America from the Hammock
My Camping Hammock
The camping hammock I bought not only seems like a good way to take a nap while back at my campsite, and it seems like an easy way to back country camp. It’s great for taking a nap, reading a book or playing on my smartphone. The hammock when folded up in its built in bag is about a third of the size of my day pack, it takes all of 30 seconds to assemble. Much smaller than a tent and a sleeping pad to say nothing about a sleeping bag and something to use as a pillow when tent camping.
I fell asleep in the hammock last weekend at camp, listening to a podcast. The walls of the hammock are high, almost like a cacoon, so it’s unlikely that one would roll out of it. It’s fairly comfortable but I do think a pillow or a something acting as a pillow can make it even more comfortable.
I have fairly broad shoulders and the sides of hammock put a bit of pressure on the shoulders although maybe I could try repositioning myself in the hammock to reduce the pressure on my shoulders. Not really uncomfortable but waking up I did find a bit of odd tightness in my shoulders. Using a pillow and stringing closer between trees that are closer does help a lot though.
The first hammock I got had a defective carabiners that broke the second time I used it but after I exchanged it the new one seems good with no issues with the carabiners and quite comfortable. Other than that the finish of the hammock seems good and able to hold my weight. I’m not sure how you can call it a double hammock – but then again I’m a big guy. After the exchange of the defective hammock, I’m quite happy with the product.
August 1, 2018 Morning
Good morning! It’s already August 🌻. Two weeks to Altamont Fair Opens 🎡. Yeap. Summer is rapidly coming to a close. I don’t mind that much, I like hunting season and November camping. There is nothing quite as beautiful as the stark blue skies on the land and in the woods in November.
Cloudy and 68 degrees in Hector, as I lay back at the hammock, listening to the local country music station, thinking about my mid point of the vacation. ☁ It’s humid but with the breeze and relatively low temperatures as I lay in the hammock doesn’t feel half bad. There is a south breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 67 degrees. There was some sun for a while this morning, but it’s come and gone, and without the sun the low voltage disconnect has killed the light strings.🐄 There is the light smell of cattle in the air, but then again I’m camping across from a cow pasture. Haven’t seen the cows yet this morning though.
It’s the hump of the vacation but at least for this morning it looks like the rain will hold off. 💦At some point I’m going to get a book out of my truck📘 and read for a while then I may go fishing at Foster Pond. 🎣 I’m not convinced we are going to get much rain today but without the sun I’m probably going to have to start the truck or go for a drive as the UV filtering through isn’t going to be enough to charge the battery.🔋 Plus I think I would like to go to the Watkins Glen library to get the latest podcasts and catch on the news and alike using my laptop. 💻 I also want to visit a winery that I met at Finger Lakes Wine Day at the Capitol which is nearby but maybe not today.
Today will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Cloudy 💦, with a high of 78 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 69 at 11am. South wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 101 was set in 1933.
I don’t know how much rain we are going to get, but I tell you I’m prepared should it rain later. I collected up firewood for tonight and it’s under the tarp. 💦 I will probably head into town then and see if I can get on the internet at the library. 💻
The sun will set at 8:26 pm with dusk around 8:58 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for clouds ☁ and thunderstorms ⚡ and 74 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 26 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 12 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 9pm. Some storms could be severe, with hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain. Cloudy ☁, with a low of 67 degrees at 5am. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. Southwest wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 64 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1976.
Already starting to think about my November trip. 🚗 Probably for that one I may stay one night in the Finger Lakes National Forest then head west to the Western Finger Lakes and Southern Tier. I think I would camp at some of the state forests in Allegany County for a few nights, do some small game hunting. I might also want to visit the Zoar Valley and maybe Letchworth State Park. I might do an overnight at Stoney Pond and then visit Montezuma when the birds are migrating.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Altamont Fair Opens 🀼/strong>when the sun will be setting at 8:07 pm with dusk at 8:38 pm in the Finger Lakes. Before eight back in Albany. On that day in 2017, we had rain, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 79 and 64 degrees. Temperatures start dropping as we head into August. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1959.