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  1. #1
    gunner76's Avatar
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    Post 2014 Grayson Fall Hang

    Just got back home about an hour ago from the Grayson Hang. THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT !!! No rain, a little misting, some fog, cool nights and warm days. Really hated to pack up and leave. We had about 40 hangers ( I am sure Rockdog has the exact count ) scattered across the site. The food was great, the company was even better. Some excellent discussion and information was passed on about what it takes to do cold weather camping properly was held late Saturday night by those who have done it at the Winter Hang. While I have done cold weather camping ( sub 0 ) in a tent, it was still excellent advice and worth listening to.

    Will post a more detail report and pictures once I have had a chance to see which ones came out.
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  2. #2
    Senior Member Wraith6761's Avatar
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    Had a complete blast on this trip, and my friend Brandon has been bitten by both the hiking and hammocking bugs HARD...I'll get a full report put together over the next few days, once I get all the pics off my actual camera and go through the editing process from the hiking videos to get that put together (not sure how much usable video there'll be, strapping a camera to a hiking pole while using the pole probably wasn't the smartest idea)...here's a couple of photos I grabbed with my phone though:
    IMAG0170.jpg
    Sugarland Overlook panorama

    IMAG0174.jpg
    Little Pinnacle panorama

    IMAG0172.jpg
    Friday night's fire, when we were conserving firewood...

    IMAG0173.jpg
    Saturday night's fire, after somebody said they were feeling a bit chilly...

  3. #3
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    Watching this thread to see what comes of it - great weekend for sure!!
    You don't HAVE TO be crazy to be here - But I assure you it will help.....

  4. #4
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Great trip for sure!!!
    I surely did enjoy the time with old friends & new!
    More to come after I get squared away.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  5. #5
    gunner76's Avatar
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    This was our third time to the Grayson Hang. Left home at o dark thirty Thursday. Took us 9 hours to make the drive including breaks for meals and stretching breaks.


    The weather was great...no rain. We did have some misting but mostly clear skies. Highs were in the low mid 70's and lows were down to about 51 at night. Great sleeping weather. Got to do some star gazing as it was so clear.


    Got to the park about 3 PM. Only person there was JD ( a first timer ) and Visionary Lion and his daughter Mini Mouse ( who I called Mini Rat ) showed up shortly after that. They had been hiking the local trails. Later that night Mini Rat fell asleep on the rocks around the fire pit. She was a little bit tired from hiking.


    Saw that the park service had made some nice gravel filled paths thru the group site and had built 5 raised Bear Fortune Cookie platforms with very fine gravel for the base.


    Set up the Terminator's hammock and gear only to find out that a tree we hooked the hammock too was dead. The tarp ridge line kept the tree from falling over and I had to cut the ridge line to free it. Could not tell the tree was dead as is was part of a clump of trees.


    Had a Mt House and a Wise Foods meal for dinner. The Wise Foods was not very good, little to no flavor.


    Friday saw more and more people show up. It was like a family reunion talking to friends we had not seen in awhile. Friday night's meal was a group effort and lots of good things were there to eat. WV showed us the insulated bridge hammock he had been working on and explained the concept behind it and what worked and what did not. LD Cakes filmed the demo for a utube video WV plans to make about it. A couple of us got to try bridge hammock out, WV wanted two of us big guys to try it to make sure it would hold our weight.. I was surprised the hammock held me. It was defiantly deigned for someone smaller than me as it too short and narrow for me but I enjoyed it as it is the first bridge hammock I have ever been it. Hope WV gets all the bugs worked out.


    JD, the Terminator and I went to Damacus Friday AM to do some shopping at Mt Rogers Outfitters and get some food for the group meals. JD got fitted for a OHM backpack. I wanted to get one but the Terminator said I have to wait until next year. Told JD after he put his new toy in the trunk of my car that the pack was now mine as it was locked inside the trunk. I thinks he was worried for a few minutes.


    I woke up to the smell of meat candy cooking Saturday. We had a group breakfast and then went down to the Festival area to set up hammocks for the demo. Had about 6+ hammocks, some with tarps and one with a sock on display. I set up a DIY 1.6 Argon double I finished a few weeks ago and a DIY ACU camo double with a Fronkey Bug net. We had several folks ask if they could buy the hammocks. Had one guy who claimed he weighted same as me but I estimated he was off by at least 100 pounds. He tried my Argon and one other hammock.


    Since Hickery did not attend the hang; the Hobo Pie vendors had to resort to walking thru the crowds to sell all the pies they made. The Terminator checked out the vendors while I was helping with the hammock demo. She got a real nice heavy duty leather belt. I got some jellies and jams and a couple of hand made wood bowls from the same vendors we bought from the last time we were at Grayson. The Terminator did not allow me to buy a pony and she was correct in that it would not fit in our car and I am too big to ride one of them. Several folks hiked down to the Festival from the group site and they said the trail was very muddy in places. We gave two of them rides back to the group camp site.


    Saturday nights dinner was massive. All sorts of good eats to include a 20 bean soup. Finally got to try some of LD Cakes cobbler. More good eats.


    The raffle went off with out a hitch and many a great prize was won. Do not remember how much we raised from the raffle tickets. Several of us had our names drawn so often we started passing to give others a chance to get some goodies.


    Many people went to bed early including HamMike who serenaded us with his snoring ( along with some others, at times we had stereophonic sound )

    We did out best to burn up all the fire wood but did not succeed. The camp fire talk covered a wide range of topics such as the attributes of the different gear being used; Folk and rock concerts held in NC back in the 70's and an excellent discussion about camping in extreme cold and how important it is to have the proper gear to wear and sleep in.


    Sunday AM started with a group breakfast and then the Terminator and I had to pack up to leave as we had a long drive home. Went to the visitors center to tour it but it was not open. We did have a great view of the mountain tops off in the distance raising above the clouds making it look like islands in the clouds. We took a slightly different way home that cut an hour off out drive time.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by gunner76; 09-29-2014 at 20:00.
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  6. #6
    slowhike's Avatar
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    The raffle raised $530.
    After taking out $60 for the fire wood the amount we presented to Grayson Highlands State Park was $470!
    Another huge thanks to those who contributed all the great prizes, both cottage vendors & individuals!
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  7. #7
    gunner76's Avatar
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    More pics...mostly of the camp fire and good eats
    Attached Images Attached Images
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  8. #8
    Senior Member 2ply's Avatar
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    Looks like a great time. Hoping for more pics.
    Everyone ought to believe in something....I believe I'll go set up the hammock!

  9. #9

    Just a few of the shots I got. What a great time.
    Met a lot of new friends and caught up with some old ones. Food was awesome and great camp fire.

  10. #10
    gunner76's Avatar
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    Pics of the Hammock Demo area

    The guy with the straw tried several of the hammocks. Took advantage of our free hammock rides
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    Last edited by gunner76; 09-29-2014 at 20:03.
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

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