Discussion moving Yates to a different location

[gunner76]

Doesn't matter where you decide to hold the hang, someone will always say it it too far to drive. When The Terminator and I were holding hangs at Merchants Mill Pond, I talked to one person who said it was too far to drive and he lived about 30 minutes from hang.

I would always pay for the cost of the group campground out of my pocket and then ask for donations to help recover the cost.. Worst that happen was I broke even. If I got more in donations than cost of site then I used money to help pay for next hang and or buy basic supplies for hang like forks, spoons, paper plates ect and pay for fire wood. Medoc Mt SP did have a lumber yard close by where I went to get the fire wood. They would deliver but you had to order a dump truck load and it cost about $500 at the time. I am sure the costs has gone up

Make sure you walk the group site you are thinking about renting to make sure it has enough parking, trees ect.

The most people to attend any of the hangs The Terminator and I hosted was about 50, the fewest was about 12.

If the campground is closed during the time you want to reserve it, contact the park and see if you can get a special use permit to use the campground when it is normally closed. I did this for a winter hang at Medoc Mt SP and the park charged me a whole $5 for the group site for the weekend.

For me the closest group hangs were at least a 3 hour drive and I have driven as far as 1,100 miles to attend a hang.

[Phantom Grappler]

I called Morrow Mountain.
Group campsites like 5 and 6 do not allow any alcohol. Their Rangers are law enforcement officers. Their powers can range from verbal warning, expulsion from park, or arrest.

Alcohol is allowed within perimeter of individual rented campsites. But that is not where we would be. There is no alcohol allowed anywhere in the park, except within an individual’s rented campsite.
Those sites are not near our group campsite.

I’m going there to look at their group campsites. Maybe they are same campsites that we camped with Tarheel State Hangers. A big plus is there are enough trees that are spaced for hammocks for (trying to remember) 40 campers? Maybe 60, I don’t know.

Also I’m going to visit Badin Lake Campground and Arrowhead Campground but maybe not today.

Group sites are 35$ per night. Two sites would be 70$ per night. Thursday Friday Saturday nights would be 210$. But it could be more if some campers arrived Wednesday and some campers stayed until midday Monday

We would need two sites side by side to accommodate all our campers.

There is more to this than saying
“I’ll take two double cheeseburgers , two large fries and two teas”

While I don’t drink, many of our hammock friends enjoy taking a snort or two.

Wherever we move, there will be change.

[Crawldaddy]

Ahh... so we have come to the place we must seperate the sheep from the goats. Or maybe the goats from the sheep. Is this the way of "progressive" hammocking? Have we aged to a place where comfort becomes paramount? Perhaps we need dues to pay for a new HOA (Hammock Owners Assoc.) Will it give us old farts a little more security/creature comforts? I digress.

I say all this in jest... maybe.. but Im sure we all fondly remember our beginnings when hangs were simple.

[PappyAmos]

I called Morrow Mountain.
Group campsites like 5 and 6 do not allow any alcohol. Their Rangers are law enforcement officers. Their powers can range from verbal warning, expulsion from park, or arrest.

Alcohol is allowed within perimeter of individual rented campsites. But that is not where we would be. There is no alcohol allowed anywhere in the park, except within an individual’s rented campsite.
Those sites are not near our group campsite.

I’m going there to look at their group campsites. Maybe they are same campsites that we camped with Tarheel State Hangers. A big plus is there are enough trees that are spaced for hammocks for (trying to remember) 40 campers? Maybe 60, I don’t know.

Also I’m going to visit Badin Lake Campground and Arrowhead Campground but maybe not today.

Group sites are 35$ per night. Two sites would be 70$ per night. Thursday Friday Saturday nights would be 210$. But it could be more if some campers arrived Wednesday and some campers stayed until midday Monday

We would need two sites side by side to accommodate all our campers.

There is more to this than saying
“I’ll take two double cheeseburgers , two large fries and two teas”

While I don’t drink, many of our hammock friends enjoy taking a snort or two.

Wherever we move, there will be change.

Thanks for checking out Morrow Mtn. Never crossed my mind about the alcohol issue. I can take it or leave it. All state park facilities will be the same.

[Slugger]

For those who weren't there in March, the nexus for getting this topic going was an encounter with a homeless mother & adult son couple that were camped at Yates right in our area in which the mother approached us and asked that a sheriff be called to Yates for her protection. In the end, it ended up being nothing but a misunderstanding about a set of the son's missing car keys which the mother finally found in the car. But.......it did initiate the conversation about maybe Yates was getting to be not the place to hold future hangs - not only because of the increase of homeless using the campground, but the general lack of "facilities" that might be keeping some hangers from fully enjoying the bi-annual gathering.


Can't say I enjoyed venturing into that vault toilet......


But a change in venue that would cost each of us some pesos I wouldn't mind. Besides, those of us who don't mind roughing it without facilities always have the John Rock hang in July!

[Twistytee]

I think it’s probably less about the amenities and more about hanging in a less sketchy location. Yates is great for casual hangs when people follow the Forest Service rules and respect their neighbors, but these incidents are becoming a lot more frequent. Homeless have been increasingly using the area for longer term squatting, and when they get run off by the rangers they just come back to squat again. I know there’s been talk of the Forest Service turning it into a paid camp facility with specific campsites, improved amenities and stricter rules, but not sure that’s happening anytime soon.

[Phantom Grappler]

Another option, continue at Yates and hope for no sad events happening.
No one can predict the future, when and if there will be an unfortunate chain of events.
But if our spider senses are sharp, and we arrive at Yates to find it already occupied-crowded by other campers (most or most all good people) we could gage the situation and all drive to Hunt Club Camp.

That is at 24/27 Trailhead, Mount Gilead NC
Just west of Troy
Instead of parking in hikers parking lot at, road (24/27)
Drive through to back of parking lot and continue down gravel road to Wood Run Camp
About a mile
It’s a cul-de-sac and the vault toilet is in middle of cul-de-sac
It’s free
Roughly same as Yates, except usually not many people there
And there is direct access to Uwharrie Trail and Dutchman’s Creek Trail
We would be dispersed, there are loads of trees.
There are nearby shallow creeks that usually have water.

I was running names through my head, of Yates campers that do not drink. I counted four or five and two of them were kids.

If I got paid to tell lies….it wouldn’t be as much fun

Still looking at Morrow Mountain group campsites 5 and 6, to see how many hammocks could be on their trees there.
A couple trees that one camper finds ok for their hammock, might be unsatisfactory for another camper.

[SteelPlayer]

Phantom

I am fully cognizant that Yates is a public use area and no one can be excluded. But for me Yates has just become too busy with general traffic and campers not associated with the hang. That seems to have increased in the last several years.

24/27 Trailhead

If that's the place I'm thinking it is I've stopped there multiple times going to and from Albemarle. If memory serves that parking lot is always crowded and there is a very popular mountain bike trail. I've never been down the service road any further than the parking area. On some weekends it could be just as busy as Yates but I think it would be a little less sketchy. Bonus for me it's closer to fishing of which I would definitely take advantage of during the hang.

1) Is there ample parking at Wood Run Camp?
2) Could we still have firewood delivered there

I think if a decision is made to move the hang, there will still be some that will not like the idea and possibly stop coming. I would still vote for a more exclusive hang site such as a state park primitive camping area. That will confine the area to only those people coming to the hang.

Perhaps we need dues to pay for a new HOA (Hammock Owners Assoc.) ... I say all this in jest... maybe.. but I'm sure we all fondly remember our beginnings when hangs were simple.

Crawldaddy that's exactly what I hope we can avoid. I hope Yates Hang never becomes a dues paying, overly organized, and planned activities hang. Nothing turns me off more. I want to go to a hang not a festival.

[JFGonella]

I have hammock camped at Badin Lake Campground. it would be a good option. I stayed on the lower loop that is for individual campsites. It is a more primitive campground (no electrical or sewer hook up.) There are camp bathrooms. 35 different sites between the upper and lower loop. You will need to bring your own wood. The group sites are on the upper loop. Has a nice field in the middle of the loop. Plenty of trees.

There is a good drive through YouTube video you can watch by corgily.

[Mooseman]

To Move or not to Move?

I can continue to rough it at Yates but if I had a choice of better facilities, safer surrounding, knowing the sites are reserved for a small fee. Then the answer would be move until Yates was upgraded and became a reserved and better facilities site.
Task at hand:
1. Finding a place in the Uwharries or geographically near Yates that would hold 30-40 campers (Trees + Stands) with facilities.
2. Coming up with a way for everyone to electronically pay or sign up/reserve a slot. If it's a paid site, whoever pays the fee could be out of pocket if it rains or people just decide at last minute they can't attend etc. You could collect fees as they arrive but someone is taking that chance.
I do know Shavers firewood in Albemarle delivers (only certain vendors are allowed in state parks) to Morrow Mountain or they were approved in the past. FYI - Those two sites in Morrow Mt group area was #1 & #2 side by side and across the road from shower house. There could be others that would be hammock friendly but not 100% sure.
PG I'm close enough to help scout out some places with you if ya need me to go one sat and check them out. Maybe chappy, myself and GroundHog could assist as well.
Another possibility would be private land/farm for small fee.
We-R-Yates = wherever we end up.
~MooseMan