Widowmakers

[gargoyle]

great post.

Most of us carry some extra cordage of some type.

It may be some good insurance to "store" that between our 2 hang trees when it is not being used otherwise.


I've chosen Dynaglide for my adjustable ridgline as well as my tarp ridgeline with safety in mind as well.

Life is dangerous.

DG will provide some additional protection, but a fifteen pound branch traveling down from fifty feet up will be going 40 mph. roughly. That will probably be enough to do damage to you and the tarp.

Don't rely on the tarp ridgeline to protect you. No matter what you use.

[GingivitisKahn]

This thread needs more pictures. I took this one of this tall (well, formerly tall) oak with its broken crown with the intention of posting it here for a laugh at one point. Later in the season after I took this, I actually saw some nitwit sitting at the base of this tree. He waved to me. Heh.

[Shug]

Them there WidowMakers and Suspicious Trees make me a bit wary. I always check around and try to speculate on the fall of a dodgy tree.
My only recourse is that Golf is dangerous as well.
Camp on.......
Shug

[Chard]

There was no sound, except an occasional drip of moisture falling through the still leaves. For the moment there was no whispering or movement among the branches; but they all got an uncomfortable feeling that they were being watched with disapproval, deepening to dislike and even enmity. The feeling steadily grew, until they found themselves looking up quickly, or glancing back over their shoulders, as if they expected a sudden blow.

Name the source...

As far as widowmakers go, hammocks or tents, if you're going to be under a canopy, you've got to take the time to really look at the trees and spot those unhealthy limbs. That's part of the risk of setting up at dusk or in the dark. If you don't like the look of the trees, move on!

For me it goes back to basic site selection. If I'm expecting a storm or high winds, I try to find a small copse of medium sized evergreens, something we have in abundance here in Ontario. They don't have death dealing limbs, and their bushy nature acts as a natural windbreak. Best of both worlds.

It's a little tougher to find similar areas when hiking in hardwood forests, but not impossible.

Just remember driving to and from the trailhead is BY FAR the most dangerous part of your adventure.

[BillyBob58]

I just realized that this thread may scare some out of the woods. That was so NOT my intent.

And, I must add that most likely any widow makers would be very dead before falling, so all precautions you can take will help. BUT, I also need to say that almost anything you do has some risk, even just sitting on the couch watching TV all the time can be bad for you.
What prompted this post was,,,, I guess,,, surprise at the nature of the tree that fell in my back yard. Sorry, I tried to get a good photo, no go. Anyway, I could see it, this 8" diameter Locust snapped off about 2' above the ground. For those that don't know trees, locust is what they use for fence posts. It is VERY tough wood. AND, this tree wasn't the oldest or tallest in my back yard. In fact, I have 2 dead trees* that are taller, & near enough that they should have caught the same gust of wind. This was by far a freak occurrence, but I'm hoping it gets us to thinking more about where we camp, "Just in case!"



*the dead trees are out of the way of my hanging sites, & I leave them up for the 3 local woodpeckers.

Strong storms blew through last night at my lake house in the Poconos (northeastern PA). A very healthy looking branch was laying at the base of one of my hanging trees. If I was backpacking I would have hung from a similar tree w/o hesitation. As a matter of fact, I would have been looking for a tree so healthy. ...

After several years of hanging, I have become far more "paranoid" about trees and branches than I ever was about bears, snakes, even lightning. Only because this hobby has caused me to become very aware of the hundreds of fallen trees or even more stout fallen branches I see every where every time I hike. And the fact is there just isn't much you can do about it, at least not in most places I hike. With careful site selection and observation, you can put the odds more in your favor, maybe a lot more. But the danger remains significant IMO.

I always try to get the smallest trees that will not bend with my weight. If one of them is pulled down on me by the force of my weight or by a severe storm (wind or ground saturation) I figure the chance of surviving the smaller tree- or any branches it may drop- is much improved. However, there is usually no where I can set up where there are not multiple giant trees that could reach me if they either fall down in a storm, or just fall down for no apparent reason. And for the latter, I once was attaching my hammock to some small trees- on a clear calm day- and observed a big tree just fall over one hundred or so yards away. I have noticed recently(very near this same spot), with all of these bad storms, big healthy looking trees coming down where I hike. One with an enormous root system pulled up, another (2 or 3 feet in diameter) snapped off about 4 feet above ground. This tree was about 20 yards from a campsite where I was when I observed the big tree just fall over.


Falling trees and branches kill people every year, they even kill people inside cars and houses. I think if you choose to sleep in the woods (or even your back yard) near trees, there isn't a whole lot you can do to get rid of the risk, though I suppose you can tilt the odds somewhat back in your favor. Other than that, if you are going to be out there, you just have to live with the risk, even on calm nights. The danger shoots way up when stormy.

I hate to sound pessimistic, but that's just how I feel, though it doesn't keep me out of the woods. These days, when I am relaxing in my hammock in the woods, I can't help that notice that very short distances from me, I can see abundant evidence of falling (and big enough to hurt/kill) wood. Some very recent, some quite old and rotting. Still, it is every where around me. Sometimes I am even hanging over a branch or tree that has already fallen. IOW, I likely would have chosen that spot before that wood fell. Trees and branches that do not appear dead or even sick fall all the time.

[Strung out]

DG will provide some additional protection, but a fifteen pound branch traveling down from fifty feet up will be going 40 mph. roughly. That will probably be enough to do damage to you and the tarp.

Don't rely on the tarp ridgeline to protect you. No matter what you use.

No doubt that any type of ridgeline will not keep you 100% safe.

I simply chose to use something a little stronger than lash-it/ zing-it hoping to tip the odds a bit more in my favor.



A few years ago in the BWCA, we got stuck on an island in a storm for the night.
tent space was very limited.

there was a 5-6"" pine tree that was definitely leaning a little, and the roots were lifting a bit.

We tied it to 3-4 other healthy trees with some decent spectra core rope, and weathered the storm there.

Sketchy, but we made it through.

[Doctari]

Update pictures: #1 is about 15' from where the tree broke off, I can't get down that far, & all pics are into the sun. My hand is 4" wide, so the tree at it's breaking point is about 10" or more wide. AND, I was wrong, the tree itself was about 60' tall, with the part that fell breaking off about 20' up from the ground.
Pic #2 is exactly where my hand was.
Pic #3 is the now withered leaves showing that when it fell it was healthy, & numbers 1 & 2 show intact & healthy bark.

I cleared the area in my camping spot & trust me when I say that this was a sturdy tree. My first hit with the axe just bounced off, barely denting the bark. Yea, I thought I had hit it with the hammer end of the axe head.

[Oms]

It's the squirrels, they are conspiring against us "Okay Rocky, chew a little more inside that one"

[Doctari]

It's the squirrels, they are conspiring against us "Okay Rocky, chew a little more inside that one"

You know, my regular 5 squirrels have been conspicuously absent for the past week. Are you suggesting that perhaps they have gone into hiding?!?!

That makes it so very clear now!!







Seriously, "MY" Squirrels have been only at the feeders in the morning lately. They like being fed in the morning & I've been feeding them (& the birds) mid afternoon the past month or so. That is still funny though.

[Knotty]

Vitamaltz and BB58 offer good advice. Hanging from smaller trees that are up for the task may be the safest option.