{"id":11030,"date":"2012-08-29T10:26:47","date_gmt":"2012-08-29T14:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adirondack.net\/dacks\/2012\/08\/hammock-camping-pharaoh-lake.html"},"modified":"2017-12-02T11:02:07","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T16:02:07","slug":"hammock-camping-pharaoh-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adirondack.net\/dacks\/2012\/08\/hammock-camping-pharaoh-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Hammock Camping In Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ever slept in a hammock?<\/b> Sure, many of us have dozed off while relaxing on a warm summer day. But have you ever really<\/i> slept in a hammock? For the night?<\/i><\/p>\n
I have been entertaining the idea of hammock camping<\/b> for some time now. Obviously there are pros and cons to this idea, which I have weighed over and over. This is the standard procedure that I follow when I want to purchase a new piece of gear. I think about it for a couple weeks, weigh my options, check out some online reviews.. and make a decision.<\/p>\n
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My new hammock = awesome<\/b>. We brought a row boat<\/b> with us, which made it a little easier to bring some amenities that we wouldn’t want to carry in on our backs (food, beer, fishing equipment<\/a>).<\/p>\n We rowed out on one of the ponds inside the wilderness area and decided on a campsite just before sunset on Friday. After a quick swim to cool down, we hung our hammocks<\/b> (Josh bought one too) and started cooking some hot dogs for dinner. We had a few beers, played some cards by the light of a lantern, and headed to the hammocks for some shuteye.<\/p>\n While debating with myself for weeks about a hammock, I weighed the pros and cons and finally decided to purchase one.<\/p>\n The Pros: <\/b><\/p>\n The Cons:<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n After comparing the lists and doing some research, I decided to go with the Easy Traveller by BYER of Maine<\/b>. I would consider this an entry level option as far as hammock camping goes. The setup cost me $44.95, and came with Microrope, ready to hang<\/i> (mine is green\/beige).<\/p>\n This is a Brazilian style hammock<\/b>, in which you lay diagonally across, rather than lining your body up with the ropes. This take a minute or two to get used to, but is very obviously the most comfortable way to lay. My sleeping bag fits right in the hammock, and I had no trouble getting into my bag while hanging in the hammock.<\/p>\n I had a great night of sleep in this thing!<\/b> After you slide into the hammock and get comfortable, the thing rocks you to sleep like a baby. The only real issue I see with this hammock is warmth. My sleeping bag doesn’t have any insulation on the back to save weight\/space. This is where the sleeping pad usually goes, which offers some insulation. Without the sleeping pad<\/i>, I can see my backside getting cold if the temperature was any cooler. I’ve read about hikers bringing a light quilt to help insulate the backside while hanging in a hammock, I’ll have to try this out.<\/p>\n That and the weather, I’ll have to come up with some kind of a rain fly setup so I can take my hammock with me when I’m unsure of the conditions!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This was the view from my hammock.<\/i><\/p>\n I also did not have a single run-in with a mosquito until Sunday morning, when it was time to get up anyway. Maybe just the right time of year, I probably wouldn’t want to be sleeping in this hammock in the middle of black fly season<\/a> in the Adirondacks<\/b> with no bug protection.<\/p>\n The hammock sleeps one, weighs 15 ounces, and is 54×84 inches.<\/i><\/p>\n That LifeStraw<\/b> there is a very cool device, and I’ve been meaning to test it out. LifeStraw<\/b> is a portable water filter, that works like a straw. You can drink directly out of the water source, or you can fill a water bottle with untreated water and drink through the straw out of that (which is what I did).<\/p>\n The LifeStraw<\/b> worked great! It wasn’t difficult to suck water through at all. The water did still taste somewhat like a pond, but I’m OK with that as long as I don’t contract Beaver Fever<\/i>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We had a great trip, and I got to test out some new gear<\/b>, spent two nights in the woods, and got a whole day of fishing in! (We caught some small Large Mouth Bass, a few Bluegill, and one Perch. I hooked a good size Large Mouth but proceeded to break it off when it dove for some branches\/logs after I got it within 10 feet of the boat.)<\/p>\n
\nMy buddy and I headed up to Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area<\/b> on Friday afternoon. Pharaoh Lake is a somewhat small body of water that sits between Schroon Lake, Lake George and Brant Lake<\/a>. The Wilderness Area is speckled with little lakes and ponds, and is home to a dozen or so Adirondack Lean-tos<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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\nI also had the chance to test out another new product on our trip. A few weeks ago I won a 20 Items Under $20 giveaway<\/b> on the Pocket Ranger Blog. They hooked me up with all kinds of good stuff!<\/p>\n