i like your questions, uninjured, there ought to be a prize for best questions here. remind me to buy you a beer whenever i see you
first thing i'd do, as you're talking 50lbs, and this is already "significant(TM)", is look up "friction saver", this is something arborists use, it's a bit magical, it's not so hard to make one, and because of the magic it's fun to use imho. this will both protect the branch you're hanging the bag from, and save you the added friction and wear on your bearbag rope. you can easily make one yourself, with a bit of webbing and two strategically sized rings. i think this is the most important part, you know my style of posting by now, so the boring overengineered stuff follows, feel free to skip
i would make a loop of rope (of your choice, for this kind of load i think it need not be webbing or anything special), probably about 2m in length should do (or 6ft-ish?), make a fixed loop on one end (a modified bowline, or whatever you like), i'd use this as the "tree strap", wrap it around the tree, and using the end without the fixed loop, make a slipped buntline hitch, this will cinch nicely around the tree, and come untied quite easily (but if you have another quick release hitch you like better, go for that). now on the actual throwline/bearbag line, i'd use a uni-shackle rigged as a tensioner (so with the tending loop), tail tied around the bearbag line as a blake hitch, and going through the tending loop. you close the shackle part on the fixed loop of the makeshft treestrap described above, and then litterally walk away with the free end of the bearbag line, this will hoist the load (going smoothly through the friction saver), and will provide progress capture (if you let go of the line, it will just stay where it is). it's a bit more trouble to setup the unishackle at first than just tie a knot, but it's only three knots instead of one, and just once. after that, you litteraly just clip the uni-shackle into the fixed loop, and then walk away (so for repeated use, it's worth it i think). your friends will be impressed if nothing else, they'll also never want to leave that thing on the ground again, given this is so much more fun to do, but you can't have it all.
(do i make any sense?)
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