Hanging your tarp

[Mark8408]

Alt.thomas going to give your way a try.

[Shug]

Yeah....use some straps for tarp (like tree huggers) at State Parks. Especially in campgrounds where the Rangers roam. Lots of rules in State Parks. Rangers enforce them.
That is the reason I backpack....I am left alone.
Shug

[Caminante]

I've had no issues in NC State Parks, thankfully. Otoh, I found out late one night in Yosemite that they require "padding". Turned out that chocking with twigs was fine, maybe that would work for your tarp? Pretty easy and quick on any reasonably sized tree.

[Afterparty]

Just add a toggle close as you can to the tree might work fine.

[Trackerfiend]

1 to 2 inch straps spread the load on the bark. Sticks don't do it unless they are thick enough not to bend which is a lot thicker than most folks think. Then you still need more than 4. Zing-it and similar lines are so thin that the load per unit area is high. That is the basic issue. Compressing the bark too much kills the tree by compressing the layer under the bark that is the only living wood in the tree.

I'm pretty certain it's not necessarily a load concern, but more a worry the line/s used could cut into the bark and eventually reach cambium layer, which could kill the tree.
That's a problem with the smaller diameter Dyneema based ridgelines, like Zing-it.
A couple of dead fallen sticks between the outer tree bark and your ridgeline( and now I guess your straps/huggers) should alleviate the direct pressure on the tree, preventing or at least minimizing the possible damage.
Then again...I guess it wouldn't cut into the bark at all without it being under some type of load.

What I find difficult is that I can't imagine the straps applying enough force to do any damage, nor a tarp having enough weight on the ridgeline to cause damage, unless it was a heavier tarp or the winds were jerking the tarp around hard enough to force the ridgeline to move enough to cut into the bark and damage the tree.

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[howlinmadman]

I just don't see how a tree could get that damaged from this. I have seen a tire or a metal pole or a telephone cable grown right into a full grown tree and it's not dead. I know it may not be as strong as another tree with nothing in it, but it didn't kill it. I won't do anything to purposefully damage trees, I use 1" straps and all that, I just think we should give trees a little more credit, they aren't that delicate!

[Caminante]

Besides damage to the cambium, anything that cuts through the bark exposes the tree to disease and bugs. Based on my observation, a 1" strap alleviates this worry, at least with the species I've hung on. Zing-it is pretty slicy stuff, and while a tarp hung here and there probably doesn't result in significant damage, I could see high-use areas being problematic.

The first time I was required to "pad" a tree was in Yosemite, which was for both the hammock and the tarp. Chocking w/sticks was acceptable and, to be honest, it was pretty fast and simple. Made the rangers happy, didn't much impact me. I'll probably adopt that going forward for my tarp when I'm camping in established sites, front- or backcountry.

[tangara]

Oh, but they are. A cut fully mostly around a tree (girdled) can kill a tree in a couple of years, depending on its age and species. We use that all the time for getting rid of invasives. It depends on how thick the cambium is. Some are very thin and can be cut very easiliy. It cuts off flow of sap if it goes too deep. A wire actually in the tree is safer to the tree than a cut, because the tree heals around it. Better safe than sorry.

[howlinmadman]

I'm sure you guys are correct, I know nothing about trees other than ducking when I have to mow around them! It's just crazy that a tire around the base of a young tree will grow right into the tree as it ages, yet a slice around it can sometimes kill it. I do love hanging in them though!!

[Caminante]

A tree growing around something like a tire or old chain doesn't create an open wound as opposed to slicing it with something. It is pretty wild how the grow around things. I always take pictures of trees in the mountains with roots growing around big boulders for some reason.