Rainy Wet Virginia.

A Wash of a Weekend

So, what happens when your best laid intentions fall apart?  Well, you do as I do and punt so to speak.  The plan was to head out to Rocky Knob in Virginia, do a bit of hiking and hang out with some friends camping for the weekend.  Of course the hurricane in the gulf was predicted to reach out to Virginia with possible thunderstorms and rain as it moved up the United States...as a side note, I need to look at an atlas as I am sure Virginia must be a suburb of Seattle!  Does it every stop raining in this area for long? Sheesh.



Woods and a campsite at Rocky Knob.
Notice the rain and mist.

So, the plans changed into a gear test for my hammock instead.  I have been debating ditching the tarp that came with my Hennessy Hammock and using my 8x10 silnylon tarp instead.  I think it was a good call as there were limited trees to hang from and I could not really position the hammock for the weather properly and we did get some heavier rains throughout the weekend.  So, let's call this a hammock shakedown weekend instead of a good hiking weekend.



Floyd VA

All was not to waste, I did find a very cute town called Floyd Va.  just north of Rocky Knob and if you are ever in that part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is definitely worth a couple of hours for lunch and shopping.  The company this weekend was awesome and I was able to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in quite a while. Hmmm...oh, the trail?  I did get on the trail and will have to return in better weather when I can actually enjoy a dry hike ans spend some time actually looking at the scenery....All I saw was rain and mud....grrrr.



My Hammock and tarp.
Notice the  uneven rocky ground?
Advantage goes to the hammock
instead of a tent this time.

So, about the hammock, I did like my new tarp with the hammock, it provides a much better coverage area and protection from the elements than the HH Tarp that came with the hammock. I did use every piece of tie down rope I could find due to the thunderstorms and wind we were anticipating and the tarp held strong and tight..Sweet.  Not a drop of water entered the hammock area and both my sleeping bag and myself remained fat and and happy every night.  I did notice my back beginning to get cold due to no real insulation under me so now and I realize that if I am going to take the hammock on the AT in March, I really need to look at insulations and possible underquilts to keep me warm.....

So, all in all, it was a successful weekend even though the hiking was limited..Good food, good friends, and a field test of my hammock in a great deal of rain made for an enjoyable time.

A damp wet hiker,
Bruce