--PICTURES-- Climbing and Hammocking in the Winter Treetops

[Refreshing]

This is a continuation from my thread that goes into detail about myhammock setup.

The trip was stupidly awesome. Here were my emotions in order:

1. Where are the big trees?
2. Look at the size of that one!
3. **** this. I quit.
4. I’m lonely and I hate the dark.
5. How high have I climbed?
6. I cannot comprehend the beauty of this view.
7. I wish I could explain this feeling to others.
8. Sleep time.
9. I’m so warm.
10. I don’t want to get out of bed.
11. ****, I still don’t want to get out of bed.
12. I am now cold.
13. This feels higher when I can see the ground.
14. The sun makes everything so much easier.
15. Goodbye tree!

The Story
Ready to climb!


After one and a half hours (and lots of cursing) I finally got my throwline and myself into the tree.


It got dark quickly so I do not have pictures of my initial climb to the top but it was stunning at night. I climbed halfway down and set up the hammock. Just as I was getting into bed I DROPPED ONE OF MY PADS (I had two) and watched it float 50 feet to the ground. I decided I was way too lazy to get back out of the hammock, rappel down, and climb back up so I went without.

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GOOD MORNING! This was the first time EVER that I slept in all of my clothes and gear. I will continue to do this for the rest of my climbing career because it worked! My helmet was like a pillow!


Here is the view under my hammock (Note the pad I dropped highlighted in red, great huh?).


My safety gear:


Ok, this picture is for the 90% of you that didn’t listen to me when I said one thousand times that this tarp was for WINTER TIME ONLY!!!!! I do not need to worry about condensation because it just brushes off. This is all of the condensation that accumulated overnight (I brushed it off with one swipe of my hand).


Sitting in my hammock looking down:


My hammock viewed from the white pine:


My hammock viewed from the maple tree with the tarp deployed:


I rappelled to the ground just for a picture .


And then climbed ALL THE WAY back to the top!



All of the maple trees in the area topped out at about 60 feet, this white pine was about 90 feet (I couldn't reach the tip to do a measurement) and I had never climbed a white pine so that is why I chose the tree. This was the first time I ever tied my hammock between two trees and the effect was a rollercoaster ride ! I didn't have enough room to sleep within the pine and it wasn't windy enough to make the trees swing alot so I tied to the nearest tree and called it good. Someone mentioned that my hammock being tied to the ridgeline with paracord is a bad idea and I 100% agree. I have switched to some 5 mil cord that I had in my climbing supply. And to any of the arborists viewing this please tell me if you notice anything else unsafe as I am relatively new to tree climbing (opposed to you who work in the trees everyday).

Thanks guys and I hope you enjoyed my story!

Refreshing

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EDIT: There are a few more pictures and details on Page 3

EDIT: If you ever attempt to hang in the canopy DO NOT tie into two different trees like I did. The forces that the wind creates can be extremely dangerous! Make sure you are anchoring your hammock within only one tree.