Hammock Failure on the AT

[Hooch]

Ok, so I'm back a lot sooner from my AT section hike than I'd planned. It's a long story. Have a minute? Ok........I got shuttled up to I-40 by Keith & Melissa, the owners of Creek Ridge Camping (www.creekridgecamping.com, sorry for the shameless plug, but they did shuttle me for free!) Thanks Keith & Melissa!! I really had a great start to my hike, the first 5 miles up to Snowbird Mountain were quite challenging for me, but not impossible. Besides, the view from the top made it all well worth it. When I got to Groundhog Creek Shelter, there were 7 others there for the night, 2 guys from Alabama, 4 guys from a church in Georgia (More on them in a minute) and another section hiker named Blackbeard. One of the guys from AL was hanging for the first time that night, having bought an HH at TD. I got my hammock and tarp up, the went to finish settling in, get general camp chores done and get some dinner in me. I was STARVED! We all sat up taking until a little after dark and we started to turn in, one by one. I have to admit, the comfort of my hammock was very welcome. It again reminded me why I dislike sleeping on the ground so much. I slept like a baby, as always in my hammock, until around 0100 and had to get up to water the trees. Afterward, I got back in, zipped my bag back up and started to doze off. I rolled over onto my right side and then it happened. RIIIIIIPPPPPPP!!!!!! Before I knew what happpened, I was dropped on the ground onto my right shoulder. Ouch! I got my headlamp on to survey the damage and find out what actually happened. I appreads that the seam on the right side of the hammock gave way and dropped me like a bad habit. The shelter being full, I slept the rest of the rest of the night, very fitfully at best, on the ground under the tarp. I told everyone what happened at breakfast as we were all talking. I had originally planned to finish the hike and just suck it up and stay in the shelters along the way, but the more I moved around, the more my shoulder hurt. Much to my disappointment, I decided to call this hike to an end. I kept telling myself that discretion is the better part of valor. The group of 4 guys from GA had their car parked at Standing Bear Farm and offered me a ride back to Hot Springs where my car was parked. Whew! That took a lot off me, because I was worried about how much a shuttle from SB to HS would cost me (I was on a budget). So, after a rather uncomfortable hike back to Standing Bear, I got a ride back and the guys wouldn't even let me give them gas money. Many thanks to this group of guys, they were great! So now I'm Back in Kentucky, stuch with an ENO SingleNest with a big fat tear in it. I'm going to contact Pete @ ENO today and see if they'll replace it for me. If not, it seems that this is the perfect time to get started on a DIY project or 2. Anyway, sorry to ramble on so, hope you guys have a good time at the SEHHA Hangout this weekend! Enjoy!