volunteer at Shenandoah

I forgot to mention in my previous post that Kiwi and I did some volunteer work while at Shenandoah National Park. We are working with, "Defenders of Wilderness" to remove some invasive species of plants (oriental bittersweet vines and honeysuckle bushes).

We had a good time and met a lot of nice people. We found a couple of bird nests, and managed to avoid the poison ivy.

We got some free t-shirts, and gear from the park as a reward for helping out.

Big Meadows Campout

Kiwi and I went out this past weekend.  We stayed at Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah National Park.  It is a nice campground.  However, it was a little difficult to decide which site was best for our hammocks.  We found a pretty good site though; A78.

I scoped out a few better spots for the next time we go to Big Meadows.

We hiked the AT to the blue-blaze trail, and went down to Lewis Falls.  It is a nice falls and well worth the trip down.  Kiwi had some trouble on the hike back because it is all up hill.

While at the falls we met several nice people with a dog.  Kiwi loves dogs!!!  He couldn't get enough of the dog.

Kiwi got a little excited while at the falls and kept climbing on the wall.  It is a long drop to the bottom so a couple times people grabbed him in fear he would go over the edge.

The camera battery died so I had to buy a disposable and don't haven't gotten the photos developed yet, but will post them when they are available.

MAHHA

Kiwi and I had a great hammock camping trip this past weekend with 30 others from the hammock forum. All 30 people had their hammocks. It was quite a site to see all those hammocks.

We did get quite a bit of rain while we were out camping, but we still had a great time. We had some thunder and lightning too. Kiwi made a great friend by the name of Thunderfoot. They played all weekend long.

Hutch played the guitar and sang for a while on the first night, but had to leave earlier than others.

It was my first night in my new hammock and I got soaked. Unfortunately, I neglected to setup a drip mechanism and all the water ran down the tie-out-lines and into the hammock. I have corrected this issue by adding drip rings to my lines.

I wanted to test the factory setup for the new hammock just to see how well it worked without any modifications.

Campout in Backyard

For the past few nights I have been sleeping out in the backyard. My intention is to thoroughly test my equipment. Lately I have been doing some comparisons between the JRB Nest and the Hennessey Super Shelter. I keep going back-and-forth over which one I like better. I need to do more testing.

I will start writing my reviews on my main website. I am going to create a section just for reviews instead of spreading them all through this blog. I will begin moving all the reviews I have already written to the main site (www.hikehaven.com).

Anyhow, last night was the best night sleep I have gotten in a long time. I love my HH and SS. Hopefully my new Claytor will be able to compete with it; when it arrives.

Campout - Warmth Tests

So I decided to camp out last night, yes, on a work night. The temps went down below freezing. However, I have made a few discoveries.

1) The heavy-duty space blankets (more expensive) don't work worth a darn in combination with an underquilt.

2) The inexpensive, thin space blankets seem to work pretty well. At least much better than the heavy-duty versions. I think this might have something to do with the weight; compresses the loft.

3) The JRB Nest works much better when you shake the down to the center of the quilt before you get in.

4) The JRB Nest as a UQ, in combination with a No Snivller, as an overquilt is only warm down to about 45 degrees F. After the temp starts getting much below 45 it is time to put in the space blanket. The space blanket only seems to add a few degrees.

I did order a JRB Weather Shield for my Nest and am hoping this add's a few degrees to my warmth. I am also considering getting a 3rd quilt to use for colder seasons. I could use my Nest, and No Snivller as a combo UQ, then use a heavier quilt as a oq.

Hennessey SS vs. JRB Nest

I have been bouncing back and forth between the SS and the Nest. The SS seems to be bomb-proof. I had one situation when all my stuff got soaked, including the SS. I just wrung out the water, and it kept me warm all night down into the 30ies.

The big issue I have with the SS is that it squeezes the sides of the hammock, which causes the hammock to be uncomfortable, and the bug net sags. The sides tend to fold up/bunch a bit. It does do a good job keeping me warm and dry. It also does a great job keeping the wind out.

I just ordered a weather shield for my JRB nest. The big issue with the Under Quilts (UQ) is that they don't do a good job stopping the wind, or water. This is a problem in bad weather, and/or fog. I am hoping the weather shield will help solve all my problems. The shield will also add 10 degrees to the warmth of my quilt.

The quilt fits the hammock better than the SS and doesn't cause the net, or sides to scrunch and sag. This is a big advantage for comfort.

So far they both seem to do an adequate job keeping me warm, but I think I might start leaning more towards using the nest after I get my new weather shield.

New Photos & Tibet Mountain

As promised I have added a new photo album for April 2008 to my gallery. Here is a link directly to the album: http://picasaweb.google.com/hacktorious/20080412Outdoor

We had a trip this weekend and hiked Tibet Mountain in West Virginia. It was a great hike and is fairly rough with some good climbs. This is one hike well worth doing; the views are fantastic.

I am going to plan a group trip based on Tibet Mountain and Big Schloss Mountain trail hikes. The trip will probably be 3-4 days.

First Outing of Season

Well, Z and I had our first outing this season. It didn't go so well. It got really cold, and rainy. Then his home-made hammock got wet. He got cold and came into my hammock.

The temps went down to the upper 30ies. I had my under-quilt on, but kept getting cold spots. I should have put my space blanket in it or something. It was my first time testing my new quilt in the "WILD". I wasn't very impressed and think I may stick with my HH-SS.

I don't have any photos at the moment because I cannot find the cable for the camera. However, I will post them in my Picasa albums when I find the cable.

I recently went to Lowes, got materials, and made a new hammock stand. The design is by Ed Speer (www.speerhammocks.com, www.hammockcamping.com).

I am very impressed and love this new stand. I will cherish every moment when I am camping on it.

It is very stable/sturdy and rather easy to erect. I went with the two 6' members instead of the single 10' member across the top. This makes it much easier to transport.

If you need a hammock stand, I highly recommend making one of these. The cost was about $160, which is a bit more than when Ed made the first one in 2004. The price of materials just keeps increasing. :)