First of all, before I get into the meat of things I'd like to thank the folks that REALLY stood out to make this hang the success that it was. Beyond our members and guests, OCLooper really came through with getting us a 100 pound hog for a fine price and secured us a mack-daddy cooker for the weekend. On top of that, he COOKED the swine and boy, was it fine eatin'. UGQ Outdoor Equipment, BIAS, and Hound Dog Hammock Gear all stepped up to the plate to provide door prizes for this hang. The down beanies and pillows from UGQ went over like gangbusters, the hammock seat from HDHG was a hit, and plenty of folks were excited to see Hammock Anchor/Strap Anchor suspensions out in the wild when they hadn't been exposed to them yet. Also, Tacoma96 for bringing his signature item - ice cream. If I've left anybody it out, it certainly wasn't on purpose.
Unfortunately, my trip report is abbreviated because I wasn't able to get there until late Friday night, while the event started Thursday morning. Hopefully somebody will be kind enough to flesh things out.
Rolling up around 9:00 Friday night, I was met with Cheers-esque shouts of "GRESH" before I could even get out of my truck. It's good to be loved, or at least tolerated. I unpacked the truck, set up my kit, and chilled out for the rest of the night after I gave my requisite "Hi, I'm Gresh, and thanks for coming" speech that I sometimes have to do. I sacked out in the Dangerbird around 0130. This was my first cold hang with it and I'm legitimately shocked at how much of a difference the overcover makes. SHOCKED, I tell ya.
Saturday morning was comfortable and full of breakfast foods and the smell of hog that'd been on the cooker all night. There's nothing else quite like that smell in the world, and it's a wonderful thing to smell. After breakfast a mass of us descended on Get Your Gear On, a local new and used/consignment gear store here in Columbia that was holding a special PSH-only sale that meant a whole mess of stuff going out the door for nearly cost or free as well as other ridiculous discounts. PSH members cleaned up that morning in the gear department and went home Sunday with more than they showed up with. We got back to camp right around when the pig was coming off the cooker so we had us a good ol' fashioned pig pickin'. Homemade sauces, sides, so forth and so on...they flowed like nobody's business. So much tasty food. Just after we had lunch and food was settling, Carolina Outdoor Adventures showed up with BUBBLE BALL SOCCER. For those unfamiliar, here's a link: http://www.carolinaoutdooradventures.com/bubbleball
After the carnage and violence of Bubble Ball Soccer, the white elephant gift exchanged happened a little while later and that was a BLAST. Lots of good stuff got given and received, and nobody walked away disappointed. Pretty sure that's gonna have to be a tradition for FBH going forward. The skies grew dark as they are so often wont to do in the evening and that marked the time for Pudden to tell his ghost stories/lies. We heard him spin a handful of yarns and then broke out Cards Against Humanity for a good ol' time of making people uncomfortable and showing just how terrible we really are.
As all good things must, it all came to an end Sunday and as is my habit I packed up early and left after some sad goodbyes.
I already miss my PSH folks, but it won't be long before SPRING SWING!
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