Date: 2015-11-14
To: Hammock vs. Tent
Miles today: 0.0

It¢s time for another AT adventure, and as usual, an opportunity to test new equipment and an old body!Being diligent before making a decision in the case of tent vs. hammock, I am using this time in the woods to test the new hammock and tarp set up I recently purchased. After much research, reading and discussing it among those I hike with, I chose the Warbonnet Blackbird hammock and the Superfly tarp. I like the fact that the hammock has netting and the tarp is roomy and has doors. From Hammock Gear, I purchased a 20 degree underquilt, with additional down, giving it a 15 degree temperature rating. I held off buying a top quilt as I was not ready to give up on my roomy, 15 degree sleeping bag. Have you picked up on the theme that I am a very cold sleeper yet?   My food choices and nutritional support worked out great last time, so there was nothing to test in that area. I did bring a new variety of Mountain House (sausage and biscuits), Backpackers Pantry and Alpine Aire meals to try. The other new piece of equipment I was trying on this trip was a SpotGen3 tracking unit. This would give my concerned family and friends an opportunity to not only see where I was at any given time, but also afford them the peace of mind as I wander the woods.Yesterday I drove north to Atlanta and connected with Wild Thang. For the weekend, I was joining the Georgia chapter of Trail Dames for an overnight hike, Hogpen Gap to Unicoi Gap. This morning Wild Thang and I got up in the dark and drove to Unicoi Gap, GA. There we were meeting three other women and when everyone arrived, we shuttled cars to Hogpen Gap for the start. Unicoi Gap parking area was loaded with cars and all assortments of people were heading off in various directions. There were large groups of youth, ranging in age from 8 to late teens, being escorted by a handful of adults. It looked like scouting troops to me, and I was awed by the size of their backpacks. Group by group, they headed uphill, southbound on the trail. Since we were driving to Hogpen and hiking northbound, our paths were sure to cross. It was a beautiful sunny day, but with the wind blowing, it was about 40 degrees! The women waited patiently in the cold while I fussed about looking for something in my car. Not that my car was a mess, you understand,it was just packed to the gills for a trip up north for the holidays. Finding what I needed, we set off.   Once we were into the woods, out of the wind, I could feel the heat in the afternoon sun. The trail was easy walking. The trees were bare, having shed their leaves earlier in the month. Those fallen leaves hid all sorts of treachery! Rocks, roots, pinecones, branches; all hidden and waiting to trip you. A couple of the women walking ahead of me tripped and stumbled frequently. I noticed they were shuffling their feet through the leaves, like you do when you¢re a kid, walking on a sidewalk full of leaves and leaf piles. It was no wonder they kept stubbing their toes and, in the process, making an incredible racket in these silent woods.   Needless to say, we did not come across any wildlife!The trail was nicely maintained and while there were ups and down, the elevation remained around 3500¢. Low Gap shelter was the destination for our lunch break. We made it there in good time and enjoyed the warmth from the sunshine while we ate at the picnic table. This shelter was in good shape, and this was my first encounter with bear cables. I had read about them, but had never seen any. After lunch, my companions demonstrated how to use them to hang a food bag. What a great luxury! It¢s just so much better than heaving rock bags over branches and getting hit in the head. It was time to get moving, and there was some groaning going on!   No one wanted to get up and get going, but we shouldered our packs and headed out. Our camp site for the night was only a couple of miles away near Poplar Stamp Gap. We got there about 4 pm and chose our spots to set up. There was a variety of set ups: three hammocks, one tent and one bivy sack! I was intrigued to see the bivy, laid out on the ground, but have no interest in trying one. After all, I am trying to get off the ground, not closer to it! My new hammock and tarp set up smoothly and I couldn¢t wait to sleep in it. Once set up, we gathered around the campfire ring and started cooking our dinners. As darkness fell, we could hear voices and see the flickering of headlamps. Soon a troop of scouts went by, shortly followed by another group. Then there was quiet. Again, we heard more voices. This time it was cajoling male voices, urging the straggling young¢uns along. I tell you, these small boys were dragging! It looked like they hurt all over. The bad news was that they had another mile and a half to go to where they were spending the night. As they passed, we showered them with all the positive praise we could possibly think of. They brightened a little and disappeared out of sight. By 7:30 pm, the last of the scouts had passed by. I couldn¢t believe the adult leaders had planned such a long (around 9 miles), arduous backpacking hike for that age group.The temperature dropped rapidly after the sun went down and although we had a fire going, it was still darn cold. The weather report predicted temperatures down to 28 degrees and during the wee hours of the morning I discovered they were right¢¦¢¦¢¦..