My big fear

[lazy river road]

The best advice I have to offer is Trust your gut, trust your instincts what ever happens don't panic and stay calm and most importantly have fun. Worrying about the things that can go wrong make us think about how we can stay safe so I say worry on and keep safe but don't let the worries overcome you to a point where it prevents you from doing what we all love to do and that is sleep in the trees.

[OneThing]

I actually find I feel better if I have someone else with me who is more scared than me and then I go into Mamma Bear Protection mode and be brave for their sake. The friend I am going with is just as tough as me, if not slightly tougher, which makes me more worrisome. I am not afraid of storms in fact I love them..... So I will be fine its just the letting go of the tent I think, which is strange because after my first night in a hammock I swore I would never sleep on the ground again. I have yet to go on a trip where other was not a tent to crawl intoif I needed too.... Not that I have needed to....... But essentially one day I hope to hike the Appalachian Trail, and won't bring a tent, so I got to let go..... And this trip will prove that I can do it.

Fear is based on lost of control/No Control over a situation. Having to be the Mamma Bear, gives you back some of that control. It's a weird way we learn to cope as humans. (I should add, that it's not really a bad way to cope. We all have to do what we have to do to get us through the scary crap in life)

I've been using a hammock almost full time (365 days a year) since 2003. I still at times love setting up my tent & laying on Terra firma. One of these days I might get a hammock tent. The best of both worlds...

[SilvrSurfr]

I was in my garage once, with the door open, watching a beautiful thunderstorm. Suddenly a bolt of lightning came straight down maybe 30 or 40 ft from me. I had never been that close to a lightning strike and was in awe. It was the most awesome thing I had ever seen.

Of course, the lightning bolt split our massive oak tree in half, then went through the front porch and directly hit my dog and her puppies laying underneath. It was not a pretty sight - they never knew what hit them.

Your odds of getting hit by lightning in a given year are somewhere between one in 280,000 and one in one million. The odds of a tree falling on you are probably considerably greater, maybe one in 1,000.

I like this guy's approach to reducing risk:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/sc...isks.html?_r=0

Pay attention to the risks you can control rather than the ones you can't control.

[Brian Miller]

I am a brand newb to hanging and share the same concern as the OP. When mountaineering I always checked weather and avalanche forecasts before leaving, and had a backup or would scrub. I knew what cloud formations to look for and other weather indicators if on the lee side of the range. I tested the snowpack for the slope exposure I would be on. I looked for rockfall, deadfall, and other potential hazards I knew to look for. When camping below timberline in a tent I wasn't as concerned about falling branches because there had to be enough space between the trees to pitch my tent so I could see a ways up into the crown and there is a little less exposure.

I will be heading out with experienced hangers who can help me learn what to look for for awhile though.

[LFCRed]

You could get weather radio and beat an honorable retreat if you thought it was going to get too nasty for you.

[BillyBob58]

I am getting ready for a real hammocking trip. It is real because me and my friend will not bring a tent as back up. I have spent the night in my hammock in the woods, in the cold, in the rain. I feel confident that I have a set up that works. Here is my fear.... What if really severe winds happen and my tree gets blown over? What if a big branch falls on me? I know to look for widow makers, but I have seen straight line winds knock out big live branches. I am going to go to North Manitou Island which is in the middle of Lake Michigan. I have personally been to this island when there were gale force winds. I set up my tent in an open field with a tarp as a wind breaker. We were fine. The next morning met up with another hiker who had a tree branch fall on his tent. I was glad I stayed away from trees that night. Also what if my tree gets struck by lightning? When you are North Manitou Island you do not have a car close by. You only leave the island by the ferry or a really expensive coast guard rescue. I know that I am ready to leave the tent at home, but what if?

Your concerns are completely valid. The biggest risk, or at least what concerns me most if camping under trees, is large branches or entire trees fallin, storm or no storm.

Can't you take a pad in case you go to ground? Pitch with walking poles at foot and head to make a low ridge tent with hammock and tarp both attached.

That is the key right there. I an always prepared to go to ground, Though the last time I did was twice on my 1st trip over 6 years ago.

Falling tree or heavy branch will take you out in a tent as well. .....

This is absolutely true, there is no difference. But I know that what you (OP) are thinking is valid, because I have had the same thoughts: with your tent you would just get away from the trees out in the meadow. Once I was camped up in the Rockies in a place where there were so many widow makers that it was impossible to set up out of reach of one. I couldn't help but remember my little 4 season tent that was so easy to set up in meadows, as there was a meadow close by, as is often the case up there. But, you just need to be fully competent at using your tarp/hammock as a bivy on the ground. It won't be as nice as a tent, but if you set it up really low and stake it out well and weight with rocks, it should hold. Also, you might be able to find some extra protection/wind break for your tarp in the form of small trees/fallen trees/rocks and still be out of the range of the big trees and branches.

Also, keep in mind BillyBob's hammock rule #1: I always choose the smallest trees that will hold me off the ground, as far away from big trees as possible. Which usually adds some challenge, and often ends up less than perfect. But I always try hard to do that to the best of my ability. If things are going to fall on you, smaller is better.

Plenty of safer locations back from Lake Michigan. If the weather gets really bad, no one is safe. Choose your site with the predicted weather in mind. Most of the birch trees are rotted, so stay clear of them.
Have fun!

Yep, protected site as best you can, and always be ready to go to ground if you are worried danger from above is high.

I was in my garage once, with the door open, watching a beautiful thunderstorm. Suddenly a bolt of lightning came straight down maybe 30 or 40 ft from me. I had never been that close to a lightning strike and was in awe. It was the most awesome thing I had ever seen.

Of course, the lightning bolt split our massive oak tree in half, then went through the front porch and directly hit my dog and her puppies laying underneath. It was not a pretty sight - they never knew what hit them. ...................

That is horrible, SS! Lightening came into my living room, bored a hole through the slab about the size of a quarter and started a fire one morning about 0430. Much was ruined, but neither man nor beast was hurt.

[WV]

Also, keep in mind BillyBob's hammock rule #1: I always choose the smallest trees that will hold me off the ground, as far away from big trees as possible. Which usually adds some challenge, and often ends up less than perfect. But I always try hard to do that to the best of my ability. If things are going to fall on you, smaller is better.

This is probably the best concrete suggestion you'll receive.

You're asking the right questions. Ask each one once, consider the possible answers, and move on.

Have a good trip. If things really don't look right, don't go.

[OneThing]

Your odds of getting hit by lightning in a given year are somewhere between one in 280,000 and one in one million.

I remember reading about Ranger Roy Sullivan, who was hit 7 times by lighting during his career.

Ranger Roy Sullivan

Wow!

[OCDave]

It wouldn't be an adventure if we knew the outcome at the outset. Breathe in, breathe out, move forward.

Good luck.

[FLRider]

Risk assessment is, quite possibly, the most important safety tool for anything in life, let alone being out on your own in the wilds. Plan for what you can, and always keep the "STOP" acronym in mind: Stop, Think, Observe, and Plan before you act. Good observational skills and an unwillingness to panic are the two best habits to have in the wilderness.

On the other hand, if it turns out that it's your time, all the planning and safety precautions in the world aren't going to save you. There's a fairly famous quote from (if memory serves) Suzuki Roshi: "Live each day as if you were going to live forever and as if you knew you were going to die tomorrow." Like a lot of Zen philosophy, you can argue the meaning 'till your face turns blue, but I take it to mean that you should plan for what you can and then live as hard as you can, 'cause you never know.

Be safe and have a fun trip.