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I still suck at setting up my tarp. I used the HH for the first time since March, and didn't make my tarp flat enough, so it hugged the hammock and I got condensation trapped inside with me the...

Hanawi Natural Area Reserve, East Maui:

Camp 1: (about a 25% slope here - took nearly an hour to find a site)

http://www.pbase.com/bkrownd/image/133766987/original.jpg
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A taut surface like snow crust or ice can act like a speaker, translating small vibrations into big sounds. (especially in dense cold air) We used to love throwing rocks on frozen lakes and rivers...

Hmmm...an unfortunate name. The mental image resulting from the words "clean-up at Shi Shi Beach" is cringeworthy. Around here "shi shi" is code words for a bodily function.

Sleeping and working...

Now now, despite the sometimes incredibly hammo-centric talk on this forum the important thing is to identify the right tool for the job. Tarp, tent, hammock, cabin, cowboy, etc - all have their...

Maybe they don't have the interweb yet :rolleyes:

I seal my pack in a trash compactor bag, on the ground under the tarp coverage. Haven't had any problems with rats and mice so far.

I've had one of these for about 6 years, in the tall size. It not only lofts - it fights back! It is very difficult to get compressed into a size that fits in the stuff sack, but still quite large...

YMMV - my hammock requires far more space than my tent, and is much harder to find a suitable site for. The hammock has far more impact on the ground and vegetation with its larger area, all the...

View? I'm usually trying to find an extremely sheltered place, which does not lead to good views.

The best "views" I've had were at one spot where a hawk watched me setting up from a nearby snag...

IMO...these statements give me the impression whoever wrote it is dishonest or hasn't used hammocks much. :sleep:

I always have some condensation between my underquilt and outer weathersheild every morning - how much depends a little on the weather. Predictable, since the humidity is always high here, and I...

Heh, my feet often tend to find their way out the "door" in the middle of the night on their own. :o

I guess the photos might have shown up as password protected for some, since I linked them to a password protected gallery.

A couple more images of the landscape:
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Despite a day or two wait on e-mails I still ordered and received my tarp fast two weeks ago, thanks!

It even matches the color of bird survey transect flagging. :)
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Flash flood, perhaps?

It can be pretty busy with "recreational users". Ski area, boaters, swimmers, travelling campers, etc... I tried to go there looking for birds once and gave up on it pretty quickly.

The first round of the East Maui forest bird survey was a great success. Despite the ominous forecast the weather was actually perfect. It was unusually dry for this area, never raining during...

Nice little tool, thanks. (Instructions would be clearer if you did the wrapping a bit more slowly, but I think I got it...)

You get used to the buffeting after an hour or so. The thing that keeps me awake in those cases is wondering whether my supports will topple, and whether the branches above will come crashing down! ...

How much money? A $400 down underquilt and weathershield is nice. :D

This could get interesting....in all the wrong ways...

mucho thanko, hombres

IMO, after wrapping around the trunk put one end of the strap through the loop on the other end, pull tight and then tie only to the one loop that's sticking out. It will grip wonderfully.

Hey, what? :mellow:

So...what are they?

I have a MacCat deluxe now, for my first real rainforest expedition. Rain, potentially heavy, and thunder is in the forecast. :o This time I hope to get some more interesting camp setup photos in...

Odd thread from my POV. Every week I see hundreds of trees maliciously hacked with machetes in the wilderness by lazy hunters making "trails". Saplings cut down or smashed, limbs ripped off,...

Well, except that the foliage and terrain often severely limit your site and orientation options, and the wind has a habit of changing direction and speed... ;)

Maui Forest Birds put out a very vague report based on the 2009 volunteer survey: (a deliberately obfuscated version to discourage trespassing - we actually made detailed maps of survey detections...

Bird surveys are typically only done as day trips these days, but there are a few more remote areas such as some of the upcoming maui transects where you might have to spend a couple nights on the...

I stayed in the same aviary for the 3rd year in a row for the Mauna Kea survey back in January, set up exactly as in the aviary photos above with the addition of a small additional side-tarp to block...

Love the photos of the winter wonderland. Hope the auroras are good.

I suspect I would prefer to enjoy it along with occasional visits to a toasty cabin, tho. ;D

I would guess that "natural fibers" probably come from agriculture, and agriculture is by far the most environmentally damaging activity/industry ever.

You lucky bugger. Love those pix of the colorful trees in the perfect autumn weather. (Why just bare ground and no plants in your understory, tho?) Argh, I miss having seasons....

love a little frost on the ground in the morning... :D

Daaaang.... :cool:

All my bird survey/outdoor gear is in a couple bins and surrounding overflow pile in a corner of the living room, except quilt and sleeping bag are somewhere on the couch or bed or top of the shirt...

Somebody should fix the map so that all users are displayed at once, not just one "page" at a time. Also, change the icons to small dots. Somebody might be able to work with something like...

Check out the galleries

I am religious about NOT cooking in the wilderness. Waste of time, energy and pack space.

Love Petzl Zipka lights. Compact and versatile.

Dropping in several months later...

I was told Polipoli requires 4WD. It's mostly scrub and timber plantations, tho, and I'd think hunters and maybe motorbikers will be the primary visitors. ...

That all depends on exactly where you go. Hawai'i has far fewer bugs than anywhere I've ever lived, and seldom any that bite or get annoying. However, get too near a stock pond or somebody's water...

I'd like to live up around there someday. You ever read Helen Hoover's old books about cabin life in northern MN?

Feet and calves can occasionally be an annoyance for me in the hammock. They are my only body part that regularly complains, getting restless and sometimes feeling too confined/cramped. About half...

I sleep in cotton.

In my daydreams I'm still in Amherst ;D

Get thee an underquilt! I have a Marmot Helium bag for a top layer and a J-R-B down underquilt. Very expensive, but toasty. A wool hat and wool socks can help, but when the air is calm they often...

I prefer bright unnatural colors that are highly visible to hunters - orange, red, yellow. (rampaging animals, too) A "natural earth tones" camp site is dangerous in many places.

They plan to do 2 bird surveys on East Maui (usually mis-named "Haleakala") next year, in which case I might actually get to use my hammock in the native forest for the first time since 2006. (we...