that fall was in the smokies np.i think.we were a day behind.you were the talk of the town. im glad you made it ok.the fight for you wb and tarp would have been bloody.
i now have a wb after getting in yours.love those mail drops
that fall was in the smokies np.i think.we were a day behind.you were the talk of the town. im glad you made it ok.the fight for you wb and tarp would have been bloody.
i now have a wb after getting in yours.love those mail drops
An impressive message there, cannibal! Almost terrifying, to think of the possibilities. I think that risk is why I prefer to have my hammock just a few inches off of the ground, or just high enough for my quilt to be a few inches above ground. Not that I always do that, and when I do it sucks getting in and out of the hammock, but I try to hang pretty low. And I get to sleep easier knowing that if something gives I won't fall 3 or 4 feet.
My first night ever hanging in a hammock, that night in the Wind Rivers, I really had my hang spots limited because I was trying to find a spot that didn't have a mean looking rock centered between the 2 trees. Imagine what even a 2 foot fall onto a sharp(or any kind of) rock with your spine would do for you?
I know folks hang over all kinds of stuff, and that is even part of the attraction of using a hammock. Like how if you have two trees, you are good to go, regardless of the ground under you. But I usually keep a little lower than optimum, and attempt to avoid ugly roots and rocks under me, if at all possible. Avoiding those rocks can be tougher in the Rockies or out west in general. But here is MS, rocks are rarely a problem, though roots can be a challenge. I'll hang on a good slope without hesitation, but I try to avoid that other stuff. Again, if possible. And it usually is possible.
One thing I hate about my Vario hammock stand is that steel bar that is beneath me. If I ever hit that, even with some padding, it is going to hurt.
great learning lesson and really glad you were not to badly hurt.
I like to keep a check of my main knots, both the ones I tie to the tree straps and the one that stays at each end of my hammock (rope goes through channel on end of my hammock) This end knot is a bowline and I've never heard of one slipping but... never say never... checking them the other day, I found one had indeed slipped, and slipped so far that it was in danger of coming undone because the end of the rope was at the knot. I untied both ends and put a simple stopper knot (I don't know if it's even got a name) on each end of the rope and then tied the bowline just below that. I'm using amsteel rope and maybe that's why the bowline sliped??? Anyways, good thing to always keep a check on are your knots, especially the main ones that hold you up!!
Wow, what a story. You had me on the edge of my seat until the end--great storyteller. Glad you weren't hurt more badly than you were. That could have been devastating...
--Scott <><
"I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful... because, in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience...." --Robert Traver
I was told to step ON logs (assuming they were large enough to be stable), particularly in the summer. Reason being that a Rattler or a Copperhead might be coiled up under the other side & steeping on then well past the log would keep you more out of harms way.
Pros & cons
I too will something make and joy in it's making
Great story and advice. Thanks Cannibal.
Heck of a story, glad you are OK.
Add me to the list of people interested in the scary noise from the woods.
The sound.
We never did figure out what it was. It was a repeating burst that seemed to go to crescendo, then fall back off. Memory is faded now, but it seems the bursts were in sets of about 10, or so. It did not resemble anything myself or any of the other hikers had ever heard. I can't even describe it very well, but it was not a warm and comforting sound to hear in the woods. Every horror movie I'd ever seen was replaying in my mind. It was quite frightening. I asked about it in the next several towns and any hiker that would listen to me try to recreate it. One fella told me he was pretty sure he knew what it might have been, but I've long ago forgot what he told me. General agreement is that it was some type of owl. Somewhere in this great tangle of threads, this came up before. Somebody posted a link to a site with probably a hundred recorded owl calls. I went through each and every one of them. Some were similar in some fashion, but none was an absolute "That's It!" moment. I believe I posted the ones that sounded the closest in that thread. Where it's at is an entirely different matter. Perhaps the angrysparrow can swoop down from atop of his search post and find it for us, but I couldn't find the thread with a quick search.
We all laughed at my poor attempt at humor because we were all quite frightened and unnerved by the sound. It wasn't far at all from the shelter; sounded like maybe 60 yards at its most distant point. It was obviously getting closer between calls. I would guess that if I had actually taken my head out from under my quilt and stuck it out of the hammock, my headlamp might have seen it when it was at its closest. I don't think it could have been more than 40 or 50' away. Of course, we all know that monsters can't find you if you're under a blanket. I assumed quilts work under the same principals, so my head stayed put right where it was thank you very much. I could go my whole life without hearing it again and die a happy man.
Trust nobody!
If God had meant for us to sleep on the ground,
He wouldn't have created trees....
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.” - John Muir
I searched for the thread and found this
Spooky Hanging
I listened to the three you listed and the hybrid sound would scare the crap out of me if I heard it in the woods at night.
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