Good afternoon, all.
I just moved to San Diego earlier this year, after a stint in England. I'm in the military and really enjoy being outdoors. My other half puts up with me somehow but does NOT like being outdoors unless she's on the beach with a drink in her hand (not that I hate that at all). I find that I will most likely be doing most of my hanging with friends or *gasp* alone.
I fell in love with hammocks, accidentally, a few months ago, while on a overnight to Big Bear. My wife's aunt and uncle are avid hangers and I really liked the idea of sleeping OFF the ground but I couldn't quite commit. I bought a GT SBH-Pro, just to give it a shot. I took both my tent and the hammock with the intention of just trying it out but not spending a full night in it. Mistake. I woke up in my tent that night sweating and and sliding downhill. I went to the head and on my way back, I looked a the hammock just hanging there, calling my name. I decided that the worst thing that could happen is that my tent friends would make fun of me for not spending the rest of the night on the hard ground, fighting numbness in my hip and battling the downhill slide. I looked at the tent, looked at the hammock again and thought... the hell with it. I woke up sometime after 0930 the next morning feeling slightly more recharged than I would have if I slept on the ground the rest of that miserable night. My tent friends had been up for some time and greeted me with a, "Well, good morning, sunshine. How was your HAMMOCK?" I retorted with something on the order of, "Miles better than the ground." I was, for all intents and purposes, hooked.
Since then, I have made some slight mods to my suspension, put together a cheap-o tarp, got some H snake skins, and made my own ridgeline out of 550 (I know. Horrific, right?). I am looking for some good places to do some overnights here in SD (Cuyamaca) and I am planning a massive trip (maybe not with my hammock) to the Grand Canyon early next year.
I have been browsing the forums for a few weeks now and have finally decided to emerge from the shadows to let my newbie-ness shine. Flame on.
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