Too many converts!

[Lorax]

I've been hanging for 11 years and it was extremely rare to see anyone with a hammock. And like Doctari said a few posts up about we never thought we'd be mainstream and yet here we are.
Now I find it odd to paddle past any group site and not see at least one hanger.

I think of hammocking like the mountain bike craze of years ago when it first started. They used the same trails and issues started to happen with increased use and erosion on trails. Also new trails were being made outside the boundaries and the mountain bikers started to get a bad reputation. Pretty soon places were designated off limits to bike use.
So what happened? The mountain bikers started to police their ranks, get organized and form regional chapters to promote responsible biking in the forests and even volunteered to help rehab trails and work with parks people to fix the problem and push towards muti-use. Now you don't hear much about what was once a huge problem and the mountain bikers have really cleaned up their image.
As hammockers, we should keep from having it even become a problem in the first place. Just because you don't temporarily flatten the weeds doesn't necessarily make us LNT if we cut and slash at the areas surrounding our hammock trees. Over time, it's just as bad as overuse. The areas I've seen will be as bare as tent pads in just a few short years.

Something to think about.

[old4hats]

I have been to Raven Cliffs to hang on two occasions and once a week ago to show the place to some friends. The place abounds with beauty. The place looks terrible. "Campers", of whatever variety, have been very abusive of the trees in the area. Nails and ax scars on too many to count. Trees also being cut for fire wood, and fire pit areas with the "usual" burnt cans and other trash. This place could be an example of how beautiful areas like this can be, instead of being in competition as a "poster child" for poor camping practices. When I am there I can't help but wonder if we will long be able to continue using the area. It is probable that being so close to the parking area contributes to the problem, making it easier to get to. What can we do? Outside of setting a good example, and helping to clean the areas up as we leave, probably not much, but I do believe that we should at least do that. Thanks for listening.

[cfi on the fly]

I take a yearly trip the boundary waters canoe area each summer with some of my family and friends. Two years ago I was the only hanger. Last year was my 9 year old sons first year and he wanted to hang so I got him all set up. My brother brought along his ENO but spent the night in his tent. This year I think we are going to have 5 hangers in the group! Great problem to have but I am afraid of not finding camp sites with enough trees to accomodate all of us.

This site has been a godsend of information, after hanging by accident the first year i found the site. I set off making a few Pluqs and tarp tie outs. A big thanks to all that have been so helpful and all of you that have sold me gear. I now get accused of being addicted to hammock forums and shopping for gear. (crazy wife).

If you havnt seen it yet, check out this site....

http://www.mncanoeing.com/

Im trying to spread the word so that people that have used particular campsites can comment on the availability of trees in their review of campsites. Would definately help all of us that use the Boundary Waters. Its also a great site for planning your trip.

Agree, becoming more mainstream could mean more abuse of trees leading to a blanket statement of no hammocking allowed in the Boundary Waters.

[dammfast]

That is great. I have a couple of pictures and maybe a few videos of some of the campsites. I will see if I can find them again. Looks pretty new how long has it been up?

[cfi on the fly]

That is great. I have a couple of pictures and maybe a few videos of some of the campsites. I will see if I can find them again. Looks pretty new how long has it been up?

Its only been operational a couple months. Its really fantastic for route planning w. portage and paddling time, distance and route suggestions. Can then load routes into gps format and utilizes google maps.