The Most People

[olddog]

The 2nd Annual Florida Hang last January drew around 85. As far as organization there are a handfull that take the lead but it seems that once the ball gets rolling it just kinda takes on a life of it's own. Last year was my first but I soon found that there are no strangers at a hammock meet. Ages ranged from 2 to 71 with all levels of experience. My feeling was that food was the common denominator. With the new forum members this past year the 3rd Annual hang may reach over 100 attendees This link make take a little time to view but shows the fun we had.http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=45382

[olddog]

Mike, we must have been typing at the same time.

Ugene, you're not that far away, we had friends from Tennesse last year. Make plans now to join us next January, I've posted the date in the calender

[drifter]

Wow, that's a lot of folks gear to drool over.

That’s what I’m after, the maximum number of ideas in one place

[Timberrr]

I was thinking of trying to organize a Michigan Hang Event, but I was undecided on if the environmental impact would be an issue.

I can't speak for everyone or every event, but... Islander and I scouted the site for FH2 (2nd Florida Hang) about a week in advance. We were relieved to see the place in pretty good shape. I was also one of the last to leave after the event. I'm here to tell you every hanging site, the large common areas, everywhere was in better shape at the end of the event.
Gumbo and I have been to about half a dozen group hangs. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't take LNT to heart. And if someone does come up a little short, three other people will "cheerfully" clean up behind him. Hangers just seem to be respectful and appreciative people like that.

[Detail Man]

A group hang is definitely worth the effort of getting to. Drooling over gear and learning new stuff takes a back seat to the friendships that develop at one of these events. My family of 5 has been to several.

[HappyCamper]

Are these organized events, as in sponsored or just a lot of friends getting together?

I was thinking of trying to organize a Michigan Hang Event, but I was undecided on if the environmental impact would be an issue.

i was thinking of the National forest land; as it is here in Michigan there are straight plots of replanted pine forest that cry out for hundreds of hammocks. But then I started to think well maybe that's not such a great idea as there are no facilities in those areas.

Just wondering how these events are organized...
Thanks for any input, Sorry to disrupt the thread if this is off topic

I've been to a fair number of hangs and I will say that if there's going to be more than 10 people I would suggest hanging somewhere with a pavilion so if the weather turns out to be rainy, you still have a good place to gather, eat and the most important part . . . talk and show off gear!

Gathland, MD state park is right on the AT. We rent the pavilion in the park but hang close by on the AT. About a half mile in. Because the trail goes thru the park there was already a large number of camp fire rings and established tenting areas before we started to hang there so our environmental impact has been "not much" even for the larger groups. Plus we take in garbage bags and try to leave the area and fire rings cleaner than when we got there. But like others have said, hangers already seem to be a LNT group so cleaning up after us is again "not much.".

Hanging near a hiking trail is great because backpackers can plan hikes before or after the weekend hang event. They do that on their own.

When hangs start to get bigger in numbers, say over 25, parking can be an issue, depending on the place. When ours started to get bigger, we started to discuss it with the park people to work out any issues a larger event might have. For example our fall hang happened late in the season one year when they usually close down the bathrooms in case of freeze. Because our group was coming they added another port-a-potty in the area. I think the Mt. Rogers hang rents their own and pays for it out of raffle money. That's how we pay for the pavilion rental.

Water can also be an issue if you are hanging somewhere without a pump or stream. Winter hangs are a lot trickier to organize so I'll let someone else comment on those.

[HappyCamper]

Also, there are no set rules on how to start a hang, but if you do want a fair amount of people to show up, you can create a poll with a few choices for hang sites and then ask people to vote on their favorite spot. Once you get the spot you can do the same thing with dates. Create a poll with a number of different dates and again ask people who think they may attend to vote on the best date for them to make it.

I've done a smaller backpacking hang at Dolly Sods, WV wilderness area where I simply picked the date and gave a map of where I would be camping Friday and Saturday nights and then people could hike in where and when they wanted. This worked out better than I thought it would. People posted their plans online and organized themselves into small groups.