New Trip Report posted by Merganser

Trip Name: First Solo.

Entry Point: 23

Click Here to View Trip Report

Nice trip report - I like the hammock & tarp set up - although I can't imagine sleeping in a hammock for more than a nap! It sounds like it was a great trip - I've always wanted to paddle the Fourtown area - your pictures and trip report confirmed that I'll be planning a trip there next year! Thanks for sharing.

Wow - that buck is going to be spectacular in November.
Great report!

Thanks for the great details. I waffle between wanting and not wanting to do a solo trip. Today I want to.

Nice report. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice buck!

A very good trip report. I like the details.

Thanks all. I enjoyed writing it, sort of got to relive my adventure. Journaling really helped me retain details, though I never did refrence the journal while writing the report.

The deer visit was exhilarating. I ran out of space on my CF card right after that shot on the 10 1/2 pointer I posted in the report. He gave me an identical shot fully in the clear just after that but I couldn't take it :(

alpine525: Unless you have an uber pad and the perfect spot a proper hammock is more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. There will never be a rock or root in a bad place and you are always level. You lay on the diagonal and are reasonably flat.

Great report! I too like the hammock idea. I brought both a tent and hammock on my first solo. Wasn't sure how comfortable I would be in the hammock. Next time, the tent stays home. The journal is a great idea, when I found myself wondering what to do next, I would just pick up the notebook and start writing.

Buck pic is awesome!! That is a true moment to remember.

Great report. Looks like you had a nice trip. It's amazing what duct tape can do for a trip. Love the buck photo!

Nice trip report. I did a similar solo in 2007. And I think a hammock is faster than a tent as far as setting up and taking down. It's the tarp that takes awhile. I see you use maybe 8 tie out points on yours. I have 4 plus the ridgeline on mine. I got a lot faster as the week went on.

It's a shame about the yoke. It never occured to me about breaking the yoke. Man that could be trouble if you get far in. Did you rig some type of splint?

Thanks for posting.

Great trip report and photos! Thanks for sharing :)

What a fantastic report! Well documented and I felt like we were right there in camp watching the deer! I actually let out a groan when you had a blowout from the asphalt but you managed just fine.

Glad it ended well and hats off to a wonderful accomplishment. well done!

TomT: I agree it's the tarp that takes the time on the hammock and also the tieouts. I have four total on my hammock, two on the front side, one on the shelf and one one foot box. It all works if I don't tie them out but I like to. I'm planning to make my own tarp but it will be similar to the spear winter tarp so it will still have the eight tie outs. I'm thinking about including some ties along the "catenary darts" so I can gather the extra fabric and use it like a straight hex tarp (four ties). I've also thought about making them removable like Brandon's tarp.

As for the Yoke, I have a picture in the report of the repaired yoke. I used a couple of MSR GroundHog stakes, with a stick between them to keep them from rolling into the slot in the yoke, to reinforce it. I wrapped those with a couple cable ties and tree layers of duct tape. It was rock solid.

Was thinking of Fourtown for a trip so read your report. Very Nice Tim. I know it's been a while since you wrote it, but really enjoyed the whole thing, as it was your first solo, and now that I have done that also, I was right there with you. So, Thanks for all the sharing, and enjoyed it a lot!!
SunCatcher

Nicely done and very descriptive! Always fun when wildlife visits while you're actually in camp. Glad to hear Piragis only charged you cost. One of the boys I took a few years ago "lost" a paddle on some island in LLC and the outfitter also charged us only their cost--a good business practice.

Nice report. You weren't kidding about 'foot placement because of the rocks' were ya? and those are beautiful areas to walk through, based off your pics! thanks for sharing.