Sean “Shug” Emery has been a backpacker and performer for much of his life, and talks in this episode about how these two sides of his life interact, allowing him to contribute to a community of campers and hikers through his publishing of videos on YouTube, including his famous 12 video introduction to hammock series. This contribution has ultimately led Shug to get more pleasure out of hiking, even by himself, than he ever would have before – leading to “reflection moments” – times when he stops and smells the flowers. Knowing that he’s sharing his experiences with a greater audience means that he takes the time to enjoy his experiences more deeply.We all pretty much agree that making and using alcohol stoves is great. Especially those we make for ourselves. Especially when we’ve made way way way too many.

Finally, we close out with a reminder to go out into the woods and just hike with your family, especially if you have kids. If you’ve got a 4th grader in the USA, you can get into any national park for free with the “Every Kid in a Park” program from the US Federal Government.

 

Where we learn that camping in a hammock involves NOT sleeping on the ground.

Meet Mark and Jonathan, a couple of scouters, backpackers and campers who are really excited about hammock camping. You’ll learn about how they got into hammock camping, some of their early experiences, and a little bit about hammocking along the way.

Is hammock camping a trend? Jonathan and Mark certainly think so. Seems like every day there’s more people out there hanging from trees.