Trail Name – Water Monkey

Well it’s official… had my first hang with some forum members here on Hammock Forums DOT net.

Me, Gear Slug and his brother Kyle (Wind Sucker) met up with Zig, Connor, and Matt at Bear Mountain Inn at 8am.

From there we went South on the AT to West Mountain Shelter which is approximately 5 miles.

However, they moved the trail on West Mountain so officially there are ZERO water sources between Bear Mountain Inn and West Mountain Shelter on the Appalachian Trail. Thanks NY/NJ Trail Conference…..

Four of us ended up trekking down West Mountain and collecting water for the group and brought it back to camp.

Ton of people at the camp. 2 boy scout troops, 2 hikers from NJ doing an overnighter and us.

Later on a HF Lurker by the name of Juggles came by and recognized my flag! Damn right I got him in some video son! Really cool to meet some people who appreciate the videos.

Most everyone passed out or turned in around 8pm so Juggles and I hung out with the NJ hikers in the shelter. I called it a night around 930ish.

And then the rain came…. not as bad as initially forecasted. 2 quick storms ran through. The second one brought in the cold air and it dropped down to about 43*F.

I woke up around 630am to the sounds of Boy Scouts chattering and fighting amongst each other. Luckily I dont wield the hammer of Odon or else I would have brought some children to justice.

Finally got a chance to have some breakfast from the hammock as I never had a chance to do because I normally hang in some really uneven territory.

Checked my footbox area and I noticed it was a bit misty on my top quilt. A couple of thoughts… rain mist got in??? Perhaps the doors weren’t completely closed up the way I pitched the tarp. It could also be condensation from my feet as I’ve had that in the past…. will have to keep an eye out on that.

Everyone woke up around 730ish and we packed up and headed back to Bear Mountain Inn using the Yellow Trail which was much shorter and easier to travel. We had a noob (Wind Sucker) and Matt (who had bad knees to begin with) so this seemed to be the best path for them to get back to the car.

Had a great time with some new peeps and we shared some gear secrets and chatted basically the whole time.

Zig, Connor, and Matt thanks for coming out you guys are hilarious…. Stay Gangsta!!!

Gear Slug… Great Arnold Impression dude!

Wind Sucker.. Great Sport and great person awesome to have you along.

New Gear Testing:

Diaz Tools Groda Knife – Damn I love this knife. Messed around with it a few times and it took a beating on anything I put it to. Really sharp and bad ass knife.

Zpacks Breathable Cuben Rain Jacket – Decided to test it’s ability to be used as a wind jacket. Not bad. Not as breathable as eVent but close. The second day it really proved its worth as it was cool and no rain but the wind was cutting into me. Went up some really steep terrain and I did get condensation but when the trail evened out I hiked myself dry. Pretty cool. Never rained while we hiked so that is still yet to be tested.

Zpacks Cuben Fiber Dry Bags – Wow these filled out my Zpacks Blast 30 pack much better than the Granite Gear cuben dry bags and everything felt so comfortable and well placed. Much better structure and balanced everything just perfectly. Really sold on these even if they are 0.5oz heavier than the granite gear dry bags.

Total pack weight when I hit the trail was 19 lbs and it rode great the whole time. Day 2 when I drank most of the water and ate basically all the food it never felt like it was on my back and I sprinted up the ascents.

Till the next outing,

Water to the Monkey!