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  1. #1
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
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    2nd Annual Boggs Mountain Spring Hang (2013)

    Thread for trip reports.

    5 minute video



    They Came, They Saw, They Infested the trees with hammocks and a couple of tents.

    Boggs Mountain State Demonstration Forest is in Cobb, CA - north of Calistoga and south of Clearlake.

    My drive out there (via Napa) was nice, with just a little construction work but not a lot of traffic. I got a little misplaced navigating the roads in the Forest, but some dog walkers straightened me out. I'm still not sure how I managed to take the first turn (I recognized it on my way out) yet still managed to come in up the really rough second turn's road anyway. Teleportation? Forest Gremlins?

    I was first on site, set up my new Warbonnet Traveler hammock (more on that later) and waited for folks to arrive. By dinner time, everyone had arrived: OneThing, Garyg763, dblhmmck, OneEye and his three great boys, and The Daves (their new name in my universe) consisting of DaveTelf and his friend Dave.

    We stood around talking hammocks. We ate a lot. The Boys (OneEye's) exhibited their world-class pyro skills. On Saturday, The Boys introduced me to Mau, a TOTALLY awesome card game. I had the most cards of anyone at the table and never had so much fun losing a game in my life.

    The weather was great, a nice strong breeze to blow away the mosquitoes on Friday night, calming to nothing during the night. Probably 1/2 hour after dawn the mosquitoes all woke up and were frustrated by various bug nets and head nets. They eventually went back wherever they'd come from.

    A little overcast on Saturday and not as windy, I was bedeviled by bugs in the afternoon (giant house flys) and mosquitoes around dusk.
    I figure that's because I was the only warm-blooded target left (a Mother's day hang will be deserted on Sat night and Sunday.) So I swapped out my Traveler for my Warbonnet Blackbird and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open any more.

    I woke up as soon as the sky started getting light (I usually do) and started packing up. The mosquitoes were still asleep. Ha ha. Go find a horse to bite or something.

    I started the car at 6am and drove out to the north to catch 53, heading east on 20 and south-south-east on 16. Stopped in Woodland for a giant McDonald's coffee, and bombed home.

    Gear, Food, and Clothing



    I like the Traveler hammock very much (double layer). Simple and comfortable. I opted for the line and strap suspension, and discovered that the pines I had chosen (and most of the pines on the site) were HUGE - the straps went only 1/2 way around the trees, so I made up FrankenStraps by using some really long Strapworks straps folded up 4 times as extenders.





    I'll probably go with the Amsteel extenders from Arrowhead since, as dblhmmck pointed out, trees that are big enough to defeat my straps are probably not going to be harmed by a partial rope-wrap.

    I installed pole pockets by 2qzq on my MacCat Deluxe tarp and did the pole mod thing. Super nice on a hot day! I used Easton poles I had on hand (the longer ones) and will swap them out for more, shorter, sections for easier packing. It was nice and warm so I let the pole straighten out, making a nifty canopy for lounging.

    I tried some new-to-me backpacking food recipies and liked all of them. Except for the kippered herring I had for lunch on Saturday, I ate vegetarian all weekend. I like it!

    I never did entertain folks with my fire-building attempts, but I did use my new Element stove as a windbreak for my old trusty Supercat stove.



    This is OneThing's Element in Flame On mode.



    I have decided that clothes without tags (using printed-on tags instead - trendy) are nice but annoying for dressing in the dark. Longjohns fit funny backwards. Bet you didn't know that!

    I tried out my DIY Primaloft/Momentum pants (made to go with my Thru-Hiker Kinsman insulated jacket) and liked them. I ended up sleeping in my lightest wool longjhons (Ibex) and the insulating clothing. I kicked the JRB Shenandoah quilt into the foot of the hammock and used it to keep my feet warm both nights.

    I finished another Thru-Hiker kit this spring: the Liberty Ridge Windshirt. So nice! Adds just a bit of warmth and also defeats mosquitoes.

    I wore my diy windblocking fleece balaclava on both nights to keep my head warm (I slept cold this weekend) but didn't put it on until 2 or 3am Saturday night.

    I also tried out a bug net I made for my Tilley T4 hat. The wide brim on the hat keeps the net well away from my face.

    This was also the first overnight trial(s) of an extra-small size Thermarest Pro mat for my feet (I use a 3/4 Hammock Gear underquilt). It worked fine. I have to remember to put the valve as far from me as possible. It is lumpy if I forget. I had it slightly inflated in the Traveler and decided that uninflated worked better in the Blackbird.

    I deployed my Griz Beaks on Friday night, mostly because I could.


    I made a very small ridgeline organizer: just enough to hold my glasses and maybe a phone and small MP3 player. I used mitten hooks, but when you load the organizer up with only items narrower than the organizer, the hooks slide together. Duh! So I'll make some bitty prusiks on the ridgeline of the Traveler.

    I tried using just the head-end Triangle Thingy (Arrowhead Equipment) the second night, but decided that I needed both to help keep the underquilt in place. The Triangle Thingies also help keep the underquilt in place fore and aft, as well as keeping my shoulder covered.

    I experimented with a partially-finished long hooded poncho as a non-breathable weathershield under my hammock. It has potential. Now I need to finish the darn poncho.

    How To Hang A Tilley on your tarp


    When packing up, I decided to try leaving my underquilt and triangle thingies on the Warbonnet and the topquilt inside and put the whole lump into my backpack at once (I brought my modified 2012 Osprey Ariel with me). It worked OK, but I forgot to take out the Thermarest before I did it. Made it harder. And my celphone was still in there. Ooops.
    Last edited by E.A.Y.; 05-13-2013 at 11:53. Reason: spelling names, accuracy, video added!
    -Liz -

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    Great job! Oh what, fun albeit short. "Wonders await those who travel the lesser path"

  3. #3
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
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    video added to first post in thread.

    yay!
    -Liz -

  4. #4
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    Nice trip report! And I enjoyed the vid with all the setups as well.

  5. #5
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    Liz,

    So glad we could make it this year. It was great meeting you along with Gary, Gary, Dave, Dave and Victor. I'm used to seeing more than one Mike at an event, so this was an amusing change.

    There were some nice setups to be seen, and the hammock tips & tricks to Dave & Dave following their first hang were awesome. Gary's trail experiences were inspiring. I'm glad to have been able to join you all, and I hope the report on how amusing the boys were is genuine. They all reported good things about the group to their mother when they got home.

    Thanks again for organizing everything,

    -Mike

  6. #6
    Senior Member OneThing's Avatar
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    Outstanding Report!

    Outstanding report Liz. The food and the people were great. You couldn't of asked for a better night to hang. I slept with my tarp off and the stars came out for a great show. It was perfect weather to hang. @50°f at night.

    We also tested out the upside down fire, and it worked as advertised.

    I'm looking forward to October... See ya all then.
    _________________
    It is better to say, "This One Thing I do" than to say, "These forty things I dabble in." - Washington Gladden


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    N. Calif. Boggs Mt Hangout - May 10-12, 2013

  7. #7
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OneEye View Post
    ...I'm glad to have been able to join you all, and I hope the report on how amusing the boys were is genuine.
    Yep. 100% genuine.
    -Liz -

  8. #8
    Senior Member oldgringo's Avatar
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    1. I despise tagless shirts. And besides, I don't like them.

    2. Try out a Lazy Slug Tube iffn you want to pack the whole kit and caboodle as one.

    3. The cell phone thing: BTDT.

    Nice report.
    Dave

    "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton

  9. #9
    New Member DaveTelf's Avatar
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    garyg763, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to chat more, hopefully we can fix that in October

    To both OneThing and OneEye (and the boys!), sorry we weren't around to say goodbye properly before you all left.

    dblhmmck, it was a pleasure meeting you, and look forward to when we'll reconnect.

    To E.A.Y.: Thank you again very much for planning this hang, and being such an enthusiastic and friendly host! We definitely should do some day-hikes this summer like we talked about.

    Like I said in the original thread, it was really great to meet you all! Thanks for all the shared knowledge, love of nature and hammocking, and comradery. I very much look forward to the fall when I hope we'll all 'hang out' again.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Bruciehi5's Avatar
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    It’s always interesting to see how people set up their hammocks. It looked to be a very nice and relaxing hang! Thanks for the video, E.A.Y!

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