Pine Barrens Monsoon Camping

[Bakeel]

This past Friday (3/12/10) I took my girlfriend's cousin's husband camping in the Pine Barrens, and it rained. No let me rephrase that, it RAINED! We had a short break in the rain after we arrived and hurriedly set up camp, than we just tried to ride out the wind and rain. It was actually a really good time and gear test. We stayed about as dry as you could in the driving rain and had a good time despite some nasty weather. It was about 50*F when we arrived and got down to about 40*F with 15-25 mph winds Friday and 25-30+ late Friday night/early Saturday according to the weather channel app on my phone.

New Gear used:

Backwoods Daydreaming Winter Dream V.2
Arrowhead tarp ridgeline and tieouts
Perfect Trees Incubator
Sportmens' Guide one man bivy tent (for the record he used it not me)
REI inflatable ground pad.

All performed excellently. I will get some picks up shortly and some more comments about the gear.

[Knotty]

With Scott's excellent tarp to cover you and Paul's awesome ground tackle keeping everything secure I'm sure you had no problem holding your own against mother nature.

Now your friend in the bivy tent...well that's a whole other story. Is he asking you about buying hammocks yet?

[JerryW]

This past Friday (3/13/10)

I'd say blame the weather on Friday the 13th, but Friday was actually 3/12/10.

Looking forward to the pics.

Jerry

[Bakeel]

Backwoods Daydreamer Winter Dream V2




The rain and the wind hammered down on us and this tarp took all the abuse. It kept me dry and sheltered from the wind and the rain. I feel it even helped trap a little extra heat for me. I lashed one set of doors in an overlap fashion to close off one end. The other end by the entry point of my HH I just clipped shut. This tarp performed in a bomb proof manor miserable weather really tests the limits of gear the this tarp handled it with ease.

The rain started to pick up as I was setting up my gear so I only used two tarp tie outs from Arrowhead and they were to secure the closed end of the tarp. The ridge line system worked flawlessly even though I rigged it tarp over ridge line not under ridge line which is what I was intending to do. The rain, wind, and rush to set up it slipped my mind as to how I wanted to pitch it. Oh well it is all water shed off the tarp...I mean water under the bridge.

Sportsmens' Guide one man bivy with stock HH tarp as lean to water and wind stop





Joseph said he was comfy in it and it kept him dry. I thought it lacked some tie out points, and wasn't that stable looking but it held up just fine he said. he later told me he woke up every hour and half when he would try to move. My response, "I slept like a baby till I had to get up to pee, you should get a hammock!" All in all though for the cost it wasn't a bad little bivy tent. I believe Festus Hagen has taken this bivy system below 0*F with success. Also I would have liked some direction for it.

Perfect Trees Incubator



Let me start by saying mmmmmmmmmm......warm. This is my first under quilt so I am glad it was above freezing for my first hang with it. That being said I am upset that the nasty cold weather is gone, I really wanna take this thing for a sub 32*F spin. I used my MSS (modular sleep system GI surplus bag) as a top quilt as it has a foot box built in. I slept in only some poly pro tops and bottoms no hat and ready for this Cotton sock [shudder] because I was confident in the warmth I would have. I was warm, and soooo comfy. I think I see a Perfect Tree TQ in my future. I can not say enough about this UQ it is just amazing. To quote Ed Norton from fight club, "babies don't sleep this well."

Pics of camp

[kayak karl]

was going to ask where you were at until i saw this pic of the out Batona trail footbridge. it used to leave south out of camp. you can still see pink blazes. they rerouted trail http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/f11/...ona-camp-7411/ check post #9 map2
looks like yous had a great time. thanks for the thread.
KK

[Bakeel]

It was a fun trip despite the rain/wind. The Ranger stopped by camp, he chatted with us for ten minutes or so nice guy (mid 30s, can't remember his name). He said they only had one other camper forget where though.

[natureboy68]

looks like tons 'o fun! a buddy and me were there last MLK weekend, looking for the jersey devil! the blue hole is right near that washed out bridge...been meaning to camp there...hurricane winds here on LI...

[TOB9595]

What straps do you have for the hammock?

What's the big blue tarp for your central gathering place?

Looks fun
Tom

[Bakeel]

TOB9595 The straps are 1" mil spec tubular webbing from REI, I fabbed them up on my own. I did a write on them in my blog (in my sig). The tarp is a blue poly 20'x30' that I keep in my truck. It was just our place to stay dry/hang out. It was redneck engineered during the pouring rain but it worked.

[G.L.P.]

Thanks for posting the pics..is that the same site from the Hang...
i really enjoyed hanging with ya's at the hang...maybe i can get down that way again in the summer for a weekend