Take a virtual trip to one of our favorite hammocking spots in our backcountry! Max Patch is a nearly bald mountain located on the North Carolina/Tennessee border right off the Appalachian Trail and is known for its stunning 360 view of the surrounding mountains. Come fly with us!
Designed by Asheville-based artist and Outdoor Afro volunteer leader, Leandra Taylor, the Kili Mapp Kili DoubleNest Print Hammock was inspired by Outdoor Afro’s Mt. Kilimanjaro Expedition in 2018. This year marks Leandra Taylor’s fifth year as an Outdoor Afro volunteer leader. She recaps her time with the organization and the trip that inspired this hammock design. I attended my first training in 2017 and it was just one of those life-changing experiences, walking into a room of 80 people that are all passionate about the outdoors was something I’ll never forget. I knew that’s where I should be. Through joining Outdoor Afro, I have found support in both my outdoor adventures and in affirming my identity as an artist. Outdoor Afro leaders have been the biggest contributors and encouragers to my creative process. They push me to put my art out there and to share it with the world. Art has always been my creative outlet and nature has always been my favorite muse. When I was younger, I loved to draw flowers and pollinators because of their vibrant colors and patterns. While I’ve always been creative, I haven’t always identified as an “artist,” but as someone who enjoyed drawing...
A Place Beyond seemed to have just landed on my lap during the disorienting year that was 2020. When met with a decision to either stay at home in isolation while taking online classes or be in a community with other college students in Prescott National Forest, Arizona, it was a no-brainer. APB is an in-person, remote learning community for college students who cannot or do not want to return to their physical college campus during the pandemic. The program provides community, mentorship, educational workshops, and outdoor recreation programming such as mountain biking, hiking, and bouldering. As a result, I had the opportunity to both try out hammocking and bouldering, two activities that have similar stages of doubt, embracing the unknown, and joy of being in the moment. Doubt “So, you are saying this is supposed to hold me?” I asked Noah, one of the instructors at A Place Beyond, as I gestured incredulously at the thin piece of fabric in front of me shaped like the waxing crescent moon in winter time. He grinned and excitedly said yes. My eyes darted between the hammock and his encouraging smile. I couldn’t help but remember the same animating smile from Brandon,...
I grew up very outdoorsy, hiking and backpacking with my family. We lived the city life in Washington, D.C., but on weekends took to the trails nearby. Family vacations let us escape the cars and tall buildings of downtown D.C., and embrace the towering Rocky Mountains in Colorado. All of that changed in 2020 and I suddenly found it difficult to leave the city to go hiking with friends and family. This coincided with my long awaited first year of college; I realized it wasn’t going to be the experience I was dreaming of. What was excitement, turned to fear. I was unsure about living on a college campus with the increased risk that daily, normal interactions pose in the time of COVID. With the pandemic and stress in full swing, I looked for any opportunity to be closer to the outdoors and continue my studies in a safe manner. I found myself booking a flight to Arizona to spend my first semester as part of the newly formed program, A Place Beyond (APB), a wilderness campus for students taking remote classes. It provides academic support, professional mentorship, and optional workshops that cultivate social, emotional, and real-life skills. Living in...
Hometown Hideaways — New Jersey Hometown Hideaways is a series of blogs featuring top places to hammock around the U.S. Each guide is curated by outdoor enthusiasts who live, work, and play in the region, sharing their insights and experiences on where to hang your hammock and enjoy the great outdoors. Explore your backyard with us, you don’t have to travel far to find adventure. Round Valley Recreation Area Hunterdon County Brisk blue waters and hike-in campsites attract outdoor hammock enthusiasts to Round Valley Recreation Area. Round Valley is one of the few parks in the New Jersey area that offers wilderness camping. Sights and sounds abound at this recreation area including one of the largest lakes in New Jersey, the Round Valley Reservoir, which covers over 2,000 acres and is stocked with lake trout. There are three marked trails at Round Valley: the Pine Tree Trail, Family Hiking and Biking Trail, and the Cushetunk Trail, which accesses the campsites. Enjoy activities such as hiking, biking, boating, camping, sledding, cross country skiing, and then rest amidst the trees in your ENO hammock. Keep in mind that entrance fees are collected from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. Check out...
