I had offered to put up an official post about the NJ Winter Hang for Iafte, since he seldom gets on HF these days. So it’s by proxy, and it's a month or two later than I planned to post, but at long last:
What: 16th Annual NJ Winter Hang!
When: February 2-4, 2024
Where: Batona Camp, Wharton State Forest, NJ
Map! It’s the Map!
Sign Up Sheet
Reservations:
Reserving a site is just to help out since we can’t book the whole camp. If you reserve a site, you don’t necessarily have to stay there (though you absolutely can if you like) – once we book a bunch of the sites we usually just tell everyone to set up on whichever trees within those boundaries.
When/if you book, go with 2 people, 2 cars per site. If anyone decides to come from out of state, best to let the NJ residents reserve first, as it’s cheaper per night for us locals.
If you don’t book a site, plan on bringing $5/night along that you can chip in to someone who did book, to cover costs.
Site A (Group Site) is usually the main fire/kitchen location. Sites 6 and 7 have maybe 2 or 3 good spots to hang combined, so leave those for last, as needed.
Food:
We’ll plan on a communal meal for Saturday night (usually around 6pm). Everyone is encouraged to bring something to contribute. There’s a column on the sign-up sheet to list what you’re bringing. If you want to bring plates, cutlery, etc. to share go ahead and list that as well. All other meals are on you.
Notes/Rules/Etc.:
No alcohol is technically allowed in NJ State Parks. Caveat Emptor.
There is a road that loops around the whole camp, that must remain clear for the rangers to drive around if they come through. If you’ve never been to Batona and you’re unsure, ask someone who has once you arrive, to make sure you’re not parked in a no-no spot. It should be pretty clear once you get there.
This is a drive in camp, so bring extra stuff to stay warm. Don’t try to be a hero - we’ve had temps in the negative digits in years past, and last year was in the teens and breezy on Friday night. If you need extra gear, feel free to ask here, and maybe someone can help you out.
Feel free to bring some firewood (store or local bought only please) to share, if you're so inclined - there will be at least a couple group fires.
Last time we were in camp (Thanksgiving), the pump was out of service due to a contaminated well. I'm unsure if it has been remedied, so plan to bring in water just in case.
Since in the past we usually try to book almost the entire camp, and there's not always a lot of other folk that camp out in the winter, we don’t pay much attention to the official quiet hours (10pm to 6am). That said, if there are non-Winter-Hang folk in the camp, we do our best to be good neighbors.
As a general rule, the further away from the group site you hang, the less noise you’ll have to deal with. However – be warned: this is not a quiet weekend retreat in the woods kind of hang. It’s a boisterous, once a year, let-loose-in-the-pines kind of hang.If late night talking, storytelling, carrying on, and even music bother you, this may not be your cup of tea. But if you’re up for a good time hanging with a bunch of rowdy Pineys in the cold, by all means come on out!
So that’s the basics. Some things may change if I hear differently from Iafte, at which point I’ll try and edit or post a correction/update. But it’s always a fun time, so feel free to come on out and join us – all are welcome!
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Originally Posted by adamant118
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