Another perfect day in Dolly Sods Wilderness

Another perfect day in Dolly Sods Wilderness
Taken just off the Red Creek Trail/Blackbird Knob Trail Junction

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Field tryout of WBBB and Tarp Flyz

Well, I made it out this weekend to try out my new Warbonnet Blackbird 1.1 double hammock and the itty bitty Tarp Flyz. Conclusions: I like hammock hanging! I was comfortable and stayed warm using a Thermarest Ridgerest pad. It is pretty bulky, but does work. I slept pretty well.
The Tarp Flyz from Dutchware rock! They make hanging & adjusting a tarp very easy. It is pretty much a one-handed operation. If you use a tarp, you need these things. They are very tiny, about 1 inch by 3/4 inch. I think they are made of titanium. They do not have sharp points, that could tear a light-weight tarp or snag on stuff. I will try to put together a video on my next outing to demonstrate them.

I did not pick the best two trees to hang from as they were a bit too close together which made getting the right sag impossible. I decided to go with it anyway. I still slept well. I put the tarp over the hammock, just in case of rain before daylight and to block off any breezes. Using pads works, but they are very bulky to pack. I have decided to invest in an 3/4 length underquilt from HammockGear.com (3-season phoenix rated to 15 degrees, 15.7 ounces, 50 x 45 inches). I will still have to use a short pad for my feet, but this should be way better. I will continue to use my Montbell UL spiral #3 sleeping bag as a top quilt for now; it worked well. I plan to use my hammock next weekend too. It does make finding places to camp much less problematic on holiday weekends, since I don't need a "perfect" spot.

Well, I sure hope everyone got out to experience one of the few nice weekends we have had for a while. I definitely had a very nice time hanging with a friend and then "hanging out" for the evening.

Oh, one last non-objective thought: I do not like the Coleman cilantro and lime rice and beans. It was easy to prepare, and would be enough for one person, but I personally did not like the flavor, since I do not consider heat to be a flavor (even though it was not that hot, there was really no other flavor). I only ate 3 or 4 spoonfuls, and then chucked it in the garbage can. Thank goodness for Clif Bars!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Dutch hooks and Dutch Flyz

I have just comleted a purchase at Dutchware.outdoortrailgear.com, for Dutch Hooks and Dutch Flyz. These itty bitty, Ultralight weight "tools" should make setting up a tarp a lot easier. They look to be ingenious gadgets. I will see about putting a review up when I have had a chance to use them. Just click the title above if you want to check out Dutch's site and check out his assortment of very useful stuff.