PNW GGG is a GO!

I probably won't be able to come up until Saturday morning, too.

Unfortunately, two awesome BPLers will not be able to make it to the PNWGGG this year. They were kind enough to PIF on their fees to the next happy camper so if anyone would like to join, all you need to do is speak up and I'll put your name on the list, gratis.

First come first served. I'd prefer for the response to be posted here but if you want to email me (addy provided in OP), I'll compare the time stamps of the responses and aware the spots based on whoever responded first.

Also, it was my hope to check out the campsite before the event (It's 3-4 hours away from where I live) but it looks like I will be traveling for a couple weeks. If someone in the area could pop in and take a couple pictures of the campsite, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I think there was also some talk of some folks heading off for a night or two of backpacking after the "official PNW GGG" festivities. Does anyone want to take the lead proposing something?

I'm certainly interested in a post GGG hike. My weekends are booked between now and then but if I don't get on the trail soon… well it won't be pretty.

If no one else has responded, my boyfriend Bill and I could check it out Friday May 15th. We frequently go hiking near there.

Sorry for the late reply Dianne. If you could take.a couple pictures of both group sites, I'd greatly appreciate. I made sure to cap our group small enough so we won't be crowded but I could only go by their description.

Both group sites at Skokomish Park, check. Want me to post them here, or do you want to keep it secret? Email? Text?

I will be coming from Yakima and can pick up people on the way if needed. Just let me know well ahead of time to coordinate

Posting the pictures here would be fine. Unless the campsite sucks. In that case, take pictures of a nice looking campsite and say that's the one so no one else bails.

A campsite full of UL gear and happy BPLrs makes any location look fantastic.

+1 to what Ken Thompson said – it's the companions that count, not the conveniences.

Are there any spots left?

Thanks Bro. Real sorry to be missing this one. :(

There's one spot left Jonathan.

Ok, kids, here they are:

That's the view as you enter the campsite.

The campsite is laid out with sheltered picnic tables and firepit in the center, and campsites around the edge. There are two porto-johns, which we tested out and are clean. The campsites and the central area are covered in pea gravel, so I wouldn't recommend a 1/8" GG pad–although, I suppose it would be easy to carve out a nice dish for your shoulders and hips. The campsites are all in view of each other, not much privacy. There's one site behind the johns that is still forest duff.

The central area is generous in size, but there's nowhere to fly tarps, so if it's rainy we'll all be under the shelter. Unless folks are driving into the site, more tents could be erected in the center. There is no water, so make sure to bring all you'll need for the week-end.

It looks like it was just roughed out last season. The one good thing is that it is well away from the other campsites, so we shouldn't be bothered by other campers. There is a trail that wends its way along a wooded peninsula towards the day use area, probably about a 1/4 of a mile or so–I didn't go the whole way, because I had disappeared when Bill was in the john, and I didn't want him to think that aliens had snatched me.

Are we all going to try to out-ultralight each other? Bill is planning to bring the biggest, heaviest tent we have, because it is just car camping after all. Chairs would be a welcome item around the firepit. How many folks will it be altogether?

Incredibly useful. Thanks Diane.

So it sounds like, as it is with many car camping sites, no stakes are gonna penetrate that gravel, so we should plan on self standing tents?

The pea gravel is about 4 inches deep, with dirt underneath it. I think you could drive stakes into the dirt, I doubt it is compacted, but you would need to have long stakes. The pea gravel is not packed.

I'm pretty sure this will not be the place to debut my Zpacks Duplex. I think you could maybe do a Tarptent, though. Privacy will be pretty non-existent, so keep that in mind.

Thank you so much Dianne for taking pictures.

I'm a couple thousand miles away from my spreadsheet and a few people can't make it. Off the top of my head, I want to say that there are about 27 people coming. Some of those are couples so not necessarily 27 shelters.

I was going to originally set the cap at 30 but after looking at those pictures, I think it's best to hold the list where it is and not add any more to it. If anyone else would like to join, they can get their own individual site and join us at the group site during the festivities.

I'm bringing both my Hexamid Twin and my Grace solo for the benefit of those who would like to check them out. I'll probably bring some polycryo so I don't beat up the bug netting on my Twin.

As far as privacy goes, there wasn't any privacy at the Pt Reyes GGG this year either which wasn't a problem. I'll post pictures later but some of our shelters were pretty close together. Didn't spend any time under the tarp other than when I was sleeping, at which point I didn't care who was sleeping where, so it wasn't a problem. Just think of all the snoring and farting as a lullaby of sorts and it'll help you find sleep;)

Ir you've sent me an email expressing interest in coming prior to 5/17/15 0600 pacific, you should have received a response from me confirming that you're on the list. If you haven't received a response from me, repky here so we can figure out where the breakdown in communication is.

If you haven't expressed interest in coming, either by responding to this thread or by sending me an email, you are more than welcome to join us during the day but you'll need to find an individual site within the campground.

Edit: ipad/user induced typos.

The good news is that it looks like there are some great trees for hammock hanging!

I absolutely would bring a polycryo ground sheet for the Hexamid. Hadn't thought about hammocks but yes, there should be sites.

Is it kosher to bring a couple of packs I'd like to sell? One is a vintage Six Moon Designs Traveler, the other is a Zimmerbuilt. If nothing else, folks that have been wanting to look before they buy can see what a Zimmerbuilt can look like.

Edit:sp

I think a gear swap / garage sale sounds like a great idea. Since we're car camping, we'll establish a time to do this Saturday or Sunday from the hip when we get there. I've seen a couple pictures of Dale's gear room so I suspect he'll need to bring his surplus gear in a U Haul ;).

Do we have a schedule or agenda of activities. Nothing formal, but sort of a structure for the weekend for folks to plan around, especially in terms of when folks should arrive and might head out, as well as time to run out for a hike.

I don't think there is a correct answer here. If someone proposes something I'm guessing we will all just accept it.

I've been to two GGGs so not an expert. Based on that limited experience, I think we're better off just keeping the schedule open as things will fall into place (day hikes, etc) once we get there.

GGG #1, Ron from SMD, Jon from Flat Cat gear, and a few others showed up with new gear to show off so there was a loose schedule. Some people went hiking and other people hung out and watched the demos.

At the second GGG, there were no manufacturers, no stove cook offs, no schedule, and a grand time was had by all. I spent most of the day dry baking, other people went hiking, and whatever.

The only thing I'd suggest we'd need to schedule beforehand would be things like wood stove contests, alky stove beauty contests, etc that require some prep work prior to the event.

I think our best bet, for the first PNW GGG, is to just show up with an open mind and a great attitude, and a great time will be had by all. From looking at the list, that won't be a problem. We'll use this experience to prime the pump and develop ideas to make it even better next year.

So f anyone would like to see some sort of event, or would like to demo some gear, let me know here or in a PM and we'll make it happen.

I'll spare you the details and just say we won't be able to make it to the GGG. I'm bummed. Hopefully someone else can use our spots and get in on the fun. Looking forward to meeting you all, maybe next year.