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Thread: long trip west

  1. #1
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    long trip west

    this is first note on forum and used to texting so please excuse shorts. Every year i take about 7 weeks or so and head out usually out west since my 2nd home is SantaFe, NM. Includes camping from vehicle and solo backpacking, but thanks to this forum and an aging beat up over the years body, i switched to a hammock, a WBBB, had ordered early spring when Brandon was waiting on buckles, came n, but no time for test run as heavy patient load, so loaded up and hit it. Quick stop n SF, I live outside of Little Rock, then first sop mesa verde, CO, a favorite place of mine. Well I'm 6'4",245, I found what appeared to be strong tough trees, LOL butt hit ground and of course my concern was who saw? ahhhh no one, pulled out bivi ground cloth and with humility found sleep, with disappointment. Day there to visit with couple rangeretts id met yr. before and then to north rim , Grand Canyon, my most favorite place. Id made reservation @ site 35, jot it down if your thinking of going it was perfect, in fact the sites there are very spacious and was room for 5 or 6 hammocks, well as like some of you may have felt in the beginning i tried to act like I knew what i was doing, BUT, thanks to site and excellent comments and videos and the simplicity of Brandon's design, worked like a charm, then super fly(and it is) and doors just so id know how, i was there almost seven days, but 3 days down in the canyon, used bivi, hav made that trek a number of times this was hardest, to many yrs on body and the 115* coming up was tougher than buds when i was young. Anyway the week i was there had in excess of 25 people coming to look touch and stare @ the BlackBird, lot of rangers and rangeretts, couple stayed n it when i went down, I figure at least ten r so have r will order one. All the nps people hated tents and loved the hammock bc they all have time in back-country an ate the grind of setting tent. sorry so much on Canyon time, but first experience and it was better than advertised. In fact 2nd day taking little nap and in roles an afternoon storm, so i had remembered to tie some light cord around straps to catch rundown and pulled door kinda shut, well it really came a summer storm< have to remember ur @ around 8900 ft, well it rained hard, thunder/lightening, then hail then sleet, then rain , then hail for couple hrs, nary a drop inside and slept pulling on a string i had staked so i could rock easily, long story short, from there to bryce canyon, salt canyon n utah, grand tetons, yellowstone, nps campground and back country, Glacier, nps campground and back country over to seattle/ Olympia np, then down coast, found many many places and hung everywhere and have never slept as well or rested. Hope to make some hangs this yr. as it was excellent. by the way was in some low 30 upper 20 temp range used wide closed cell with the thinsolite(sp) on sides and rigged a poncho underneath, got to warm dropped poncho used old down bag as a top cover, was fine. lot of grizz bear movement but plenty warnings around, ive always used loud but small air horn, mostly keep skunks etc @ bay. Don't mind grizz bear as they or territorial and if you make lot of noise they'll get out of way, don't like black bear as your a food source. I don't use a bear bell as most of back-country rangers will attest bears r smart quick learners and doesn't take long to associate bell with food, but like elbows everyone has there own opinions. I will say I dont think I'll solo anymore nor encourage others to, risk to high. a good read for anyone been to or going to Grand Canyon is "over the edge" about GC deaths and mishaps, one of those can't put down reads, and as we all know it proves having a brain doesn't mean its engaged. Sorry for length but excited about great trip and the hammock made it better and again thank you all for making it a great site for info.

  2. #2
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
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    Wow you really got around. Sounds like a good trip,but where's the pic's (-;
    " The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."

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  3. #3
    Senior Member Poppabear's Avatar
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    Welcome to the forum. Sounds like a great trip and first experience with a hammock.
    Terry

  4. #4
    Senior Member NCPatrick's Avatar
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    Well, welcome to HF and thanks for posting your trip. Congrats too on sleeping so well. That sounds like an adventure.

    I'd love to see the pics too if you took any.


    "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
    - Mark Twain
    “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
    - John Burroughs

  5. #5
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    I take so few pic's only bc, Ive had to endure looking @ vac pic's growing up, and was bored outta my mind i took a few nd will try to figure out how to put them up. probably best moment, at least to me was standing on north rim lodge deck early in the morning next to a couple who were taking pictures of all outdoors, we all were having coffee, when from below us swept up a condor rt next to deck they spilled coffee and the lady who had camera and all this equip, screamed "I'm so excited I cant take a pic" husband just said "your a hell of a photographer" about that time another came up and joined the first condor in a 5 min aerial show, a rangerette with her tracking device ran out and was as giddy as the rest of us, was really special. anyway there are things i've found that pics never capture, especially the moment

  6. #6
    Senior Member KerMegan's Avatar
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    I am encouraged by the Rangers and rangerette's approval of the hammock; perhaps word will spread that hammocks (done correctly) are less damaging than tents...
    thanks for the report! KM
    ( the difference between a trip report illustrated and vacation pics is in the severity of the editing! we appreciate seeing the few best shots, not allllll of them) just so you know...

  7. #7
    Senior Member tiger1dd's Avatar
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    pics or it didn't happen!

    Very interesting story!
    “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
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