Do you know any "widows"?

[PappyAmos]

FireInMyBones had a very near miss while setting up in the dark at The Smoked Butt Hang.

[AA2FD]

FireInMyBones had a very near miss while setting up in the dark at The Smoked Butt Hang.

Was that tree noticeable during the daylight setup time? Perhaps it could have been marked somehow by those setting up during daylight. Real tough to see much of anything in the dark.

...Bob

[Theosus]

A group of us were setting up once along the foothills trail. As we were deciding on a campsite a tree 50-75 yards away dropped a huge branch. It came crashing through the brush and scared me. I thought a bear was charging down the hill or something.
If anyone had been under it, it definitely would have hurt them. The winds picked up pretty good that night, but we didn't hear anything else major coming down.

[PappyAmos]

Good point Bob!

Regards to the family.

[BananaHammock]

I was camping in a tent once with my family. There was a total of 3 tents. Two had people, one had food. We woke up to see our food tent crushed by a giant tree limb. Missed us by six feet.

[FireInMyBones]

FireInMyBones had a very near miss while setting up in the dark at The Smoked Butt Hang.

That one made my heart skip a beat or two.

Was that tree noticeable during the daylight setup time? Perhaps it could have been marked somehow by those setting up during daylight. Real tough to see much of anything in the dark.

...Bob

As it had been raining earlier that day and I set up in an area most others had overlooked because it was an area full of tight spots and uneven ground (great for hammocks, I think), I do not suppose anyone thought to do so.

I've been at hangs where people have warned others as they came in after dark, but that wasn't the case this time and at no fault (in my book) of those in attendance.

[Aardvark]

3 of us were camping in Sippsi Wilderness in Alabama, one of the members on here was spread between 2 trees maybe 10 feet from me. We had checked all the trees pretty good, plenty of foliage and about 10 inch diameter. About an hour after going to bed, I heard him yell and the thump and shake occurred, I rolled out of the hammy expecting to see him dead.

When I got the light on the tree, it was laying longways on the hammock and tarp. directly over it. He had rolled out to the left when it started to fall, missed him by inches. After investigation, the root ball had rotted away, and a large void, it snapped right at the base. We had a good 30 degree angle, just not a good day for the tree. So heavy it was difficult getting it off the hammock, which had no damage we could see.

15 minutes later, he was back hanging and had a good night.

Learning points? Rather marshy area at the time, and lots of damage from tornados year before. Could have had some effect on the tree.

[Womble]

I don't think it need lots of actual cases but rather some common sense. People get injured or worse killed all the time by falling branches and those guys were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now when you consider spending the next few hours under a pair of trees you better have a good look at them before you use them for hanging.

Just go to a natural forest and look at all those branches on the ground - they didn't grow there, they fell down...

[Five Tango]

I am offering this up to demonstrate the AWESOME power a falling branch(not a tree) actually has.Tree surgeons were doing some work for me on a Friday the 13th(not a good idea in retrospect) and a limb they were cutting from the trunk broke in half.The part of the limb that actually fell off was about 3.5 inches in diameter and 3 or 4 feet long.It did not fall all that far either,I will estimate less than 25 feet.
But when it impacted the roof of my house it was at a perfect ninety degree angle,pointy end down,and it punched thru the shingles,plywood,and wall board to stick its ugly head into the finished room over our garage.So just imagine if that were your chest.It taught me to look for healthy young trees with a healthy look to them.

[Algonquin_bound]

I wouldn't worry too much, and just use common sense.

If I was the paranoid type, I'd probably never drive to the store to buy milk..... cause I bet there's been a whole lot of people killed or injured just going to their local store.

Some people get hit by lighting, some win the lottery. Chances are you and I will never experience either. Getting killed by a tree while hanging in my hammock, I generally put in the same category.

I'm not afraid of being attacked by a rogue bear either.... but i guess it's possible, maybe even more likely..... Use decent trees and there should be no reason for concern....