Hoover Wilderness with Lynx and Zimmerbuilt

[dblhmmck]

I recently returned from the Hoover Wilderness which borders the NorthEast side of Yosemite. This is excellent hammock terrain with some great scenery which I enjoyed with my GF.



I used my DIY bridge with a Warbonnet Lynx full length UQ, and was truly amazed at the performance

Bridge hammock have the advantage of being easier to fit with a rectangular UQ. But the quilts from Warbonnet Outdoors totally blow away every rectangular quilt out there, in terms of performance for the weight. To accomplish this, the quilt is no wider than is needed for a bridge UQ. Then the quilt is not merely dual differential, but sculpted in a way that eliminates the space that leads to CBS, and even pulls up snug behind the knees! Although the temperatures during this trip stayed above 30 degrees, I was toasty warm, and know I could take this UQ to lower temperatures comfortably.

I had to make a few small mods to the WB Lynx to fit my DIY hammock, but they were quick and easy. I added four short lengths of elastic chord to go over my spreader pole ends. I added a section of elastic to the head end to gather it up to the dimensions of my hammock. It is a very light weight flat elastic that I used.

I also used a short length of elastic to attach the foot end corners together. This was to compensate for the slightly shorter and narrower foot section of my bridge relative to the RR. The result was fantastic, better than I had expected.

I also had my first real test of the Zimmerbuilt dry bag hauler. I wanted to use this new pack on my Hoover trip, although I was envisioning using it in wetter environments when I bought it.

I packed it up in a modular style using four containers. Two were 13L dry bags. The bottom one contained my clothes and hammock. The top one contained my TQ and UQ. I carried a bear cannister (required now for Hoover), and my fourth container was a 25L dry bag. The 25L dry bag held everything else but was only about a third or half full, and packed loosely to help take up space around the bear cannister


I am very happy with how well this pack carried the weight. In fact the whole trip was a big success. Thanks to all of you cottage manufactures who are providing such awesome gear to all of us here on HF!

[richtorfla]

Thanks for sharing! Loved the mountainview and the krick! Nice looking bridge! Course you always have made nice stuff!

[dblhmmck]

Thanks for sharing! Loved the mountainview and the krick! Nice looking bridge! Course you always have made nice stuff!

Thanks for the kind comment, richtorfla. That krick is up towards the head waters of the Walker River, but many areas in Hoover are similarly beautiful!

And about the bridge, the happy news is that I coincidentally made it so close to the dimensions of the RR, that I can use the WB Lynx quilt with it!

[Mountnman]

Thanks for the pics, sure is a pretty place. I like your hammock also

[dblhmmck]

Thanks for the pics, sure is a pretty place. I like your hammock also

Thanks Mountainman!

Yes, it is pretty. I keep coming back there. As a bonus there is a nice hot spring near Buckeye Campground for quality post hike relaxation.

Oh, and for clarity, the first photo shows a WBBB double 1.1 hammock with a Hammockgear cuben hex tarp.

Thanks for the compliment on the DIY hammock, and I am glad you liked the photos.

[ssdivot]

Awesome report and pics. Thanks for sharing. Very cool looking pack. First time I've heard of Zimmerbuilt. Your pics reminded me of the time in september 2002 when I went to the Hoover Wilderness. I was pretty much new to backpacking in general and totally new to hammocks. Well I still am a newb but now I'm a newb with a lot more insulation than back then ha! I had bought a 20 dollar byer hammock on a whim and took it on a car camping trip and thought "oh this is heaven, I'm taking this backpacking" as my nights on the ground up to that point had been things to stoically endure, not enjoy. I of course had not seen any kind of hammock forums or done any real research. I had no idea of proper suspension or knots and just bought the thickest rope I could find, and still remember what it looked like, it must have been 1/2 inch thick and had a blue stripe on it . And had never been to as high an elevation as that Hoover Wilderness. I lived in the central valley at the time. I was in awe of the landscape and the deep blue of the sky. I wandered around all day and then set up camp. It got dark early. I got cold soon thereafter. I had a 15 degree bag but I think I only had a 3/8 inch cut down sleeping pad. I ended up very uncomfortable. I would have survived the night but I actually ended up packing up and walking out on the fortunately moonlit night. It was only a few miles thank goodness. Good times good times . I didn't realize I have had my ID Siltarp for so long. I'm still using it.

stephanie

[Tuck]

Thanks for sharing the pics! It makes me want to put Hoover Wilderness on my bucket list.

[nothermark]

Very nice looking area. I take it that is the zimmer dry bag pack? I like the way you loaded it. I also found the terrain interesting. don't want any suspension failures there! Thanks for sharing!

[dblhmmck]

Hey thanks for posting, ssdivot. I'm glad you like the pack! There was a thread about custom packs for hammock campers custom made by Chris Zimmer It is long, but full of great pictures and descriptions of a variety of cool packs made for members of this forum. Check it out when you get a chance.

I hope you have a more comfortable hammock than you did in 2002, I know I sure do. Nice to hear from another early hanger in Hoover!

I've usually gone quite a bit later in the year. This was my first visit in July, and I enjoyed the very long days. There were lots of wild flowers.

There were also fire bans this time, but we didn't need a camp fire for warmth anyway. Previously fires had been allowed below 9000' elevation in Hoover.

[E.A.Y.]

Nice report. Love the pictures. Good to see two familiar, smiling faces in hammocks!