Episode Guest
Anna Rawlins, Chief Marketing Officer
ENO
Hammock Stats
- Some debate on where hammocking began – South America, Athens, Greece, maybe somewhere else? We know that hammocks or hammock-like objects appear in etchings & paintings throughout history
- Hammocks have been used on Apollo 12 for better sleep and military use them for tight quarters sleeping
- $1.45 Billion of hammocks was sold in 2024
- A swiss study found that napping in a hammock leads to better sleep vs a stationary surface
- The tallest hammock is located in Utah’s Moab Dessert – nearly 500ft in the air
Speed Round
What is your earliest park memory?
It was running around barefoot climbing trees and covered head to toe in mud, being chased by geese in a local park where I grew up called Echo Lake.
What made you love the parks?
I’ve always felt free in parks. Again, just that running around, climbing on things, getting dirty like that. Freedom has always been allowed in parks that, you can’t do that in many other public spaces.
What is your favorite thing about a park?
Having a dedicated space for slowing down, escaping that everyday life. Immersing myself in nature.
What is your favorite thing to do in a park?
This is a bit different lately. I’ve gotten really into mountain biking. There’s so many wonderful trails in the national parks and parks around Asheville that right now I’ll get together with some girlfriends, ride bikes, swim in the lakes, and relax in a hammock. It’s like the perfect day,
What park have you yet to visit but is on your bucket list and why?
Yosemite. I’m dying to visit Yosemite. It’s iconic. I think it’s so different visually than a lot of the other parks that I’m used to on the East Coast. We’re like very green, lush, rounded mountaintops that aren’t very high. So I’d love to experience it’s epicness and grandness.
What are three must-haves you pack for a park visit?
First one is pretty obvious, a hammock and strap.
Second would be water and snacks.
And then third would be a good book or my bike, depending on the day.
What is your favorite campfire activity?
S’mores. But we do a weird version of them. Our graham crackers would always get crushed, so instead, you take, peanut M&Ms, but then you smush it in a very large marshmallow and you roast that. So the chocolate melts inside the marshmellow, and then the peanut in the center gives you that crunch like the graham cracker.
Tent, camper, or cabin…or hammock?
Hammock always just the nice quick setup. If it’s nice weather, how you can fall asleep under the stars and it’s so much more open, you can sleep in as well without getting super sweaty.
Hiking with or without trekking poles?
Without, unless it’s super steep or there’s a lot of water crossing.
And what is your favorite trail snack?
Gushers
What is the favorite animal sighting that you’ve had?
I was forging for mushrooms and stumbled upon a mama black bear that was eating berries. It was from a safe distance, but still a bit shocking, but it was just so beautiful to see her and her babies in nature.
What is your favorite sound in the parks?
A storm rolling in. The sound of wind coming through the trees, or it starts with wind coming through the trees. Then it gets a little bit louder, a little bit more constant. Then you can hear the rain when it’s at a distance, right before it hits you and you’re like, “oh, it really is gonna storm,” and then you get soaked.
But it just feels magical and almost primal how that you can tell as soon as that wind picks up, that a storm is coming.
What is the greatest gift the parks give to us?
I think the greatest gift that they give to us is perspective. They remind us that we’re a part of something much bigger, which is just very awe inspiring. They give us a place to reconnect with nature and ourselves.