Fat Butt Hang 28 April thru 1 May 2016 North Carolina

[gunner76]

I am tired. Found myself falling asleep at the wheel driving home so I pulled into a rest area and took a nap in the van, not as comfortable as a hammock.

Have to unload and go thru a lot of photos and videos to see if anything turned out. Also have to write up detailed trip report.

Please let us know that you made it home safe and sound an share your trip report.

This is the third year we have been doing the hangs here and I think they get better and better.

By the sign up sheet it appears we have 31 folks ( from 3 states ) show up plus 3 visitors and one EMT worker driving thru the hang site I got to stop and tour our setups.

Hope the group photo turns out so I can also do a head count with that.

[Hotlips]

We are home, safe and have the vehicle unpacked. I won't touch the trailer for about 2 weeks. It's an all day job by itself. KingsFord and I had a great time. We loved seeing everyone. Glad to meet new folks. The weather was great. I'm glad we get to come to this hang, It's one of my favorites. Now We'll have to start preparing for the Smoke Butt.

[Slugger]

Made it home safe. Great time, great food....had a blast!

[Vino]

I made it home safely. I enjoyed the hang, the food and the company. Thanks for introducing me to a new camp site it was a great place to spend a weekend.

[Starfish Comet]

Made it home safely, but I too was looking for a place to pull over and take a combat nap. This was another great hang. There are always new and different experiences about each hang that I have attended. For this hang, one of them was attending Mill Days and helping to demo camping hammocks to the general public. Had lots of people come and get in my hammocks, both kids and adults. My Maverick Gear MG00100 Hammock garnered a lot of attention for its flat lay and comfort. Kids liked to wrap up completely in my no-name double wide green hammock which I put up so that I could at least explain to the general public about the proper way to lie in a hammock is on the diagonal. Mill Days provided a festive music filled background for visiting with my forum friends in between talking to the general public. After we wrapped up the demo we returned to camp for another excellent meal and more visiting around the campfires. Some day I will learn to take pictures, but at least I saw several people taking some.

[Wraith6761]

Made it home safely, and then after a few hours made it to work on time. Bummed that I had to leave as early as I did today, but there's no rest for the wicked and all that good stuff. I had fun with the hammock demos (though I think one of the trees I used had some poison ivy growing on it...good thing it was the ENO setup that I never use), and enjoyed sharing a campfire with you folks again (or in some cases, watching a couple of smokers). When I'm not at work, I'll go through the few photos I took and add them here. See you at the Smoked Butt (though if anybody's interested in a free hang before the Smoked Butt, ODH is having one up at James River State Park 5/13-5/15 https://hammockforums.net/forum/show...he-James-River...just saying, we've got some extra trees available if folks want to come)

[PappyAmos]

Home safe and sound about 3PM. After one parking lot power nap and two 5 hour energies (not at the same time) to keep me awake.

Many thanks to Gunner76 and Terminator for arranging the hang and for our Friday night weenie roast. And to Hotlips, Kingsford, Stubby and Sherry for the great Saturday meals. And finally thanks to Mother Nature for sending the storms all around us but sparing us.

Great to see everyone and all ready looking forward to the fall hang at MMP.

[gunner76]

The Terminator and I arrived at the site about 11 AM Thursday and started setting up. Once PappyAmos arrived we left him in charge and went to get something to eat at Tarheel BBQ. Good Q. Brought back two large BBQ sandwiches, one for Pappy and the other one The Terminator and I shared as we were still hungry even after the large lunch.


Pappy and Slugger fixed up beer marinated brats for dinner with sauteed peppers and mushrooms for dinner, Very good.


Started raining after dinner. Nothing hard, just annoying. As there had been some skeeters out and about we placed a bug screen around a pop up canopy and sat under it talking. Was able to listen to the rain most of the night as we sleep. No one reported getting wet during the rain.


Friday was spent meeting the hangers as they arrived and help orient first timers to the area. The Terminator and I fixed breakfast for Friday AM. We did a weenie roast for dinner so everyone got to incarcerate their weenies the way they wanted.


Saturday AM started off with Hotlips and Starthru fixing DO breakfast. Good stuff. Hotlips even came up with an oatmeal recipe that had us going back for seconds


Saturday was Mill Pond Days at the park where they have music, runs, nature exhibits, vendors ect and a hammock demo. The park had contacted me some months back about doing a hammock demo and I agreed to do so.


Tacoma acted as the shuttle driver and drove Starfish Comet, Wraith, The Terminator and myself over to the park office along with the hammock gear we used. We set up amongst some trees next to the parking lot in front of the park's visitor center. I had prepared some signage, a printed presentation and had some brochures and business cards from various hammock vendors for folks to take. We set up about a dozen hammocks from just simple gathered ends to complete set up with the tarps and a complete DIY setup, UQ;s and it did not take long before folks started coming by asking questions to wanting to get into the hammocks. Mom and Dad Meck stopped by for a bit and helped answer questions.


We stayed a lot busier than I thought we would and I was tired at the end of the Demo. I did have a couple of folks start off by saying they were not going to buy anything to which I replied..Good because we are not here to sell anything, we are not vendors ( although I was told someone wanted to buy my ENVYS that was at the demo ). The head of another state park came by and asked if we could do a hammock demo at his state park in October. Told him we would like to but will have to check our schedule and also we would have to come by the park and check it out to make sure it has a suitable place to do a demo.


Wanted to thank everyone who helped out with the demo as there was no way I could have done it all by me self. I think Starfish's Maverick hammock was the most popular due to its strange look and design.


Tacoma did his part to give everyone a sugar rush at the hang by passing out cases of Twinkies and donuts. I was told someone even tried to roast a Twinkie over the fire.


Everyone must remember that when we mention Hotlips was fixing meals that Kingsford was also hard at work with her to fix those meals.




Hotlips fixed DO spaghetti, chicken pie and Peach and Cherry Cobbler. Starthru fixed Campfire Chili and cornbread,


Stubby outdid himself and fixed 4 large Stubbie...well I not sure what they were but I know they had lots of bacon. As Stubby was taking them over to the serving table I followed him with my camera to get some pictures of them. Someone told me look behind me and I saw every one had lined up behind me to get one. Since I was now at the from of the line I made the command decision to go ahead and get a Stubbie creation before they were all gone as it has been three years since I have had one.


We had enough folks present that Saturday night that we had two campfires and the discussions got very lively and at times most of us were hurting from laughing so hard.



All too soon Sunday AM came and we started breaking down camp as rain was in the forecast. It did sprinkle for a few minutes around 10 AM. I did a walk around looking for trash and forgotten gear. All I found 3 solar lights by site 3 that belong to Hotlips. While I was waiting for the last hangers to pack up I took a shower and it felt good.


Weather was in the 50's at night and 60 and 70's during the days. While it looked like it would rain most of the weekend, the only time it did was Thursday night. There were a few skeeters about but nothing overwhelming although I heard a couple of hangers with out bug nets say they wish they had nets.


We had hangers from NC, Virginia and Pennsylvania and at lest one first time hanger along with several folks attending their first group hang,

Still have to go thru all the photos and post them along with starting planning for the Halloween Hang

[obxh2o]

Good write-up, Gunner. Thanks!

Now, since I'm enjoying this vicariously ... WE NEED PICS!

(Thank you)

[gunner76]

Now, since I'm enjoying this vicariously ... WE NEED PICS!

working on it

From the hammock demo saturday.....

MMSP Demo 01.jpg
MMSP Demo 02.jpg
MMSP Demo 03.jpg
MMSP Demo 04.jpg

Wraith

MMSP Demo 05.jpg
MMSP Demo 06.jpg
MMSP Demo 07.jpg
MMSP Demo 08.jpg
MMSP Demo 09.jpg

DIY setup
MMSP Demo 10.jpg