Welcome To The Woods!
I'm passionate about figuring things out, and sharing knowledge. When I started this website in 2005, there was very little info online about hammock camping and not many products on the market, so it was a great time to help figure out the principles that would result in ultralight hammock camping gear, make hammock camping feasible in subzero temps, etc. And what good is knowledge if you don't share it? So...tothewoods.net/HammockCamping was born.
Then I drifted out of the hammock camping community and eventually found a new challenge in ham radio, so I added my Comms pages. A lot of the technical info is already out there (and I'm not an expert in it anyway), so I looked for new ways to put the pieces together, to find options others hadn't presented yet. Things like the Entry-Level Portable Ham Radio Kit, to show folks there's really not a high barrier to entry for this hobby, and it's cheap and easy to put a comms kit in each vehicle in case of emergency. And the Yaesu FT-818ND Manpack for simple comms in the backcountry.
Along the way, I added pages for
DIY backpacking gear, backpacking trip reports, Cast Iron Cookware, and
Recreational Vehicles (RV).
So that's how it all fits together, for me. I like challenges, and structuring knowledge about them, and sharing what I find...and I like to do that outside.
I still like the Condor HF Manpack, but in my search for an organization solution that would accommodate wildlife and landscape photography I found the Hazard 4 Evac photo insert, and bought a second one to hold my ham radio. Now I can keep my base hiking gear in the Plan C daypack and just put in whichever insert I plan to use that day! Everything is already organized and packed in usable condition, so there's no looking around to get ready for the day, and it's much less likely that I'll forget an important part. I'm pretty excited about this one, and I'll have a page up soon detailing my matching photography kit!
Read all about the Hazard 4 Evac Ham Radio MANPACK!
| Single-Serving Cinnamon Packets! |
Just found these single-serving cinnamon packets on Amazon that'll be awesome for backpacking! I don't know why it took so long for somebody to think of these...easy-to-pack and carry for oatmeal, coffee, tea, etc. on the trail!
We inherited some cast iron cookware a long time ago, but it needed restoration so we didn't use it for over ten years. I had a lot to learn when I committed to it, so I documented the journey on the Cast Iron page.
I don't do recipes or anything, but I talk about how I restored some old and rusty pieces, how to make the perfect steak on a charcoal chimney with a small cast iron grill, how to build the cast iron display pictured on the left, and more.
Brownie Cake!
| 16 January 2019: Site Updates |
Made a few updates to the site formatting to make it more friendly to mobile devices.
Also, I added Google and Amazon ads to the site. It was a tough decision, but I've been paying out of pocket for many years and it gets expensive...several thousand dollars now. I'd ask you politely, if you find this webpage useful, please consider turning off your ad blocker (or whitelisting the site) so you can see the ads. Every little bit helps!
Thank you kindly, and I hope to see you on the trail!
| 12 August 2013: All Six Mods Resign from Hammock Forums |
Dear Hammock Forums members,
In October 2006, we started HammockForums.net to create the internet's most useful repository of hammock information on the internet, and to provide a peaceful sanctuary for hammock enthusiasts to discuss our shared interest. Through careful selection of moderators and by paying special attention to creativity, originality and respectful discourse, Hammock Forums grew into a unique community that many members proudly say is the best forum on the internet.
Integrity has always been the foundation of our operations here, and has undergirded that creativity and respectful discourse. This applies to members ensuring they give credit when using others' ideas, vendors (until recently) carefully ensuring they don't steal other vendors' ideas or profit directly from members' ideas without giving credit, and the moderator staff being as transparent as possible in the site's operations.
One key aspect of the site's operations that deserves special scrutiny is the donation procedures. The mod staff historically has proudly proclaimed that we moderate Hammock Forums on a strictly volunteer basis, and that all donations go solely towards site operations or improvement. We do not personally profit from your donations. However, you may notice that we have not been saying this recently.
This is because several months ago, the site's owner withdrew access to HF's financial accounts from all six moderators. Frankly, we have no idea what is happening to thousands of dollars of your donation monies. We have directly asked why the access was removed, and given an ultimatum that without access - not even spending authority, but only access to view - we can no longer moderate this website with the integrity we require. We offered several opportunities to remedy this situation but were rebuffed each time.
Therefore, it is with heavy hearts that all six of HF's moderators - Just Jeff, angrysparrow, NCPatrick, Cannibal, headchange4u, and John Sawyer - are resigning as Hammock Forums' moderators. We stand in agreement that if we cannot keep our word to the members, we will no longer represent their website. Furthermore, if the owner will not keep his word to us, we will not continue enabling him to profit from our efforts and from your donations. For us, integrity is more important than participation in any website.
We're sure Hammock Forums will continue without us and we wish you all the best in the future.
Jeff, Sam, Patrick, Grant, Jason and John
Here at ToTheWoods, we're also fans of Recreational Vehicles (RVs) like the 
