It's official… The Fourth Annual SoCal Hangers group hang has been booked!
Thursday April 7th through Sunday the 10th.
Our hope was that we could get some momentum going for SoCal hangers as I think we've been a bit underrepresented out here and it looks like that dream has come to fruition given that this is the fourth year we are getting together!
We will be at the group known as “Yarrow" (Site 1Y) at the Falcon Group Campground (next door to last year's site at the same group campground).
Falcon Group campground is off the Ortega Highway in the mountains just west of Lake Elsinore. The campground is removed from the city, and is close enough to civilization that an escape route is feasible. There is water (non-potable) and vault toilets present.
It is an El Nino year so we do run the risk of getting some rain but a little precipitation has never hurt a group of hardcore hangers! Besides, we’ve got enough rope, knot, and tarp knowledge to set up one heck of a circus tent out there if we need it!
The group site is quite large (up to 70 people with parking for 10 automobiles). I have no delusions about getting 70 people out there, but at it will give us plenty of space to spread out, park, and hopefully avoid any OC Brosephs blasting music into the night.
If we run out of parking spaces we can park just outside of the entrance with a wilderness pass available at the small store just before you turn off of The Ortega Highway (74). I’ll grab a few extra Wilderness Passes for any vehicles that need to be kept at the entrance.
There are a lot of trees in the area but if we run short we can use the adjacent Blue Jay Campground for overflow. Trees at the group site are first-come, first-served. If it looks like we have a ton of overflow early enough we might be able to get the group site next to the main site as well. We’ll work it out!
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Confirmation and Costs
Please confirm if you are going below.
If you want to pay beforehand you can send your fees to
paypal.me/WillieCash
Please make sure to include your name and you HammockForums User Name if you have one.
We covered the site up front so any help in this regard is appreciated
If you don’t pay in advance, please remember to bring cash with you!
Payment of $25 per person ($10 per kids)
This cost is the same whether you stay one night or three.
Think of it as a “Cost of Admission”
Any overage will go towards reserving the site for next year so we don’t have to go so deep out of pocket for it.
It really helped to have the $100 left over from last year to book this year.
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Items to bring:
1) Hammock Rig / Tarps / Gear
2) DRINKING WATER!!! The campground is listed as having potable water but my buddy and I got sick from it last time.
3) At least two bundles of firewood, per person. I'm bringing at least three. I love a fire… Almost as much as Pedro.
4) Potluck Dish of some sort for Friday or Saturday dinner. We will have one each night.
5) Toilet paper. There are supplied vault toilets but it is better to be safe than rely on the forestry service.
6) Other Camping Gear you think others would benefit by seeing.
7) Obvious stuff like food, bourbon, water, clothes, bourbon, etc…
Lastly: If we get close to the date and it looks like rain, bring your wet gear and any tarps, rope, and/or other cordage we might use. Frankly, I kind of hope we see some rain because it would be fun seeing what we’d come up with.
We will have two potlucks (you heard me… TWO). One on Friday and one on Saturday night where everybody brings something for the group to share. We had a fine assortment of Chicken Asada, homemade salsa, Chili, Smoked Salmon, Potatoes, Cornbread, Jalapeo Poppers, and about a half dozen other items that really hit the spot.
This seemed to be one of the things most enjoyed by everyone so please be sure to plan for it. We can figure out who is cooking on which night based on what people show up with. We’re doing two potlucks because in past years there was so much food we were getting stuffed before we even had a chance to try everything. This makes it so we can really enjoy everyone’s dishes.
There is plenty of hiking in the area. There are 2 trails out of Falcon and out of Blue Jay San Juan trail along with opportunities for bike riding if that tickles your fancy.
On the first trip (and the last one), SoCal Mike hiked out to Sitton Peak. The trailhead is down the Ortega Hwy toward San Juan Capistrano, about 5 minutes by car. You will need an Adventure Pass to park in the lot across the street from the candy store. The hike is ~10 miles roundtrip and took him about 4 hours, with a nice break at the peak. It is not very difficult EXCEPT for the final 1/4 mile to the peak. It is very steep at that point. But it offers one of the best views of Orange County and beyond.
Let's plan on bringing out not only our hammock gear, but also any backpacking or outdoors gear we have so everybody can take a look at how others rough it. I'm always impressed by new technology and especially DIY stuff. If anyone wants to ask questions about those and how they're made, that's great. Bring a few extra items, even if they don't need them, so we can all take a look and learn from everybody's different rigs.
Non-hangers (or “Pre-Hangers” as I prefer to call them) are welcome to come out for the weekend and take a look at what they are missing. Just make sure they are prepared to hear a whole lot of hammock geek talk!
Well-behaved kids ~12+ are welcome. Especially since we will be occupying such a large space. It’s always great to see the kids that came out and spend some time learning about hammocking and backpacking. Car camping tends to lead to (at least) a fair share of adult beverages being consumed and spreading out will help make sure the kids aren't adversely affected by any questionable behavior. We did a good share of drinking at the last few group hangs (which led to a fair amount of salty language) and I imagine suit will follow this time.
Well-behaved dogs are also welcome. Park regulations require them to remain on a leash.
If anybody has ideas for activities beyond what is listed above? A poker game perhaps? Bean bag tosses? Horseshoes? Raffle? Scavenger hunt for the kids? List your ideas below! We tried to play poker once but the wind wasn’t cooperating. Hopefully we have better luck this year.
I’ll bring along plenty of the official SoCal Hangers patches with the SoCal Hangers logo for $5 each if anybody is interested. I’ve got one on my backpack and one on my down jacket and they look sweet!
I’m working on getting some items to raffle from outdoors vendors. If it works out, proceeds will benefit The Wounded Warrior Project. If you have an in for getting something donated, let me know.
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Directions:
From the 15 (East Side):
Take Exit 77 to get on to Highway 74
Head West (Towards the lake)
Right on Collier (light)
Left on Riverside Dr (light)
Pass the lake
Riverside Drive curves to the left and becomes Grand
Turn Right on Ortega Highway 74 up the mountain
Go up the hill to just a mile or two past the crest
Get off the highway by making a right at No. Main Divide road
No. Main Divide road is just before a campground on the right
Take the paved road in the middle (DO NOT GO TO THE SITE RIGHT BY THE HIGHWAY)
You will go about 15 minutes back and likely feel like you have gone too far.
Look for potholes and narrow roads.
Follow Signs to Falcon Group Campsite
Yarrow is the last site
From the 5 (West Side):
Take Exit 82 to get on to Highway 74
Head East (Into the Mountains) for about 23 miles
Make a left on to No. Main Divide road just after the fire station (on the right)
No. Main Divide road is just after a campground on the left
Take the paved road in the middle (DO NOT GO TO THE SITE RIGHT BY THE HIGHWAY)
You will go about 15 minutes back and likely feel like you have gone too far.
Look for potholes and narrow roads.
Follow Signs to Falcon Group Campsite
Yarrow is the last site
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Now that all of that's out of the way... Let's get the ball rolling and the sheets hanging!
If you have questions, post them below!
Yours in hanging,
Addam
(AKA: WillieCash)
You can reach me via PM here on HammockForums
Or on the public Facebook Group “SoCal Hangers"
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Originally Posted by slbear
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