Great pics olddog!
Just to be clear, those Dutch ovens had to be carried in over 2 miles of trail including sugar sand. Hence, the name, "Sherpa Hang."
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Great pics olddog!
Just to be clear, those Dutch ovens had to be carried in over 2 miles of trail including sugar sand. Hence, the name, "Sherpa Hang."
Don't forget Scooby! :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by olddog
Great pics... it never ceases to amaze me what a great and FUN group we have. Thanks to everyone for coming!
Dave
Wow! What nice pictures. What concoctions were in the DO's. What's in madddd's got me intrigued.
That is a nice campsite. Love that old oak tree!
MADD's was a bacon mountain man. On the left was my cheesy bacon grits. These were this mornings breakfast. Someone may have gotten pics of Saturdays sausage m m.
Just got home..want to thank everyone for the wonderful welcome and all around good time. We had a fun, relaxing weekend! The food was magnificent and the company even better. I had my first nights with an underquilt (DIY from JCPenny Puffer jackets), and I've never slept better. The hike was fun, and the dip in the creek afterwards was heavenly. Here's some of MightyMouse's pics:
***We wouldn't sweat so much if we were in Minnesota****
Love the 3rd shot of manly, outdoorsy men making "Roses" from palmetto fronds! Well, we had to take something home to our wives! :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Duffy
One more pic, MM took from her hammock just after sunrise Saturday. Beautiful morn, with hot coffee and breakfast soon to follow....
Thanks, olddog!Quote:
Originally Posted by olddog
I believe #5 was my favorite time of the whole weekend. That was one welcome little piece of water after the 6 or 7 miles in 89 to 90 degree temps.
What a hang! This trip sure was one of the best that I have been to. I have my version of the events below, but I don't have any pictures. :eek: In all of the fun, I forget to take them. My camera stayed at my hammock the whole time! You will just have to use the theater of the mind.
I arrived late Friday night sometime past 10. I had hoped to leave work around 4:00 to get to the trail head before the sun went down, but that did not happen. In my rush to pack, I realized that I failed to make time for dinner. I figured that I would miss any dutch oven action with my late arrival time. So I stopped at a local Arby's to get a fast meal. I figure it is a good idea to inform you that driving down I-95 on a Friday night can be hair raising. Everyone heading home and heading south to Miami before Saturday really fills up the road. The chaos ended when I reached SR-60, the road was then all to myself. I parked my car near the private in-holding and located the trailhead with my headlamp.
The walk in was scenic. The sugar sand basked in the bright glow of the nearly full moon. I thought to myself that I would not like to travel along this trail during the day in the heat. Too much exposure to the sun with no opportunities for shade. The longer route, along the FT, was through a forest with little exposure to the sun. But why walk the long way during the night?
When I finally made my way to the campsite and to the fire-ring everyone was sitting around, I was greeted with a wonderful hello. It turns out that Shannon was cooking his Thai dish and had just served it. There was still some left, I and was glade for my perfect timing. When I first put the food in my mouth, all I could say was "This is good". That was an understatement, it was excellent, it was the best Thai food that I have ever eaten. We talked around the fire for a bit and then I went off to find a suitable hang spot in the dark. I found a spot within a area with large hog damage to the ground. In the morning I found an even better spot no more then 20 feet away, but that is the cost of setting up in the dark. I am not a fan of setting up in those conditions. Later that night, Olddog and Shannon assisted me with the hanging of my bear bag. Thanks guys!
In the morning, we had the mountain man breakfast, and it was of course outstanding. I provided the onions, but I think maybe I should have brought less then the six that Samsara requested of me. But the more the better. A few of us, myself included, opted to go on a day hike to the FTA bridge over Reedy Creek or is it Livingston Creek. Apparently the name is not clear. When I started the hike, I realized that I forgot my camera at my hammock. I felt bad, but I figured other people had their own and would post amazing pictures of the hike. We opted to follow the Florida Trail along the creek. As it winded around the many meanders, the view over looking the creek was outstanding. A nice wild creek free of any man made dams made it look like an excellent kayak destination. The water was not too low and it appears to be navigable. When we reached Rucks Dairy Road, we stopped at the road crossing and ducked beneath the bridge to get out of the sun and cool off in the stream. The paintings on the underside of the bridge were puzzling. It appeared that an artist had used a stencil to paint birds, possibly crows flying around some sort of portal like image.
After our break we returned to the trail and found the FTA bridge. There was even a young 3 foot alligator floating under the bridge. We rested and then returned to the road crossing for more rest and then made a be-line to the campsite on the shorter blue trail with the full sun exposure and sugar sand. But at the end it was all worth it, must of us waded out into the stream and relaxed basking in the cool water as it flowed by making us forget about the heat of the hike. It was a great way to cap the day off.
Saturday night was spent talking around the fire and enjoying more dutch oven goodness. The next morning we all packed up and left for the cars after another great mountain man breakfast that Samsara's dog had to help finish. I followed behind Vanguard to assist him with any issues he had with his kart. But he insisted that he was all set and I sped off in front to close out the best hang yet.
Thanks everyone for a great gathering. If you did not attend this hang, you missed out.