by Ron Foster
Sleeping on the river bank is made so much easier with a hammock. This is the sleep system of choice for Kayakers in particular due to its light weight.
Sam and Lori knew that on the river there were not a lot of clear places for a big tent unless you went further back in the woods and got lucky enough to find a good one. Sam’s previous experience with old style hammocks was not good; he found them hard to hang with their multiple lines, often uncomfortable etc and generally took up too much time when he was ready to make camp. That was before Lori introduced him to Hennessey hammocks. These hammocks set up up and come down in minutes and are very comfortable. Lori occasionally got back pains whether or not she sleeping on an air mattress on the ground or working in the garden. The first time she slept in one of these great hammocks she was amazed at how good her back felt when she woke up in the morning!
I don’t know anyone not susceptible to having sore shoulders or back after a long hike with a backpack. The Maya Indians of Central America discovered the benefits of the diagonal sleeping position hundreds of years ago in their traditional family hammocks. Lying diagonal across the centre axis of a Hennessy Hammock is more comfortable than lying along the axis - the body is flatter and less banana shaped - this allows for a more restful, therapeutic sleeping position.
You will never need to find a level campsite. No more roots, rocks or puddles coming through the floor of your tent. No more aching muscles and stiff joints from sleeping on the hard ground.
SnakeSkins are an instant stuff sack system that collapse your Hennessy Hammock in about 30 seconds. Your shelter never touches the ground, never gets dirty or muddy. It just disappears into two tapering tubes of silnylon which sit gathered on the ropes at each end of the Hennessy Hammock for amazingly quick set up and take down. Kind of looks like a long roll of dough or taffy stretched out.
Oversize “HEX” Rainfly option! For little or no difference in cost, the "double-wide"PU coated polyester ”HEX” fly can be substituted for the regular fly on several models.
All Hennessy Rain flies are designed to keep you dry when set up according to instructions; however, a bigger fly will give you an added margin of insurance or extra room to work under. Just choose the "customize" option for the hammock you want and add the Polyester Asym HEX rainfly to your cart. This Special offer is available only at the time of purchase to customers purchasing directly from Hennessy Hammock.
Extra SnakeSkins for the oversize fly: If you are substituting the "HEX" fly for the stock fly, you may want an extra set of SnakeSkins for the bulkier Hex fly and use the free set you'll receive with your website hammock purchase for the hammock bottom.
Many people just use one set of SnakeSkins to collapse the wet rainfly and keep it on the outside of their Pack and stuff their hammock and insulation system into the top of their pack. You can also keep your sleeping bag inside the hammock. That way everything comes out of the pack at once with no chance of dropping your bag in the mud in the dark.
8
SOLAR SAILOR
This picture of jugging can be found in What To Do and How To Do It: the American Boy's Handy Book By Daniel Carter Beard (1888):
“All set sweetie?” Sam asked as he proceeded to get ready to shove off from the boat landing using his Super Stick pole.
“I’m ready.” Lori said with a determined yet happy smile as she looked down the river.
“Seems odd for us to be going down this river of no return. But I can’t help but think about it this way though. Sounds downright spooky to think about it that way but that’s what is. I can’t imagine us ever coming back this way again. We are leaving so much behind and I guess you could say we just left from the point of no return now that we have set off in this direction. Well I guess we could say now that we were going to where the river ends or a place called where the bay begins doesn’t matter now, as Sam puts it we are going to “Our Place” and we won’t know where it is until we get there. We don’t know much about it, just that it’s on a beach somewhere that way.” Lori thought looking down river before starting to watch the shoreline pass as Sam poled the boat along. After awhile she put her rifle down and picked up a paddle to add a little dip here and there to help them move along a bit faster or steer.
The muddy river was calm on the surface but it ran with a steady slow current to the coast. On a different day they would have been happily gibbering like teenagers on a date having a new adventure. Oh they were happy enough now under the circumstances. If you had to bug out and do it in style and with some great handpicked gear they were indeed very blessed. Could they use it all to its full potential? That remained to be seen. To many ifs, too many idiots that might be on the loose to interfere with or challenge their survival plans but they had positive resolve that things were going to work out ok and embraced the moment..
Sam looked down at Lori manning the bow as he stood in the boats stern and slowly poled it along at a leisurely set off pace gliding away from the landing.
“She sure is looking intrepid down there, not a care in the world. Bet she is just mostly thinking about how pretty nature is.” Sam thought to himself as they both listened to the river sounds and hoped they didn’t hear anything else.
They traveled silently for a half a mile or so just listening and looking ahead and behind. This part of the river was pretty narrow and if anyone was out canoeing or kayaking they would see them at a distance. If somebody had a motor boat they would hear it long before it overtook them.
This close to the boat landing they decided they would use a little stealth moving out of here in case anyone happened to be returning or camping close to it. Now that they saw it was pretty clear Sam sat down and switched on the electric trolling motor and continued quietly moving along but picking up a lot more speed.
Lori pulled the cover off the Zamp solar panels and passed Sam the positive and negative leads to attach to his battery bank.
“Are you going to unfold the panels or leave them compact?” Lori asked wondering if Sam was going to run them in a 100 watt or 200 watt configuration.
“Just leave them folded up for now. I will reconfigure that boat console later and give them some more space. A 100 watts coming into the battery is plenty for now because I ain’t going that fast.” Sam said wishing he had got around to making his PVC pipe Bimini top for them to attach over him and the boat motor. He was still pondering about it though because it needed to be able to be removable for when he wanted to pole or possibly he could slant it back past the rear of the boat like a car spoiler and give himself more room? No that setup he cobbled together out of an old table in the center of the boat was the right decision for nowuntil he figured out just what would be best to do with it. Keeping those big panels portable was a big plus because he could use them easily on shore and off. With this portable bench set up Sam could follow the sun all day with just a couple of minutes of effort by just manually adjusting the panels toward it. By keeping the Zamp Portable solar kit facing the sun at the most direct angle to it, the solar panels receive more direct and powerful sunlight that can be converted to electrical energy. This is called optimal sunlight and that figured into Sam’s thinking that he needed to build some kind of movable rotatable holder for his solar panels. He wanted to make or create something on a pivoted frame of some sort that he could move the panels more directly to follow the sun.
He would have lots of time on this trip to think on how he wanted to improve his Tetra Pod to accommodate the panels a different way over the coming weeks it would take to get to the gulf.
The solar panels themselves were pretty forgiving of what he could do with them due to their special construction. The glass in them was tough; it could take a hail stone at 50 miles an hour and he had seen a YouTube commercial of a good sized guy dancing on them with shoes on with no breakage. Definitely worth a little extra cost to have that kind of durability. The Zamp brand is weather proof also.
He had as far as he knew the only Solar Powered Te
tra Pod boat out here on this river and it was working fine. He knew somebody around here had them a solar powered Jon boat project maybe but nothing like what he was producing in power to get himself down river. He was sucking up the suns energy and loving it.
The Tetra Pod boat trailer was doing pretty good as loaded down as it was and with the powerful trolling motor it wasn’t bad to tow.
Well this was now the big adventure for them to embark on, no looking back and hopefully leave their regrets behind with the burning cities and start a new life. They just needed to keep reminding themselves that eating seafood and hanging out at the beach all day didn’t sound like such a bad way to spend their last years together and ride out this storm on humanity.
Yea it was going to be hard on them, damn hard, but it still sounded a hell of a lot easier to make a living beachcombing than trying to survive in the forest or continuing to be trying to live next to some questionable neighbors when having absolutely nothing to eat in the houses point hit even worse. They had used their options and their ace up their sleeve to go on this final journey and they seemed quite happy having done so under the circumstances. They still had lots to see and do and considered themselves much better off.
Now they were basically checking out of society or what was left of it anyway and choosing a more solitary nomadic existence that was mostly dependant on nature and a bit of luck. They calculated that whomever they found living on the coast would be doing the same as they were and just trying to live off the sea and get along a bit like a community if possible.
Sam and Lori had speculated that the reformation of fishing villages or a more nomadic coastal living style was occurring in their chosen destination. People they considered would group together for protection as well as resources to increase fish production from the fleet.
What one has to envision here, in dealing with these types of survivors, is sort of like imagining people on a castaway island after, say, a boat or a plane went down. If everybody is fishing off the same beaches and one person is catching more fish than the other, they are apt to share versus letting the other person starve. Everyone in this type of situation has similar opportunities to alleviate their hunger by trying their luck or skill in the ocean and petty jealousies don’t come into play. They also have to get along with whoever is sharing this particular fishing area with them and be able to move around safely while waiting for a bite. This equates both coming and going to a certain lucky fishing hole they hoped to claim by arriving first at. When another fisherman approaches, it’s the unsaid rule of ‘first come, first served’ and if an angler is not having luck where he was fishing and advice is given freely to help increase his luck or catch. This type of cooperation and humanity that is ingrained in those people that take advantage of water sports before the collapse, is highly beneficial to their ability to survive after a collapse. This will probably be the first time he would see fishermen wearing guns but everybody was used to seeing them carry long bladed sheath knives, etc., without complaint or loss of comfort. This emotion of relative safety in approaching other anglers prior to a disastrous event, teaches people skills as well as the occasional magical donation of bait or excess fish sharing amongst strangers.
Not so much camaraderie with hunters. Hunters like to avoid each other for safety’s sake but there are a whole lot more fish in the ocean than deer in the trees so hunting rights come into play. However a hunter is usually not very nervous meeting other armed hunters in the woods, course that was back then. People carrying guns openly commonly takes some getting used to otherwise and meeting them alone versus a wild west scenario where everybody in town is wearing a six gun is a bit different. A lot of river folks carry a pistol openly anyway before the collapse, just makes sense with alligators and poisonous snakes and such around.
Historically speaking that has been the theme of many settlements. But the thing is that the residents would most likely be eating more regular than folks living inland and therefore be hopefully a lot less desperate or possibly violent when encountered. A big plus was that most of these coastal type people were friendly and community oriented before the fall and made a habit of helping fellow boaters out etc.
Sam and Lori thought about all the remote places to fish they knew of or had yet to discover that were only accessible by Jon boat or Kayak. These places of solitude and fantastic fishing would be their refuge for awhile as the big die off continued in the more populated areas.
Sam had seen real estate ads here and there over the years for secluded cabins and cottages on the rivers, back bay and other coastal areas. Many people kept vacation houses, fish camps and getaways in this sugary white sand paradise. Sam figured many people that lived faraway up north somewhere never made it down here for vacations or would ever be coming to visit again. He was hopeful they could lay claim to such a place and a little house squatting and quiet living.
Get up in the morning check the crab traps, take the Pod out oystering or scalloping, maybe stay home and go squirrel or duck hunting whatever. To be honest with himself Sam liked that idea better and truth be told he would rather just be doing that than interacting with a tribal or village group. Much of the area where they were going was undeveloped was unspoiled; When Sam was a young man he had dreams of going to Alaska to pan for gold and live off the land but finding the gold was always for buying a little place like he dreamed of and just might be getting now. He and Lori had to stay somewhere and hunting a dream house on a secluded shore sounded more like a wonderful adventure than ducking and dodging chaos to be around folks. The beach proper didn’t have to be a priority either.
The Northwest Florida Water Management District controlled more than 212,000 acres of land in the Florida panhandle. Why you could spend a whole lifetime just visiting the parks and recreational areas and never run out of things to do. That Tetra Pod Boat was going to be going places for some time to come.
They had dreamily speculated that they would find themselves an empty house on an isolated beach to move into eventually that would suit their needs and become their new special home. There was a new playbook for living in this society that Sam and Lori had discussed and were trying to be a quick study about. They saw no problem with utilizing what others weren’t using including real-estate in order to help survive themselves. If for some reason they ended up in a squatter situation and someone with legitimate title in the area objected to their presence they could just break camp and move on. Avoiding confrontations was the key though. Lori was hopeful that they could join a community and ask permission to stay in the area or ask around if anyone minded if they moved into what was commonly known as a vacant house or building. Sam agreed that might be a good thing but he was more hoping for an idyllic little private beach and a small cottage a good distance from most everyone else. He had had enough of neighbors for awhile that needed watching. He also didn’t care to be watched, it’s kind of hard to communicate with folks or judge their intentions when everyone is on their guard or against one another over resources.
However at this point for the pair it was pretty much going to be a big old southern style covert camping trip, well one with long guns and pistols displayed open carry anyway. Once they got to Florida they were basically going to be exploring the coastline and trying to avoid people for awhile. They planned on just meandering their way lazily along from one point to the next with no time schedule or definitive point to go to except as ruled by the seasons and they settled in for the winter somewhere more solid.
Oh sure Sam thought about trying to integrate with a community. That was their best chance at long-term survival; you really have to have community for that. People needed people and civilization would get itself rebuilt someday. Always has so far. Probably wouldn’t get built up to any standard where they were going for a long time. Well not for their eyes in his and Lori’s lifetime according to Sam’s calculations with a full infrastructure functioning but certainly America would be relit again in several years in man
y places. The area they had chosen to live in on the Panhandle of Florida according to Lloyds of London Solar EMP impact maps would be one of the hardest hit and therefore also one of the last to get restored due to small population and large damage.
Image source: Lloyd’s of London
Currently anything remotely approaching the resemblance and function of a small third world fishing village that was basically peaceful living held great appeal for both of them. They were sure that fishermen etc. didn’t just stop living their lives and forget their skills of how to feed themselves and others from the waters, no they were working something out and most likely supporting and helping each other get by somehow. They started out the disaster as shipmates and crewman didn’t they? This class of people has a definite advantage during these times of disaster if they can fish and if they cannot they still have a functioning unit used to working together to approach problems with.
The problem was that like most of the world by now, these people were more than just suspicious of strangers. They had seen and lived through too much, the chaos and tribulations they shared with groups drew them closer together, but it set them apart from others. Then there were always the fringe elements of society who had their own social groups separated by finances, beliefs, pecking orders, trades skills, etc.
Sam was pretty sure they would encounter others out here as they traveled who were loners like them. A lot of kayakers practiced what was called stealth or covert camping before the grid went down as well as a myriad of anglers practicing the new popular sport of Sea Kayak fishing.
A lot Kayakers out of necessity or otherwise camp on private property at some point — known as stealth camping secretly camping on private land without permission from the landowner. The more remote the location you choose (out of sight of houses, roads, paths, etc.), the less likely you will annoy anyone with your presence or attract attention to your campsite. It’s easy to get stuck between campgrounds etc when the sun goes down, often times they ask the landowners permission to camp if available, other times it can be economics that has them choosing power company land etc. over paying for the privileges of pitching a tent for the night.