Hello out there to all you fellow hangers.
Welcome me to your boards.....
So this is the story all about how my first camp hang went.
Now I’m no stranger to the hanging life. Born a Colombian, I spent many days inside a Colombian Hamaca. But it wasn’t until recently that my interest grew towards backpacking. This in turn led me to find out that there was a certain breed of individuals who rather than carry entire tents, as we had done, were doing so using lightweight hammocks. Instantly my interests were peaked and I had to find out what this was all about.
After much research and deliberation I set out for the all too common HH Expedition Asym Zip. At some point in the near future I will attempt the DIY version, specifically for my daughters, but for now the HH came with everything ready to go so I could experience the wonders of an overnight bear burrito trip.
Raised in Northwest GA I am no stranger to the woods and have had my share of camping trips. However, I prefer backpacking. As a young kid, a pack of friends and I would spend hours on end walking through the woods(most of them I still backpack with today) and I guess you could say that’s where the fondness originated from. Someday I would love to be able to make the trip up to Machu Picchu on foot or spend a week lost in the Amazon Forest hanging off of massive strangler fig trees and overlooking the Amazon River while Jennifer Lopez wrestles giant anacondas in the distance.
Well, as it turns out, I work for a Jeep off-road parts manufacturer and some of the guys in the office set up an overnight off-roading and camping trip. I saw the perfect opportunity and jumped on board. Ordered my HH and waited patiently for it to arrive. After what felt like an eternity, Thursday rolls around and I receive the txt from the wife that the greatest UPS man of all time has just dropped off my package. Good thing too, considering we were heading out Saturday morning. I pull everything out of the box and set out to the garage to put everything together. If my wife hadn’t rolled in there a few hours later to wake me and usher me back to bed I would have likely spent the entire night in the freaking thing.
Friday night I go through my backpacking bag and get everything settled for the overnight trip. I figured it’d be a tad cool so I include my wool blanket as well as my fleece liner for my sleeping bag. Saturday morning rolls around and my buddy is outside honking the horn. I kiss the wife and kids good bye and set out for what was to be an amazing trip. 2 hours later we arrive at the camp site. One of the other guys is already there and has already commenced the festivities. We set up our campsites, except for me; I decide to wait until we return from off-roading to setup my hammock. I figure with how quick the setup is (thanks to the ultra-fast setup posted by trekkingnut, using the carabiner and 2 rappel ring setup) I shouldn’t have any issues getting up in time. We set out on our off-road expedition and for the next few hours have an absolute blast. We get back to camp and setup goes as planned. After dinner and a few brews I finally decide it’s time for bed and set out on my main voyage. By this time the temperature has dropped a bit and I pat myself on the back for bringing the extra covers. I set the wool blanket down, place the liner inside my bag, untie my shoes and crawl in. Now mind you I may have partaken in a few more beverages than I might have led on at first. Immediately I’m fast asleep and uncaring of my surroundings. Roughly a couple hours later I awake with the immense need to relieve myself, rather I was awaken by it. This is when I first realize that my first experience as a bobcat piñata may not go as planned. The wool blanket has all but completely slid down from under me and I’m now hanging about 3 inches below the edges my fly. This wouldn’t have been much of an issue had the temperature not dropped to 30 degrees on this particular night. To make matters worse, the previous night’s festivities have now caught up with me and I’m now experiencing a slight but manageable thumping on my head. Quickly I crawl out and take care of business, as I return I attempt to re-situate the wool blanket and fly without much luck. For the rest of the night I experienced small batches of 1 or 2 hour naps while having to continuously crawl out and reconfigure everything all while the headache seemingly got worse. Finally I awoke the following morning with half a dozen empty bottles of water and a bottle of ibuprofen inside my hammock. Slowly I crawled out, Laced up my boots, made my coffee, and walked over to the already lit fire and hoped that at some point my nose would finally regain feeling.
When I finally arrived at home I wouldn’t shut up about how magnificent of a time I had. The off-roading was amazing, but the HH is what truly made this an absolutely remarkable trip for me. Ever since that night I haven’t stopped thinking and planning for my next journey. Sure, it was rough, cold and miserable, but that’s part of the adventure, part of the story to share. I’m sure there will be many pleasant trips with this hammock but I can’t help but wonder which will be the toughest ones and how my body and mind will fare against the elements and tortures the woods has planned for me.
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