Why pay attention to trees around you

[BittyGoat]

Hi ya'll. On a recent hammock trip, we came across this site. [AIMG]Smashed Camp.jpg[/AIMG]

It was pretty scary! Not sure exactly what happened but what I do know is all, and I mean ALL of the gear was left UNDER THAT TREE!! Outcome could not have been good. Please, make sure you know what is around you when you are setting up camp.

[Kroma]

what advice would you give to newbies (such as myself) as to what to look for when picking a spot to prevent getting smashed like that?

[geronimo]

Always check the trees above you for widowmakers!!

[BittyGoat]

The first thing to pay attention to is the Widowmakers. These are dead trees or live trees with large dead limbs. The live trees with dead limbs are more difficult to spot and that is why you should ALWAYS LOOK UP BEFORE attaching your hammock to a set of trees. There are obviously other considerations to keep you safe depending on the nature of your surroundings (i.e. cliffs, rocks, etc.)

If you have not read the book The Ultimate Hang, I highly recommend it. There is tons of information in there that will help you as you learn more about hammock camping.

Ya know if you take another look at that tree above, you can see leaves on there, pretty heavily. We were in awe of the size of the tree and all the gear that was left behind...could not have been good for those folks. My guess is it probably either tipped from wind or got hit by lightning. It did not look dead.

Welcome to the group! Tons of great people on here to help ya out.

[SilvrSurfr]

what advice would you give to newbies (such as myself) as to what to look for when picking a spot to prevent getting smashed like that?

I suspect that was a storm that caused that, especially if it was a growing tree and not deadfall. Dutch had a live pine tree (all of it) come down near him at MAHHA after heavy rain.

[OutandBack]

Tree's alive or dead and limbs falling is a fact of life and risk we all take when camping in a forest. Hammock or tent doesn't really matter.

[Gutyones]

Very scary... A friend of mine had one come down about 30 feet from him this past fall. We really need to take the time to look at the area carefully before setting up.