Well, we pull into Hot Springs mid morning and are greeted by none other than Ed Speer himself. The owner, author, and creator of Speer Hammocks. And guess what? He remembered us!!!! or at least he was kind enough to say he did. Haahaa! Seriously, this is one of the nicest people you could ever get the chance/privilege to meet. He helped us scout out a good sight for Boo and I to hang our hammocks. We were joined by T-Back, (who attempted to hike from Key West FL, hop on the AT in GA and continue walking to 
Maine! How crazy is that! Talk about a serious hiker. He ended up getting sick and had to get off the AT in NY.) and Shrek, (a hanger from one of our favorite cities in NC. Wilmington NC. He hiked the entire Neusiok trail and is looking to do 100 miles in the Shenandoah National Park.) They helped us set up our hammocks, and Ed Speer was gracious enough to let us borrow a Speer Tarp made out of sil-nylon. (For gear heads, this is a top of the line, light weight tarp. It was so awesome, that Boo and I ended up buying one. YAY! our first commercial piece of hammock gear.) The sight we choose was pretty interesting. Three tree's. Boo and I were tied to the same tree, then the other end tied to two separate trees. Kind of like a "Y" shape. Well, the one tree we shared was "a HUGE BITCH" (line stolen from Duece Bigalow. If you've seen the movie, you'll get it. I know... I got a strange sense of humor sometimes. :) ) I mean it was so big, my tree huggers didn't fit around it. T-back was gracious enough to let us borrow some webbing to help us get around this MOTOMBA tree. After we set up, imagine my shock and awe when Ed Speer climbed in to test my hammock out! Shock, b/c I was afraid the hammock would rip, or wouldn't be comfortable
, and awed that THE Ed Speer was in my friggin' hammock! The hammock hung low, b/c I didn't realize I needed to let the webbing stretch out a bit, then I could readjust the straps. See, already learned something and I haven't even sat in my hammock yet. Afterwards, Boo and I went and looked at Shrek's set up. WOW.... talk about a nice set up. He had a Warbonnet Black Bird hammock with a built in mosquito net and side tie outs to make it roomier. It reminded me of a Hennessey Hammock, without the bottom entry. Anyways, it was NICE. He showed us his suspension system and I learned alot. Afterwords, we walked into town (about 1/4 of a mile, not far at all.) and noticed that the Paddlers Inn was gone. I mean demolished. Completely disappeared. So sad, had some great times there. We headed into Bluff Mountain Outfitters to do some window shopping. I love this place. I always see the same guy working there, the tall, thin, dreadlocks guy who always seems like he remembers me. After browsing a bit, we head to the Sweet Imaginations for some sammies for lunch. As we walk in, Ed Speers, Shrek, and Talmadge invite us to come and sit with them. I order a grill cheese, grab my organic chips and diet coke and take a seat. Talmade is a riot. He kept the table laughing with his stories all through lunch.
After lunch,they all head into the outfitters, Boo and I decide to check out the Blue Grass music festival that was going on. We walked around the booths, and I got lost in the silent auction area. Lots of cool local artists donated their work for the auction. I even saw a short, chubby log being auctioned off. I read the description and it was actually a shitake mushroom growing log! How funny! I guess if someone wanted to grow their own shitake mushrooms they could bid for this log. Last time I checked, the price was at $100. We hung out and watched a few performances, then decided to trek back to the camp sight. Back at camp we met Hogg Tyed, he was a newbie hanger and was the only one in a tent. We also met Tinalouise and Beth, who had driven up with Shrek from Wilmington. They showed us their hammock set up and I found a great DIY underquilt idea(to keep me warm in the hammock). They had bought an army poncho liner, sewed small tabs at each end of the poncho, then ran shock cord thru. Then they used a small carabiner to clip it onto their suspensi
on. I was inspired and told Boo we had to make one when we got home. Tinalouise was even kind enough to give me a stuff sack she had sewn! The hanger silent auction began around 4pm, so we went up to the table to check out what was being auctioned. I bid for and won a couple of items. A nine carabiner and some homemade scented soaps. Afterwords, we all came together for the traditional hot dog dinner. With the fire roaring, we poked our dogs with the skewer and all huddled around the fire cooking, (in my case blackening) our hot dogs. I brought out the batches of rocky road brownies I had made and was surprised at what a big hit they were! They were gone before the sun went down. hahaha! So glad everyone enjoyed them. Made me feel good :)
Maine! How crazy is that! Talk about a serious hiker. He ended up getting sick and had to get off the AT in NY.) and Shrek, (a hanger from one of our favorite cities in NC. Wilmington NC. He hiked the entire Neusiok trail and is looking to do 100 miles in the Shenandoah National Park.) They helped us set up our hammocks, and Ed Speer was gracious enough to let us borrow a Speer Tarp made out of sil-nylon. (For gear heads, this is a top of the line, light weight tarp. It was so awesome, that Boo and I ended up buying one. YAY! our first commercial piece of hammock gear.) The sight we choose was pretty interesting. Three tree's. Boo and I were tied to the same tree, then the other end tied to two separate trees. Kind of like a "Y" shape. Well, the one tree we shared was "a HUGE BITCH" (line stolen from Duece Bigalow. If you've seen the movie, you'll get it. I know... I got a strange sense of humor sometimes. :) ) I mean it was so big, my tree huggers didn't fit around it. T-back was gracious enough to let us borrow some webbing to help us get around this MOTOMBA tree. After we set up, imagine my shock and awe when Ed Speer climbed in to test my hammock out! Shock, b/c I was afraid the hammock would rip, or wouldn't be comfortable
, and awed that THE Ed Speer was in my friggin' hammock! The hammock hung low, b/c I didn't realize I needed to let the webbing stretch out a bit, then I could readjust the straps. See, already learned something and I haven't even sat in my hammock yet. Afterwards, Boo and I went and looked at Shrek's set up. WOW.... talk about a nice set up. He had a Warbonnet Black Bird hammock with a built in mosquito net and side tie outs to make it roomier. It reminded me of a Hennessey Hammock, without the bottom entry. Anyways, it was NICE. He showed us his suspension system and I learned alot. Afterwords, we walked into town (about 1/4 of a mile, not far at all.) and noticed that the Paddlers Inn was gone. I mean demolished. Completely disappeared. So sad, had some great times there. We headed into Bluff Mountain Outfitters to do some window shopping. I love this place. I always see the same guy working there, the tall, thin, dreadlocks guy who always seems like he remembers me. After browsing a bit, we head to the Sweet Imaginations for some sammies for lunch. As we walk in, Ed Speers, Shrek, and Talmadge invite us to come and sit with them. I order a grill cheese, grab my organic chips and diet coke and take a seat. Talmade is a riot. He kept the table laughing with his stories all through lunch.After lunch,they all head into the outfitters, Boo and I decide to check out the Blue Grass music festival that was going on. We walked around the booths, and I got lost in the silent auction area. Lots of cool local artists donated their work for the auction. I even saw a short, chubby log being auctioned off. I read the description and it was actually a shitake mushroom growing log! How funny! I guess if someone wanted to grow their own shitake mushrooms they could bid for this log. Last time I checked, the price was at $100. We hung out and watched a few performances, then decided to trek back to the camp sight. Back at camp we met Hogg Tyed, he was a newbie hanger and was the only one in a tent. We also met Tinalouise and Beth, who had driven up with Shrek from Wilmington. They showed us their hammock set up and I found a great DIY underquilt idea(to keep me warm in the hammock). They had bought an army poncho liner, sewed small tabs at each end of the poncho, then ran shock cord thru. Then they used a small carabiner to clip it onto their suspensi
on. I was inspired and told Boo we had to make one when we got home. Tinalouise was even kind enough to give me a stuff sack she had sewn! The hanger silent auction began around 4pm, so we went up to the table to check out what was being auctioned. I bid for and won a couple of items. A nine carabiner and some homemade scented soaps. Afterwords, we all came together for the traditional hot dog dinner. With the fire roaring, we poked our dogs with the skewer and all huddled around the fire cooking, (in my case blackening) our hot dogs. I brought out the batches of rocky road brownies I had made and was surprised at what a big hit they were! They were gone before the sun went down. hahaha! So glad everyone enjoyed them. Made me feel good :)After dinner we all sat in our camp chairs around the fire and told/listened to stories. I was in awe at listening to Ed talk about his kayak trip in Alaska. He solo kayaked 1600 miles (YES! 1600 miles!) in Alaska! Stopping in small towns to resupply. He told us that from the shore, he could see HUGE Kodiak bears (only the biggest bears in the world) watching him, following him, drooling, waiting for him to come ashore. He would have to glide into shore, jump out, run to a tree, CLIMB UP the tree over 15-20 feet and secure his hammock. (YES! he hammocked in Alaska! hahaa!) He told us stories of whales swimming around him and hearing their fog horn sounding blow holes sputter water out. He watched seals glide by, orca whales (aka killer whales) swim very close, he watched and heard chunks of ice breaking off of glaciers and falling into the ocean. He even kayaked up to a cruise ship just to see it's huge anchor! It was just an amazing adventure.
On that note, we called it a night and shuffled back to our hammocks. I slept so good that I was the last person up the next morning. We crawled out the hammocks, chit chatted a bit with everyone over breakfast, then packed up our stuff and headed home. I was really impressed with our little set up, but I still went home with plenty of ideas on how to modify/fix/add to my system. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!
On that note, we called it a night and shuffled back to our hammocks. I slept so good that I was the last person up the next morning. We crawled out the hammocks, chit chatted a bit with everyone over breakfast, then packed up our stuff and headed home. I was really impressed with our little set up, but I still went home with plenty of ideas on how to modify/fix/add to my system. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!
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