable for hanging, nice and cool in the summer. Or how about Oak Creek Canyon or one of it's tributaries, like West Fork? I remember a remote deep canyon on the Mogollon Rim with a nice trout filled creek running thru it that was great, but I can't quite remember the name. Clear Creek, maybe, or east/west fork of same? I could find it if I had the map.
So many choices, so little time!