The article doesn't state if it was one of the trees the hammock was suspended from or not. This did take place in west Florida so I suspect that the ground was saturated from the recent hurricane blowing through. It's rare that a healthy palm tree just falls over but not unheard of.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/florida-wo...her/1538871025
That park is about 25 minutes from me. We got essentially no out-of-the-ordinary weather from Michael passing off the Gulf coast, so I wouldn't chalk it up to abnormally wet ground. I know some palms have really small root balls, and it doesn't take much force to pull/push them over.
I hung a woven cotton hammock between my lanai and a palm tree in my backyard years ago. It was pretty stout and I never considered it might fail, but I guess it could have at any time... especially since it was a pretty shallow hang.
It's tragic that this woman died, but I hope this doesn't lead to hammock bans in FL state parks.
So sad.
I've been doing a lot of camping lately, much more than sleeping in a bedroom. I occasionally hear limbs and trees coming down. My observation is that it doesn't matter whether hammock or tent or sleeping out on the ground; if a tree comes down and you're under it.
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Mike
"Life is a Project!"
That's so sad, and so young too.
Don't let life get in the way of living.
In Florida, a palm tree fell on a person in a hammock, the person died at the hospital.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...da/1722418002/
In south Texas, I used to see semi loads of mature palm trees coming in for the landscape trade. They had almost no root ball. I would never hang from one. Ever.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
From a neighbor’s yard in Galveston, we transplanted two semi mature palms 25 yrs ago, and those trees have withstood some serious storms and standing water after epic prolonged flooding. Palms, and I imagine it depends on the variety, are known to be good trees in coastal environments.
If transplanted, they must be planted correctly in suitable soil and habitat, and that’s after being removed from the ground with the entire rootball intact, and transported under conditions favorable to tender roots. Tall order. Those palms zipping down the highway from coastal sand to black gumbo by a contractor who knows zip about horticulture...poor trees, and potential hammock hangers. Gringo’s right, don’t do it.
Having planted, by hand, acres of trees, I’ve come to the conclusion that the smaller the planted tree, the better. Now, I throw out acorns and let nature decide what to do. Mother Nature has been far more successful than my efforts. It’s amazing how seedlings catch up to 10 gallon potted transplants.
This is my worst fear! Several years ago I was in Yosemite and heard that a woman was killed when a branch crashed into her tent. Ever since, I’ve taken great care at surveying the branches above and the conditions of the trunk I’m attaching to.
I wonder if any of the tarp makers have ever experimented with falling branches to see how much weight they’ll deflect before tearing. I’m guessing pitch and angle would play a significant factor but I’ve always wondered this.
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"Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!"
-Captain Henry P. Crowe, USMC
When it is your time.... it is your time. I hiked the northern part of the AT in the 90s and there was a hiker killed in his tent during that season along the trail. The branch ended him.
My non-hiking friends always think I'm wreckless by hiking alone. They worry about cougars, bears and the nuttier one's Sasquatch.
One day we all take our last breath. If I die from the comfort of a hammock spending my last days in the wilderness, I'll have accomplished my mission in life.
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