Why Washington State Parks don't like Hammocks?

[smTim]

I was up with a scout troop at a WA State Park this last weekend. Those of us with Hammocks brought stands as we had read on the forums here that we were not allowed to hang from the trees.

In the camping area we came across several trees scared by hammocks that were not properly hung:

2013-11-09 12.48.27.jpg

2013-11-09 12.48.05.jpg

These were just a few of several trees where this had occurred. Very sad to see this.

On a positive note was able to use these as some teachable moments in Leave-No-Trace for the scouts. Have several into hanging and they all were fairly disgusted with what they saw.

[Refreshing]

On a positive note was able to use these as some teachable moments in Leave-No-Trace for the scouts. Have several into hanging and they all were fairly disgusted with what they saw.

Teach them young and advocate that they pass it on! I read on these forums that some ppl would use metal wire then leave it on the tree . If I was a parkranger and witnessed that I would probably react in the same manner as the ones making these rules.

[nothermark]

Ropes don't do damage - riigghhtt!

Thanks for the pictures. Maybe it will sink in some places.

[old4hats]

Thanks for the pics, people need to see what can happen when someone just doesn't care. Sadly, some damaging occurs to trees when otherwise responsible people just don't think, or worse, believe that the ropes provided with the hammock actually don't harm the trees.

[Short White Guy]

This is definitely an eye-opener. Thanks for sharing.

[Shug]

I was up with a scout troop at a WA State Park this last weekend. Those of us with Hammocks brought stands as we had read on the forums here that we were not allowed to hang from the trees.

In the camping area we came across several trees scared by hammocks that were not properly hung:

2013-11-09 12.48.27.jpg

2013-11-09 12.48.05.jpg

These were just a few of several trees where this had occurred. Very sad to see this.

On a positive note was able to use these as some teachable moments in Leave-No-Trace for the scouts. Have several into hanging and they all were fairly disgusted with what they saw.

Do you know for certain that those scars were made by hammocks? Not doubting you….just curious.
Those mossy trees look mighty soft.
Thanks.
Shug

[Mumbles]

Out here the moss can be really thick on giant trees. Unfortunately I too have seen damage on the trees left by rope suspensions. I have shown a few rangers the proper way to hang using web straps. Most are pleased with the non damaging webbing, none have budged on allowing hammocks.

[smTim]

Do you know for certain that those scars were made by hammocks? Not doubting you….just curious.
Those mossy trees look mighty soft.
Thanks.
Shug

Hi Shug. Yes - I (and others there) were convinced they were from hammocks. The scars lined up with each other on opposing trees, showed an angle appropriate for hanging, were the right distance apart, and were also at the right height for Hammocks. Once we found the first pair - several other "pairs" were seen as well.

[Detail Man]

So was the bark actually damaged, or was the moss just knocked off? What species of tree is that?

[smTim]

So was the bark actually damaged, or was the moss just knocked off? What species of tree is that?

The moss was the telltale sign and looking deeper could see that the bark was definitely damaged - looks like the suspension lines bit into them pretty good. If memory serves, these were Douglas Fir trees.