ViDEO: Tree Awareness when Hammock Camping or Lounging

[Shug]

Seems to me one of the most over-looked aspects of using and hanging hammocks is the trees we use to hang from.
There have been several hammock injuries and deaths in the last few years and it seems that most are due to folks hanging off dead or unhealthy trees.
It is always good to be reminded that we need to check the trees we hang from and the trees surrounding our hang.
And this goes for tenters as well as far as checking the trees you set-up under and the trees surrounding your site.
Speculate where a tree might fall. Will it possibly catch in other trees? Check for widow-makers...big branches that hang over you that are dead. Or even alive.
Do some research on the general health of trees.
Disclaimer: I am no expert on trees nor am I an arborist.
Be vigilant out there.
Shug


Signs of Unhealthy Trees......https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/uploadedFile...hy%20Trees.pdf

Timber!....http://www.safebee.com/home/timber-7...may-about-fall

[HELLZONE]

Thank you for the links, great info.

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[HandyRandy]

Awesome! Thank you, Shug! Looking forward to watching it after work


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[Jiffiboy]

Seems to me one of the most over-looked aspects of using and hanging hammocks is the trees we use to hang from.
There have been several hammock injuries and deaths in the last few years and it seems that most are due to folks hanging off dead or unhealthy trees.
It is always good to be reminded that we need to check the trees we hang from and the trees surrounding our hang.
And this goes for tenters as well as far as checking the trees you set-up under and the trees surrounding your site.
Speculate where a tree might fall. Will it possibly catch in other trees? Check for widow-makers...big branches that hang over you that are dead. Or even alive.
Do some research on the general health of trees.
Disclaimer: I am no expert on trees nor am I an arborist.
Be vigilant out there.
Shug


Signs of Unhealthy Trees.......https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/uploadedFile...hy%20Trees.pdf

Timber!....http://www.safebee.com/home/timber-7...may-about-fall

Link to signs of unhealthy trees not working for me shug!

[Cabmanhang]

That's a great PSA. I don't think people appreciate the forces at play when you hang hundreds of pounds from a pair of trees.

I've seen hollowed out oak trees, which appeared completely healthy, stand for twenty years before falling in the slightest breeze. No rhyme or reason.

Know your trees. If folks are going to depend on them for support, it is worthwhile to understand what you're looking at and hanging from.

Thanks for the info, Shug.

[Shug]

Link to signs of unhealthy trees not working for me shug!

Is for me....but....try again....https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/uploadedFile...hy%20Trees.pdf

That's a great PSA. I don't think people appreciate the forces at play when you hang hundreds of pounds from a pair of trees.

I've seen hollowed out oak trees, which appeared completely healthy, stand for twenty years before falling in the slightest breeze. No rhyme or reason.

Know your trees. If folks are going to depend on them for support, it is worthwhile to understand what you're looking at and hanging from.

Thanks for the info, Shug.

A constant quest to get more educated on that.

[mirrorslap]

I took a quick look at both links. Timber is a good read and when you add in the images from the Signs of Unhealthy Trees link/PDF it really comes together and is very useful info. thx for the post!

[knightshade]

Thanks for sharing!
Glad that you pointed out that these are things that tent campers should be aware of as well.
Feels like that is often overlooked as safety steps when selecting a camp site.

[TrailSlug]

Thanks for the reminder. It's so easy after a long hike to just look around for the nicest spot to hang and forget to look up at the hidden dangers.

[JSH]

Thanks for the good reminder and advice Shug. When I first started hanging several years ago I had read the admonitions on avoiding trees that might fall. Good advice then and now.

What I didn't appreciate as much until hanging in my backyard last fall was what ifs with a large limb in an otherwise healthy tree. One night the wind was blowing mildly and I woke up for some reason. Laying there for a few moments before drifting back to sleep I heard something "crack" and then a very loud thud. I remember thinking boy I'm glad whatever that was was away from me.

Turned out to be a 4 inch diameter dead limb that had been in the top canopy of a large very healthy white oak. The limb was rotten and had lost portions of its length previously but what was left was about 10 feet long. When I picked it up to get it out of the yard it weighed about 40 lbs. It fell about 60 feet and would have been bad had it hit my tarp/hammock. Since then I look at all the trees near where I hang including healthy trees that might have a bad limb up there. Thanks for the reminder.