Widowmakers

[Doctari]

After last trip (the one with Mike & Bonsai to East Fork) I've been wanting to start a thread about the dreaded Widow Makers (Dead Falls, Hammock killers, etc) & how they affect us.

What got me to thinking of this is a picture I took on that outing where a small tree took out a substantial bridge, just one creek over from where, when I did maintenance on the trail, I used to stop for lunch on a similar bridge. Took OUT the bridge, & to me it looked relatively healthy before it fell & killed the bridge.
(Pic #1)

What made me finally go for it was what happened earlier this week. As posted on another thread, "Why do we hang in the rain (& storms) I was going to hang in my usual spot in the back yard on Monday, but I (thankfully) got called in to work. Pic #2 was supposed to be a pic of my hammock in my usual spot, but I can't open the CD (very old computer) so just imagine.
Any way, in what is now #2: the tree nearest the camera & far right, is where I usually hang the head end of the hammock, the large tree far away & mid frame is the foot end tree. At least that's how I hang about 70% of the time. In picture #3, the head end tree is far right. MY widow maker is laying between the two trees, I figure it was about 50' high, it is now 50' long. This tree was a pretty healthy Locust about 9" diameter.


I'm thinking that I would have been pretty badly hurt had I slept there that night. & like I said, this was a healthy tree as far as I could see.

So, what are your experiences, near misses, etc?

[krugd]

Doctari,

Just because you aren't paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!

[2new2hang]

Holy smokes!!
I would imagine that, when hanging in any densely wooded forest, you're always going to have many heavy limbs above you. Does this happen that often? I saw one of Shug's vids where he pointed one out and it was fairly obvious in that case. When he moved, you could see there were very few big limbs above him in his new location. But this was in winter and you could see the tree limbs very well. I would think it would be a bit more difficult finding a spot between two trees in a densely populated forest where there were no big limbs on the hammock sides of both trees. Do you find that not to be the case?

[Catavarie]

First off, I'm sure where never so glad to be called into work in your life.

Secondly, one would be in the same perdicament if sleeping in a tent when a tree falls it doesn't care what's in it's path.

Third, trees falling make enough noise to wake me, and as my wife will atest to I can sleep through nearly anything including home alarm. (Seriously was woken up one day by a pair of cute female police officers, thought I was dreaming till my mother-in-law walked in the room. ) Of course growing up with a major highway that saw constant 18wheeler use around the clock forced me to be a heavy sleeper.

[Doctari]

Doctari,

Just because you aren't paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!

Good point, It could also be stated: "Just because I am paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get me!"

Catavarie: Yep, tent, tarp, cowboy camping or Hammock. If you are in the woods, a tree could fall on you. Even just a walk in the woods could leave a mark,,, a "Permanent one" for that matter. & Yea, I was sort of glad I got called in, still,,,,,, having a tree fall on my head is only slightly worse than a day at work.

[Can't Wait]

I have been meaning to but a chainsaw, Mostly to get some wood cut up at the one place I frequently hang . I have noticed two dead trees pretty close to my spot I want to drop just for peace of mind. Plus will cut up for wood so kill two birds with one tree.

[WV]

I scan the canopy for widowmakers when I hang, but I wish I had a way to evaluate soil structure and saturation as well. On the Linville Gorge Trail earlier this month I had cleared some old blowdown on a section south of the bridge. The next day, after a thunderstorm during the night, I retraced my steps on the same section of trail and there were two more trees down across the trail. They were healthy-looking hardwoods about 8" in diameter - no sign of disease or dead limbs, but their roots had been pulled out of the ground. I wasn't aware of high winds where I had been camping, just rain and some thunder and lightning.

[vitamaltz]

I was out with two friends last summer. An intense storm rolled in just as we were making camp. The other guys hung their hammocks and then joined me under my tarp to watch the rain and socialize. While we were under my hammock a tall hickory fell within a foot or so of my friend's hammock. It was a close call on a few levels...

[2new2hang]

While we were under my hammock a tall hickory fell within a foot or so of my friend's hammock. It was a close call on a few levels...

Holy Sheep Dip! Now you guys got me a bit concerned. Especially in stormy weather. Anyone actually been hit by any of these and lived to tell (guess it wouldn't be a "widowmaker". Maybe a "soiled hammock maker"

Vitamalz: laughed when I saw your handle. Not sure if they have that back in the States, but my wife (German) loved that stuff when we lived near Frankfurt. I tried it once.....several years later, and I'm still recovering from the taste..

[Doctari]

I just realized that this thread may scare some out of the woods. That was so NOT my intent.

And, I must add that most likely any widow makers would be very dead before falling, so all precautions you can take will help. BUT, I also need to say that almost anything you do has some risk, even just sitting on the couch watching TV all the time can be bad for you.
What prompted this post was,,,, I guess,,, surprise at the nature of the tree that fell in my back yard. Sorry, I tried to get a good photo, no go. Anyway, I could see it, this 8" diameter Locust snapped off about 2' above the ground. For those that don't know trees, locust is what they use for fence posts. It is VERY tough wood. AND, this tree wasn't the oldest or tallest in my back yard. In fact, I have 2 dead trees* that are taller, & near enough that they should have caught the same gust of wind. This was by far a freak occurrence, but I'm hoping it gets us to thinking more about where we camp, "Just in case!"



*the dead trees are out of the way of my hanging sites, & I leave them up for the 3 local woodpeckers.