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Quote from TrafficJam: “ My decision was based mainly on weight and what I could afford. My dream set up is an Exped 7 sleeping pad, a Western Mountaineering bag, and a cuben fiber tarp, but first I have to get the nerve to sleep outside the comfort of 4 walls. ” I'm laughing over here because I managed to get the Western Mountaineering bag, want the Exped SynMat UL 7 LW, and would trade the Cuben Fiber tarp for the more flexible Warbonnet Superfly. Until then I have a couple Big Agnes insulated…

Is it okay to pull out the ear buds and put them in and make your hiking partner think the music is on when they won't stop babbling about something you couldn't care less about?

(Haven't read the article yet) For what it's worth I usually bring an iPod but it's to listen to when I flop in the hammock or tent at night. Most of the time on the trail I'm more interested in hearing what's around me, like those big fuzzy things stalking me for instance.

Quote from Rasty: “I don't get what's wrong with egg nog?” Apparently it was correctly read to mean someone was drinking and if they are a 'family board' then frankly anyone who didn't understand it was too young to know it anyhow so frankly I found that a bit of a miss on their parts. I will apologize in advance for not following the watered down politically correct bit that's rapidly killing our country. I call it as I see it.

That might explain it... I had someone edit my post because I mentioned egg nog. Seriously. No notice or anything and I nearly didn't catch it until I saw that 'edited by moderator'and 'keeping it family friendly' was tagged on it. I mean, if you are going to muck with my post, at least tell me. Egg nog? Seriously?

Sounds like one of the over-zealous "Don't agree with me and I ban ya" places. I've run across a few and they don't get much traffic. Hammock Forums is a bit overly sensitive on their 'family friendly' theme for my liking but the info is good. White Blaze, eh? I wonder... Hmm.. Never have been banned... Hmm..

TOS? I've never been banned from anywhere. I need to find a place to be banned from so I can fulfill the pre-req's to be here!

Rasty, I'd like to go from Clingmans Dome (via Alum Cave Bluffs) down to Davenport Gap and then load up in Cosby as a sectional hike. That way we can go back to this wonderful BBQ place to celebrate survival, and like you said, it's all down hill the last day! A small group would be perfect for it over a few days. Traffic, yes, I'm about a mile and a half from Bull Run Power Plant off Edgemore.

Thanks Hiker; A quick side-note. As the damage to the roof looked new I called the park service via their back country permit line and left a message. Not ten mins later Ranger Eversole called me back to get some more info on it and gave me his e-mail address. I forwarded a few pictures of the damage and they are already sending the info straight over to maintenance to get taken care of. As the damage looks very new (no water marks from soak/dry/soak, etc.) they really want to get it handled bef…

Temps coming up, time to start shucking layers. 0104151138c_zpsb5fa16a1.jpg More sunlight coming out... 0104151143_zps55442ea0.jpg Really bad hair now. lol 0104151200_zps6cc76ab3.jpg Playing a bit with the camera while she crosses a stream. Cloned_zps9c98d751.jpg With all the rain the trail was certainly a lot prettier coming back out. 0104151213a_zpsd47e137a.jpg 0104151230b_zps87d71294.jpg Remember how low the water flow at the power plant was before? 0104151307a_zps50897dc8.jpg 0104151311_zps8…

Morning hair.. bleah.. 0104150756c_zpsed58b148.jpg Packed back up and ready to go. Rain gear on? Check. Rain covers on the packs? Check.. Rain? Just stopped. Are you kidding me?! It stopped? Again?!?! Okay, it should be dripping off the trees at any rate... right? (wrong) 0104151034a_zps2ca36ae7.jpg The nice thing about clmiing all the way up on the first day? It's all downhill on the way back! Only now it was wet leaves and a few steep sections which meant mild snow skiing when you wanted to pl…

Remember I mentioned a mouse? Well, we heard the scratching and when I lay down on the lower deck there was a sharpie written "beware of the Davenport Mouse." They weren't kidding. I managed to catch a glimpse of it's little white face and pink nose as it smirked at me from between boards next to the ladder. If you go there you will see a tiny crack in the face board and it lives in there. That is, when it's not sneaking down to raid her pack. She forgot to put these up on the food hangers. To t…

Ahh, home for the night! 0103151458d_zps1cd497a5.jpg 0103151459_zps0b80035d.jpg When I was doing a little homework on it there were a lot of references to it being rebuilt recently, whether or not it had the bear fence, etc. Well, it looks to have been recently (about 4-5 years ago) restored and definitely does have the bear fence. 0103151501_zpsa662da69.jpg 0103151507_zps98600fe4.jpg Downside: I brought the Clarke Vertex 2-person hammock and there were no suitable trees. Upside, we were already…

While she was trying to navigate them she failed to pay attention to her surroundings... which meant I simply walked around them and took pictures of her as she climbed over. Yes, she growled. 0103151239c_zps633d6705.jpg 0103151240a_zps746ae48b.jpg We took a break when we reached Hwy 32 at the NC/TN state line. Having been here before on the dualsports I was aware of this little gem, a piece of rock with the state line info carved on it that sits just above the rest spot. 0103151345a_zpse928c757…

What happens when you go out and buy new rain gear to wear and new rain covers for the backpack along with a new tarp to test? Murphy's laws kick in of course! The weather was to be unseasonably warm but with rain all weekend so we (Rebecca and I) figured it was a good time to try a local trip to a new spot. Strangely enough it's misting when we get to the trailhead so we toss on the rain pants and make sure the jackets and covers are easily accessible. First stop was at the power plant on the N…

Just about to leave for an overnight at Davenport Gap Shelter out of the Cosby area. I haven't been to this one yet and the weather, while wet, is supposed to be a bit unseasonably warm. It ought to make for an interesting night to test out some new gear. Looking forward to hopefully taking some pics and sharing them when I get back. If any of you are in the area, feel free to swing out and visit.

Dmax, I know what you mean. The 2-man tent I got in '88 (and still use strangely enough) is somewhat like that. It has a small peak that comes out and tends to touch the back of your neck becoming a wick as you get in. If you want a big 'dry entry' vestibule the Big Agnes Slater 3 works wonders! Not only did it keep us and everything else dry but it had room for the 2 Little Joey chairs while still having plenty of room to get in and out. The ground under it even stayed completely dry though a t…

The difference between my mud and spa mud is a few hundred bucks and a label and it's not nearly as much fun getting it! <grin>

I have tried at least 11 different pillows from down to the squishable (rolls into itself and compresses) to cheap inflatables on down to the little floppy ones that you can find at Academy. They all were variations of 'how much did I want to suffer.' (For the record, a year and a half ago I got rear-ended when parked at a stoplight which trashed the neck and shoulder for nearly the next year. I'm pretty sensitive to angles when I sleep). I was playing around in REI when discussing this and thei…

(Slides up to the bar stool and orders a hot chocolate, heavy on the mini-marsh mallows) Thanks Traffic. I found this place last night after a few referrals from other forums and so far I like what I see. It's a bit more playful than the 'if you so much as even mention egg-nog your post will be deleted' variety. (Oops..this post is about to be deleted!) I guess a short bio type thing where we stand up and announce we are avidly nuts, love mud, muck and mayhem, and generally try everything once i…