Hi bbro!

You really are a camper now, not just some city slicker who's survived an extended day trip. Well done! Your approach is clearly working, try something, take notes, adapt. xoB's right on the money, do what works for you. And keep contributing to this thread! I don't comment much but I read it all with pleasure.

As for the hammock and the sleeping in a hammock...

I've tried, and I found sleeping on the ground a lot nicer. Like you, I found it cold. I sleep cold at all times anyhow and being up in the air made it colder. Also, I'm a side sleeper by preference, and the hammock's not suited for that. Well, the hammock could care less, my spine cares much, much more. Even if I could turn over more easily, I think it would be problematic. I will say that this newer style of hammock I think you have which has a superabundance of lighter, stronger material makes resting in the hammock perpendicular to the attachment points easier. I've tried that, it's comfy. Haven't had the chance to sleep in one that way, but I'd be willing to try.

Yep. The land was on a slope, so it was pretty good. I may try something different this time. I don't know why the middle fell like it did. I don't know why the edge of the tarp curled up a bit at the bottom and kept the water in some times. BUT, I didn't get wet, so, it was good.

Thanks! I have an ENO double nest hammock. The one I have, I don't think is made anymore, which was probably why it was on sale. There's actually a space to put a pad so you don't have to put it in the hammock itself. I still hated it. It moved, too. I'm gonna stuff the comforter in there, too. Even just for hanging out. I think it would be awesome on a hot day, but since it's always raining, there's always a chill in the air.

I better be a camper with all the rain I've dealt with! LOL


And I just checked the forecast. It's definitely going to rain. I'm thinking of investing in one of those stands with covers. Easier set up and I can put it anywhere without needing trees. Of course, as soon as I buy it, I won't get any rain trips anymore.

Then it will be worth the money just to stop the rain. :D

Tarps sag like that, especially if they get wet. The seam around the edges has the fabric folded a few times, so it's stronger there and less likely to stretch a little bit at that edge. In the center of the tarp, you only have one thickness of fabric and it's gonna stretch just a little. Over the length of a long tarp, it's magnified. When it stretches in the middle, but not at the edges, you get a sag.

One thing I like to do is have a line stretched across the site from tree to tree, pretty tight, and throw the tarp over that line so the line supports it in the middle. Like the ridge beam on a house. You still get some sagging on either side of that line, but it's less than without it. Tightening up the lines at the corners can help get rid of a sag too. But anyone who has been camping in the rain has grabbed a long stick to prop it up in the middle.

In scouting, the boys like to push up on that puddle of water on the tarp as somebody is walking by so it dumps on them.

I got it to hang without sag. All the ropes were pretty tight, but I think they stretched a little, too. I probably didn't buy the right rope, but it was pretty :o

I didn't have any trees to make a middle ridge line, just the front one. I supposed I could've made it over the actual tent pad, but I wanted to be right by the hammock. I'll have to try a middle one next time. It looks like there's a lot of trees around, so I should be able to add some more. Thanks for the tips!

I love this thread. It reminds of our camping days on the motorcycle and the days gone by camping with my parents. Some of the things you did or didn't do made me say that happened to us. I get to relive the adventures through you. Keep up the good work.

Tie a big helium balloon to your chair to hold the tarp up.

I have returned. I camped, I didn't get bit, instead something in the plants attacked me. I have red, hurty, itchy bumps on one arm and a small spot on my leg. These two spots would have never come in contact with each other.

My campsite was awesome. The pictures (of course) were misleading. They were probably taken YEARS ago when it was first built. Still, the site (as told by the front desk lady) is the most coveted site in the park. I could see why

The site is situated directly next to the river. I think it was James Fork River, but none of the maps say what it is. There was a small dam that was crazy loud at night. All you could hear was the river. No way to stop and listen to see if an unknown animal was getting into the tent. It was creepier the second night because almost everyone left. I had no people around me. Either the wind made the tent vent flap or something was trying to get in. I have no idea. I didn't look. Too scared. I didn't see any evidence of animals the next morning, so if was probably the wind. It didn't help that you could hear the horses from the equestrian camp grounds. Brought to mind a particular horror story I read about a horse head. *shudder* When I first heard them, I thought it was kids screaming. Nope. Horses.

I did get pretty creative with the tarp this time. It only rained the one day, but it was brilliant if I do say so myself. I'll have pics soon.

The hammock was set up right next to the river. It had a great view when the rainfly was up. River started to smell a bit when it wasn't raining. But I figure that's kind of normal. Kind of creeped me out how many people were swimming in it. Luckily, not by the camp sites. The family next to me did take a walk in the river with the kids falling constantly and finding deep holes that the stumbled into. Real smart. One kid kicked a rock. Poor thing - none of the parents seemed to give a shit.

I got some hiking in, but after the first day, it never rained completely, just drizzled now and then to make the humidity almost unbearable. I need to go back to see the waterfall. I didn't want to go after my other hike even though it was a short distance because of all the people there. It really was a popular park.

It amazes me how many people start out on a hike with no map, no idea of how hard the trail is, how long the trail is, etc. Even if I didn't hike as much as I do, I still would get a map before going. The maps have all that information on them. So many dumbass people in inappropriate shoes with a single 12oz bottle of water on a hard 5+ mile hike. Not just this park, but all of them. I get stopped so much be people wanting to know how much longer a trail is.

For the food, I only took a camp stove and pre-packaged food. Some of it was stuff from the grocery stores that I mixed. Some of it was dehydrated food. I can say with certainty that the food from the grocery store was better (obviously). I'll have a better write up of that when I finish my post for my food people. Also, I still don't like oatmeal. And my regular cooler sucked in keeping cool for the entire weekend. Even with 2 48 hour cold packs in it. I will still probably take my good cooler even with just a few items. Nothing like cold water in the humidity.

My next trip is in one and a half weeks. I am going to peruse my backpacking cookbooks and get some ideas. While having a grill is fun, it's kind of a pain in the ass when it's just me. When I get a fire going, I can cook over that, too. And use my hot dog fork!!

Also, I really need to do something about sleeping. The sleeping pad isn't working. I'm debating skipping the cot and going straight to an airbed. If I return my sleeping pad and get this, I'm actually saving money, sadly.

Pictures coming soon!!

When people ask how long the trail is just say, "I don't know, I've been lost for weeks." :haha:

The long awaited food post (right? right?)

I was going to hike and have a sandwich after arriving, but I decided to relax in the hammock and make some soup. Can of chicken, can of cream of chicken soup, and a little plastic bowl of corn (like the fruit bowls, but veggies).
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Next, was my first foray into pre-prepared bag meals. There was SO much waste with this. The food was pretty good, but it wasn't very filling. At under 200 calories, it definitely needs something else to pad it. I can see how it would be useful in emergencies with no power. The only thing you need to heat it is some liquid (don't be gross)
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The next day, it was my first try of a dehydrated meal. It was ok. I missed a step, so not a lot of the water was used correctly. And there were still dehydrated egg bits. There was so much bacon in it, that was all I could taste.

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I had a sandwich while hiking for lunch
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Then, for dinner, another me meal. Dehydrated broccoli from Trader Joe's, broccoli cheese soup, and a can of chicken

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Breakfast the next day was another OMeal. It was oatmeal. Pretty sure I still don't like oatmeal. I don't have a picture because it looked like fucking oatmeal.

For lunch, I was supposed to have the other sandwich I made, but the fucking bread had mold on it. I couldn't believe it. The one left at home was covered in it. Apparently, the Trader Joe's bread isn't made to last even a week. Next time, I'm using different bread.

Honestly, I don't even remember what I ate for lunch. I had to be out of the site by noon, so I was actually out at 10am.

Up next, my camp site.

Camp site. The reason it's the most popular ones
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Setup. The hammock is behind the tent
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I didn't have enough trees, so I had to get a little creative with how I anchored the tarp. Tree trunk
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Picnic table
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Metal pole (from the comfort of my hammock)
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Hey, you didn't go hungry which is a very good place to be on the learning curve of camping cooking. Good on you. :thumb: