Trip Report - south of Cottonwood Canyon, OR, no-tree-two-hammock truck system

[JCase]

This weekend my wife headed to the beach with girlfriends, so I took the opportunity to go camping with our daughters. Unfortunately some misadventures along the way to our campground of choice (Cottonwood Canyon State Park) prevented us from securing a spot. With my brain in full-pivot mode, I fed the kids dinner in the day use area, packed them back into the truck and continued a bit further south on 206, keeping one eye on my map for any green state park zones. Soon we came to an unassuming (and somewhat intimidating) dirt road up the side of a hill. What lay at the top, I had no idea, but the light was fading and I needed to find a camping spot and fast...

I locked the center diff, raised up my air suspension to high (always fun) and went for it. About a third of a mile up the bumpy trail we reached the hilltop and an open area with 360 degree views of the surrounding country and canyons. Pretty spectacular - but of course, zero trees. Thankfully, at the last minute of packing I threw in my new car-hammock-tripod system, and it proved to be a perfect use case.

We’ve enjoyed complete quiet and isolation up here with all the comforts of our beloved Warbonnet setups (and a travel crib in the back of the Cruiser for the 1.5 year old). The wind blew steadily and strongly through half the night, but the tarp held, the moon was full and clear, and the morning light came on with a half dozen distinct birdsongs.

We’re napping/nap-protesting now. Probably we’ll stay one more night and pack it on Sunday morning. All told, a terrific trip, and a successful maiden voyage for the new hammock-car stand system.

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[TrailSlug]

NICE. I'm amazed that the wind didn't blow you off that bald.

[AnthonyD]

That view!


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[BillyBob58]

Way to go, excellent save with no trees!

[JCase]

NICE. I'm amazed that the wind didn't blow you off that bald.

Thanks! I set up so the Land Cruiser would block most of the wind, and it wasn’t too bad. One thing I stupidly didn’t address until morning was the precise hangle of my Eldorado. I find that if the ridgeline isn’t just barely slack and the foot end a minimum 12-14 inches higher than the head, my all-time favorite piece of gear, the Wooki UQ, will not keep my feet warm, as they stick out beyond its coverage area. If it’s all perfectly dialed in, it’s cozy bliss, but last night I had some cold toes. May be time to upgrade my top quilt, too.