4th Annual NJ Fall Hang 11/1 - 11/3 Trip Report Thread

[tollermama]

Just wanted to say thanks to all involved in putting this together. I had a great time and was really disappointed to that I had to leave early, but when the wife is home sick, sometimes you just have to go.
I really appreciated everyone's efforts in making the meals. The pork shoulder turned out great. I particularly enjoyed the sticky buns from Amy that I had always heard so much about and the curry chicken corn chowder from Chris and Diana - if you want to share the recipe, I'll trade for the apple pie shine recipe.
I really enjoyed meeting some new friends, the trek up to Apple Pie Hill and just hangin by the fire with everyone. This will definitely get added to my annual list. Thanks to all who participated. Hope to talk/see you all soon.

-Kurt

Hope your wife is ok! Nice to meet you!

[tollermama]

Hey Folks,

Sorry about the late thank you note, but better late than never, it has been a long hard week work wise and I am now coming up for air.

I want to say I really enjoyed this hang. Thank you so much to Jeremiah, Ratdog and NJ Redneck: Thanks for the wonderful organizing and the great welcome. thanks to the volunteer cooks par excellence. You are all so welcoming and I finally got to meet our NJ hanging community. Thanks to Amy and Len for welcoming me when I first got to the campsite and giving me the lay of the land. Amy your bread is to die for. And those sticky buns? Woo Hoo. Thank you to all the raffle donors and my Girl Scouts will be using the fire steels and pocket bellows this coming weekend on our November backpacking trip. It was so great to get together with folks that I had not seen for some time (Laura and Dawn) and meet friends of friends who are now friends. Great to meet so many new folks and I heartily invite you all to join us up North for some fun times at one of our hangs. Oh, and Monkeynono: Whiskey is the sweetest, who could begrudge his search for food?

[HandyRandy]

I won the Dutch Winter Tarp in the raffle!

Clearly, this itself is a conspiracy! The winter tarp ambassador himself “wins” a free winter tarp!? How fitting

[SilvrSurfr]

Clearly, this itself is a conspiracy! The winter tarp ambassador himself “wins” a free winter tarp!? How fitting

I really wanted to win a postage-stamp asym tarp so I could practice site selection, but it was not to be.

[Diana]

Just wanted to say thanks to all involved in putting this together. I had a great time and was really disappointed to that I had to leave early, but when the wife is home sick, sometimes you just have to go.
I really appreciated everyone's efforts in making the meals. The pork shoulder turned out great. I particularly enjoyed the sticky buns from Amy that I had always heard so much about and the curry chicken corn chowder from Chris and Diana - if you want to share the recipe, I'll trade for the apple pie shine recipe.
I really enjoyed meeting some new friends, the trek up to Apple Pie Hill and just hangin by the fire with everyone. This will definitely get added to my annual list. Thanks to all who participated. Hope to talk/see you all soon.

-Kurt

Yes, I'm down to trade recipes!!

[Vickence]

Me, too! Me, too!!!

[Dutchette]

Yes, I'm down to trade recipes!!

Me three! Me three!

[georgecarr]

Me three! Me three!

Here's one I made all by myself

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[silentorpheus]

Sorry for the delay in posting a recap – life and work came rushing back in after the hang, and it’s been a busy few weeks. Thanks as always to NJRedneck for spearheading the efforts to keep us all well fed; Ratdog for the firewood and logistical support (sorry you never found that deer); SilvrSurfr for securing the coffee (and salsa verde); P-47, Effensmurfy, and others for supply runs and fire tending; Jellyfish, Chris & Diana, and anyone else that helped out with additional food; and all the other folks that helped in any way to make this event a success!

Friday setup was pretty routine, though there were some hiccups as the night wore on. Issues with the propane tank, a deer with a death wish, misjudging the size of the smoker (and needing backup pans via a Saturday Walmart run, after the Friday night Walmart run to fix the propane tank issue) kept us on our toes. Temps dropped that night, and while I heard reports of a few folks being a little chilly (they got some help and the next night fared better) we all survived the night.

Saturday turned out to be a perfect day, weather-wise. After coffee breakfast was made and devoured, and after some scrambling we got the pork into the smoker and spent the rest of the day relaxing, hanging out, and just enjoying the woods. Some folks went for a hike, others lounged around, but all in all it was a great day spent in the pines. We even had time to enjoy some Turkish coffee:

IMG_7459 copy.jpg

The raffle was a good time (man there were a lot of pocket bellows!), and then a quick reset of scenery and dinner was laid out. Once everyone ate more than they needed (and we still had a lot left over), we settled in to enjoy the fire(s), and another slightly warmer night in the woods.

Many thanks to all of the generous vendors that donated items for the raffle, as well as those attending that brought something to add to the tables. Ticket sales totaled just under $1000 after expenses. Here’s a list of vendors (in no particular order) that were featured – please check them out, and consider supporting them the next time you’re looking for gear:

Loco Libre Gear

Located here in NJ, George makes some of the finest quilts money can buy. If you want to keep warm while in your hammock, no matter what the temps, LLG can help you. Glad he was able to join us Saturday night, and many thanks for starting this party off a few years ago. He was generous enough to donate a zero-degree UQ (congrats, YNOT!).

Dutchware Gear

Dutch sells virtually anything the hammock camper or ground sleeper might need for their outdoor adventures, and we’re told he’s easy on the eyes as well. Dutchware donated a few Perfect Pouches, a Banana Hammock, and a prototype of their new Wide Tarp to the raffle. As they say, “If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.” - many thanks to Dutchette for representing!

Underground Quilts

Makers of quilts, tarps, and other hammock related goodness, their quality and service are top notch, and they even have a selection of in stock items for quick shipping - check them out! They donated some gift cards to our raffle.

Warbonnet Outdoors

Their Blackbird hammock is legendary, their tarps are some of the most widely used anywhere, and they are constantly innovating and coming out with new and exciting gear for the hammock community. They donated a generous $100 gift certificate!

Dream Hammock

Randy and crew were the first to offer a completely customizable hammock buying experience, and continue to offer multiple models of awesome hammocks, that you can custom build to suit your personal needs. Their selection, options, and quality are all tops. They donated gift cards to the raffle.

Lite AF Gear

Also based in NJ and specializing in ultralight packs and gear, they’re making some amazing stuff. If you’ve never had a chance to check them out, do yourself a favor and hit up their website. They donated a pair of awesome printed DCF fanny packs and a DCF hammock sack.

Ripstop by the Roll

A one stop shop for the DIY crowd, they sell fabrics, insulation, hardware, and virtually anything else you need to make whatever project you can dream up. If you can think it, chances are they sell what you need to make it happen. They donated gift cards for the raffle.

Hangtime Hooks

The inventor of these handy pieces of gear, Eric, joined us for the weekend and donated a bunch for lucky winners – if you didn’t score one, you can find them at Dutchware and Warbonnet.

Pine Barrens Leather

Also a NJ business, Fallkniven makes some pretty amazing stuff with leather, and donated a classy leather valet for the raffle. If you need a custom sheath for your knife or axe, belt, wallet, or other handmade leather goods, check him out.

Wild Cherry Woodworks

Curlymaple42 came down from ME and donated an awesome custom saw – I don’t know that he has any outdoor related stuff on his website, but check it out anyway, as he does great work.


Sunday was down to business, getting things broken down and cleaned up, and one by one folks departed to head back to the outside world. All in all we estimate close to 60 people for dinner Saturday, and we had folks come from all around, including a welcome invasion from some of the fine folks from NEHHA, a couple travelers from ME, and the long distance winner being 2Trees who hails from WA but just happened to be on the East Coast for business and figured that spending the evening in the woods was a better alternative to a hotel.

All in all, it was an awesome weekend/hang. It was great to see everyone - old and new - and hopefully we’ll see everyone again next year!