Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, TN
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7 double
    Tarp
    OES 12x10 SpinnUL
    Insulation
    JRB Nest, NoSniv
    Posts
    53

    Standing Indian Trip Report/Equipment Report (Long)

    Last weekend my wife and I hiked the Standing Indian loop in NC—i.e., Standing Indian Campground to Deep Gap via Kimsey Creek Trail, to Rock Gap, back to Standing Indian CG on the FS road. Two days plus two fractions, and three nights hanging. This was a great hike in a stunningly beautiful section of the AT, and was also our first experience (except for tests close to home) with our hammocking gear. Two of our nights had thundershowers with heavy blowing rain, so it was a good test. Sorry, no pix with this report, we didn’t pack the camera.

    Our gear included:

    Two HH Explorer UL’s with ZQ’s Mod 2 and descending rings
    OES 12x10 tarp in SpinnUL for double-hanging
    Me: 2/3 UQ by mikeinfhaz + CCF sit pad and JRB No-Sniv overquilt
    Wife: JRB Nest UQ and Marmot sleeping bag

    We drove to Standing Indian CG Thursday afternoon, and hiked up Kimsey Creek Trail, stopping just before dark to stealth camp short of Deep Gap. Kimsey Creek was running high. In general creeks are full in this area and there was no shortage of water anywhere along our route. We set up a double-hang, set the tarp with sides high for ventilation/view, and turned in for the night. We hung the head ends too close together (about 20”), and it was full dark by the time we realized it was too close, so we left it that way and were elbowing each other during the night, but otherwise slept well.

    We stopped at Carter Gap Shelter mid-afternoon Friday and set up camp. This time, we found head trees that were about 5 feet apart, so I used a spare piece of Aircore Plus to pull the heads in to about 30 inches apart. That evening, heavy thundershowers started about dark, and after the wind shifted, spatter was wetting the bottom of my hammock and UQ. I pulled the underquilt up on top of the hammock, and we got up, put on our rain gear, and adjusted the tarp to extend it about a foot further on my (now windward) side of our hang. This solved the problem, and we slept great the rest of the night in heavy rain, waking up with dry underquilts and hammocks. We had fog, occasional light rainshowers, and dripping from the trees in the morning, but it was a snap to take down and stow all our gear, dry, under the tarp, then put the wet tarp in the outside web pocket of my pack.

    We camped the next night at a beautiful, large hilltop campsite between Glassmine Gap and Rock Gap (might have been Runaway Knob, but not sure, there are other possible locations on the map in that area), with a fine view of the mountains to the East and nobody else around. We set up the hammocks and were taking a break before dinner, when we heard what sounded like a Boy Scout troop coming up the trail. It was a Boy Scout troop, and they marched in and set up camp with us. Watching them was a great evening’s entertainment until about an hour before dark, when thunderstorms heavier than Friday night’s blew in and everyone turned in.

    Our Saturday hang had a different orientation: This time, when the wind came up, the heads of our hammocks were pointed directly into the wind. I decided to leave them that way. The tarp was tied low at the head, resting against the hammock ropes, and had the corners pulled in at the head to partially close the opening, but not enough to keep out all of the blown rain, so we put pack covers on our packs, hung them from carabiners at the head ends of our hammocks, and clipped the belts around the ridgelines. This helped shield the hammock ends from the rain. The pack covers were beaded with rain, but the hammocks and underquilts stayed dry.

    We may have been lucky this turned out well. I assume that the best way to set up would be side to the wind, with the tarp on the windward side pulled in tight and low to the ground. By the time the scouts were set up all around us, however, we didn’t have as many choices for changing our slightly complex double-hang quickly.

    When the rain stopped, raccoons came into the campsite and scratched around for food. They stayed away from our hammocks—probably thought the scouts were better prospects. We also listened to barred owls calling.

    We hiked back to the car Sunday morning feeling good about the trip. I was happy with our equipment. My underquilt/overquilt combination was toasty warm and comfortable (temps near 40 degrees Sat. night) for very little weight in the pack, and I slept better with the CCF sit pad under my legs than I would have without it. I would have been frustrated trying to adjust the UQ many times if I had not had the ZQ zipper mods installed—they are great! We couldn’t have a better tarp than the one Brian built for us, especially for the weight.

    We will keep working on how to set up correctly. We need to use a blackbishop bag to save time. We also need to learn how to set up the tarp quickly. This seems harder with a double-hang, because I use two separate ridgeline ties on the wider head end (Brian installed extra tieouts for this) and one on the foot end, so it takes some work to get the tension right with the complex shape that this creates. The tarp is cat-cut as well. I seem to spend a lot of time walking around the tarp changing the tension on the lines to remove sags in the top and slack in the sides. I’m sure I will get better at this in time, but if anyone has any ideas how to do this quickly, send ‘em my way.

    I can pack less gear next trip than I took this time. I have the descending rings clove-hitched into the standard Hennessy ropes, and we used the standard Hennessy tree straps. I am content with that setup. I packed extra-long straps from Strapworks in case we had trouble finding trees the right distance apart, but that was never a problem, so I will not take those next time. I also packed a small bag with extra lengths of Aircore Plus and of braided mason line in case I needed to rig something differently than planned. I used a line from this bag once. It’s light, so I probably will bring it again.

    We wouldn’t have figured any of this out without the help of this forum, so thanks a lot to all of you. Have fun hiking and hammocking.

  2. #2
    New Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Old Hickory, Tn.
    Posts
    17
    That is a great area! We have done several weekends in and around Standing Indian. Sounds like it was a great trip, despite the rain.

  3. #3
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Tupelo, MS
    Posts
    11,108
    Images
    489
    Great report and great 1st hanging experience! Sounds like a good hike, one I need to do sometime.

    You are using the same hammock set up I started with, the HH EXP UL, except I have always used my SS with that one, so far. The only thing is I don't have the luxury of the zipper mod yet, but I sure would like to get it. I do, however, still rate my HH (and SS) highly.

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, TN
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7 double
    Tarp
    OES 12x10 SpinnUL
    Insulation
    JRB Nest, NoSniv
    Posts
    53
    Quote Originally Posted by stumpy View Post
    That is a great area! We have done several weekends in and around Standing Indian. Sounds like it was a great trip, despite the rain.
    Yeah, we especially liked the last part, from about Mooney Gap to Rock Gap. The moss and the trillium were blooming everywhere. We caught some great views from the Albert Mtn. fire tower in spite of the clouds. Hiking toward Rock Gap, the rain and fog made the greens really pop. I think we got out of there at a good time, too, because I imagine it went below freezing in the high parts Sunday night. The low was 34 degrees in Franklin.

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, TN
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7 double
    Tarp
    OES 12x10 SpinnUL
    Insulation
    JRB Nest, NoSniv
    Posts
    53
    Quote Originally Posted by BillyBob58 View Post
    Great report and great 1st hanging experience! Sounds like a good hike, one I need to do sometime.

    You are using the same hammock set up I started with, the HH EXP UL, except I have always used my SS with that one, so far. The only thing is I don't have the luxury of the zipper mod yet, but I sure would like to get it. I do, however, still rate my HH (and SS) highly.
    Thanks. I really like the HH, and have finally learned how to hang it so I get the best (flattest) lie. I didn't fully appreciate the zipper mod until I hiked with it. I managed to get my UQ into every possible kind of wrong position, but just unzipped the bugnet and fixed it, no problem. Also useful to check whether the rain was getting us wet or not. I got mod 2, which is fine, but I think I could get along okay with Mod 1, because I like getting in and out of the entry slit, don't need to board from the side.

  6. #6
    slowhike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Winston-Salem, NC
    Hammock
    DIY, gathered end , w/ spreader
    Tarp
    JRB Universal
    Insulation
    DAM/ HG Incubator
    Suspension
    Webbing and rings
    Posts
    11,677
    Images
    319
    I did that same loop several years ago w/ two good friends. One of the best three nights I've spent out on the trail!
    We saw more kinds of mushrooms than I've ever seen in my life. So our signature joke of the weekend was...
    "Why does the mushroom always get invited to the party?


    ...because he's a real funguy
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  7. #7
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, TN
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7 double
    Tarp
    OES 12x10 SpinnUL
    Insulation
    JRB Nest, NoSniv
    Posts
    53
    Quote Originally Posted by slowhike View Post
    ...because he's a real funguy
    .....Ouch!

  8. #8
    Senior Member Perkolady's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE GA
    Hammock
    diy
    Tarp
    diy 9x11
    Insulation
    JRB No Sniveller
    Suspension
    CBs + DCs
    Posts
    1,093
    Images
    29
    Great trip report with lots of good info- thanks!

    That's great you and your wife get to go together!

    Perkolady

  9. #9
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, TN
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7 double
    Tarp
    OES 12x10 SpinnUL
    Insulation
    JRB Nest, NoSniv
    Posts
    53
    Quote Originally Posted by Perkolady View Post
    Great trip report with lots of good info- thanks!

    That's great you and your wife get to go together!

    Perkolady
    Thank you. I appreciate her letting me come along!

  • + New Posts
  • Similar Threads

    1. Replies: 3
      Last Post: 06-09-2015, 12:58
    2. Canada Victoria Day long weekend trip report
      By Taliesin96 in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 1
      Last Post: 05-24-2013, 00:45
    3. Replies: 25
      Last Post: 05-21-2013, 09:25
    4. Standing Indian loop... long winded sorry
      By betwn2trees in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 22
      Last Post: 03-03-2009, 21:17
    5. Trip report - Indian Staircase, RRG
      By Big E in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 4
      Last Post: 09-30-2007, 11:53

    Tags for this Thread

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •