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Hey Sc/out/s. Me and maybe 4 other of my friends were looking to get into backpacking, innawoods. Maybe starting at 2 days, then building up to 5 days. In another thread, an anon posted about jungle hammocks, and they seemed like a great idea, so we were going to try to find a couple of them, do some minor fishing/hunting for major food, and bring other consumables, and just get outside and change camp each day, setting up later at night. We would most likely be going in the Appalachian, sometime during the summer. One guy would have food/fishing shit, one guy with hammocks, and me with just general survival shit/my mosin. I'm not sure about the hunting, all depending on how possible that would be, and so on and so forth, dividing the bags among us by category, weight, stuff like that. We're all in generally good shape, but not great, and not bad. What i'm asking is, how plausible is this, and what else would we need, like other than the obvious essentials?
Anonymous
those hammocks are shit get a nice DD hammock + tarp and your set for 3 seasons of innawoods, 4 if you know what your doing
OP
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>>50328 I do enjoy them, and they are pretty cheap, so DD might be what we go with instead. We're kind of doing this on a not-that-serious budget, so yeah.
Anonymous
Are you planning on bear-bagging? or barreling?
OP
>>50384 Most likely bear-bagging.
Anonymous
>>50399 Than make sure you practice beforehand. Many people just try to use para-cord but it doesn't slide for shit across a lot of barks.
You will have a lot of food weight for 4 guys, one solution is to throw up a rope with a pulley (cheap and small) at the end, then use that pulley to haul up your food.
Anonymous
Anonymous
>>50326 A Plan, Let someone know where you will be and when to expect you back, a med kit, comfortable footwear and redundancies on communication and navigation. The key is it is not a race take your time pay attention and enjoy yourselves. Also an extra tarp is not a bad thing.
Anonymous
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>>50420 >Also an extra tarp is not a bad thing this
Anonymous
>setting up at night Why do you do this to yourself?
OP
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>>50420 Thanks alot, and I figured things like an extra tarp, med kit, and not being retarded when it came to getting somewhere or home were implied to be brought along. But whatever.
>>50422 I never said at night, just wake up early, pack up, and leave for a new spot, setting up before dark.
OP
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>>50410 >>50419 Thanks for the tip, and we probably will, it sounds like the most logical solution to not getting eaten.
Anonymous
Once you get to your campsite use one tarp to set up a "kitchen"(pic related). Put all your gear in there and build a small fire-pit beside it. if it doesn't rain it's just a nice place to put things. If it does rain it will make your live a million times more pleasant.
Anonymous
I'm confused, OP. Are you a seasoned backpacker who is trying to go on a trip and collect your own food, for the first time? Or are you going backpacking for the first time and expecting to be able to care for yourselves from the get-go, on your first trip out? Because your first backpacking trip definitely should not be an attempt to be self-sufficient as a hunter/gatherer in the woods. And the "innawoods" thing makes me think you're probably an arm-chair survivalist with no actual experience. Go backpacking with all the food you will need, in the area you plan to try playing survivalist in. Scout out food availability. Do you see a lot of game animals? If you don't, don't assume that next time, they'll be there. Check the rivers you're going by to see if there are enough fish for you to actually catch a meal worth. What plants grow around the trails you'll be taking? Are any of them eddible? Don't try to distribute gear into packs based on a "who is responsible" policy. You distribute weight to the degree that people are able to carry it. If you're all equally capable, you should be carrying equal weight. And, when you do go out and try to hunt/catch your food... bring enough food for the entire trip, anyhow. You can always just not eat it.
Anonymous
If you don't have a headlamp I suggest you get one. If you're moving everyday than you might be in the situation of doing some necessary work in the dark. the headlamp keeps your hands free and they can be had for under 30$.
OP
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>>50429 We were going to each have a hammock and single person tarp, and one large tarp for a work area.
OP
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>>50435 They are a godsend, I've pretty much been using them my entire life.
Anonymous
OP
>>50433 We were going to bring all the food we need, but also do things like fish, just to have something different for dinner or something like that. And i was just using 'innawoods' to mean literally in the woods. Like, just being in the place called the woods. Also, we are kind of new to this, so that's why we were going to build up from maybe a day-2 day trip.
OP
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>>50433 Also, I'll take what you said about weight distro into account, maybe do that instead.
Anonymous
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>>50447 Try setting up one of these hammocks before you buy a bunch. I don't personally have any experience with hammocks, but figure out how long it takes, how complicated it is, and how much they weigh. You want light and simple. If you're taking camp down and putting it back up, every day, hammocks that require a lot of work to set up, tie off, untie and break down will quickly make your trip less pleasant. Bivy bags are totally awesome for backpacking. You open it, get inside, then close it--done.
Anonymous
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I always bring a second map that is of lesser quality. At the end of the day I make notes directly on it. things like notable markers, or just simply some trick I learned that day. I read them all again when I get home and it's helped me go from bumbling city folk to minimalist in a few years.
Anonymous
>>50326 Don't go for cool gadget-gear. A firestarting kit is not as useful as a few cheap, plastic lighters. Water purifying tablets are a last-resort, rather than a go-to; take a water filter. If it's legal to make fires where you're going, take a hand-held hotdog grill, and cook your food on it. This is much nicer than carrying a camp stove. Basically, if there is a simpler, more obvious way to do something, and there is also an expensive, fancy gadget that claims to do it better... pick the simple way that's cheap.
Anonymous
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>>50473 >water filter Seconded
Anonymous
A good camera (in the days of the stupid phones this might be redundant), a cheep paperback book, ziplocs.
Anonymous
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I know you already said you were leaving notice with a -trusted- friend about where you were going and how long you'd be out but I think it needs saying again for some readers. It's more tacticool to go get lost in the woods, but find one person that you trust to actually call search and rescue and leave notice every time you go out. Moms are good for this.
tryku
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For anything at all hammock related I suggest
hammockforums.net I learned damn near everything I know from that website and shug's videos.
Anonymous
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>>50701 A good camera and a phone have nothing in common. I made the mistake of bringing a shitty camera on a trip once. The awesome memories captured on shitty pics still bug me. And a shitty camera is still a lot better than a phone. Except for calling people.
Anonymous
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>>50326 Appalachia what state? Do you want experienced extra company?
Anonymous
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http://hennessyhammock.com/ This is what i camp in. I'm an Outdoor rec guide. Love it, so light. Not as good of a night sleep as in a tent but so much lighter. you still need an Insulation mat under you as the air pulls a heap of heat out even through my sleeping bag.
Anonymous
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>>50473 I agree with everything you said. I have wanted a light grill to set over fires for a while now, any specific one you would recommend?
Anonymous
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Get a swag. They beat the hell out of hammocks and tents. A bit heavier but take about 30 seconds to set up. Water proof, and bearable comfort wise.