Going to ground

[cmoulder]

My trade secret is that I won't go camping in the American Southwest because there are frequently no trees in many spots. I also don't camp above tree line because, again, there are no trees. It's pretty easy to avoid places with no trees if you plan properly.

Fortunately we live in a country where we can do that and still have plenty of options.

But it also rules out a lot of wonderful places. If you've never hiked the Grand Canyon, for instance, you're missing a great experience.

[cougarmeat]

If I know I’ll be in a rocky environment, I bring some small protection pieces from my rock climbing days. Just takes two openings in the rock the required distance; I place the rock gear and hang off it. But like card counting in BlackJack - just because you know when the deck will be “good”, doesn’t mean that it will be - so that just because you have rock climbing jams, doesn’t mean there will be a place to use them. But it’s not that much of a gamble/carry if there’s a high probability they could be used.

[HomesteaderWB]

Am I the only one who has experienced being absolutely forbidden to hang from a tree by the rules, (which in my case was gleefully enforced by park employees)?

[Boston Fan]

Am I the only one who has experienced being absolutely forbidden to hang from a tree by the rules, (which in my case was gleefully enforced by park employees)?

I was forbidden to hang at a state park once with my kids. Took a couple of Happy Meals and a Disney movie to stop the crying.

[LowTech]

Am I the only one who has experienced being absolutely forbidden to hang from a tree by the rules, (which in my case was gleefully enforced by park employees)?

Nope, we delt w/ that in a state campground. But I expected it and brought 4 closet rods w/ me (we were car camping).
4 Poles, 8 straps, 8 rebar ground stakes and we had two people hanging above ground.

[Phantom Grappler]

My trade secret is that I won't go camping in the American Southwest because there are frequently no trees in many spots. I also don't camp above tree line because, again, there are no trees. It's pretty easy to avoid places with no trees if you plan properly.

SilvrSurfr, you could hang off two saguaro cacti

If I got paid to tell lies
It just wouldn’t be as much fun

[LowTech]

SilvrSurfr, you could hang off two saguaro cacti

If I got paid to tell lies
It just wouldn’t be as much fun

That could be fatal! They don't have that good a root system (other than for sucking up water) and pulling one down on you would not only flatten you (hundreds of pounds) but fill you w/ holes.
On top of that most desert people would think the flattened person was stupid but would feel bad about the Saguaro and probably start a GoFundMe to get equipment to stand it back up.
They are after all the Elders of the desert world being near a hundred before starting to put out arms.

[Phantom Grappler]

Please pardon my prickly attempts at humor and laughter. While I’m not 2successful in delivering laughter and joy, I realize the importance of not taking one’s self too seriously.

Saguaro cactus is a whole nother kind of animal. Probably on some endangered species list. And they are routinely and illegally uprooted, stolen and sold for high dollar to customers who are more interested in looks than life.

SilvrSurfr is one of my Hammock Forums friends, even though we’ve never met. We both enjoy a good story. And we all enjoy hammocks.

The essence of humanity, is a touch of insanity…
But some people are cray cray

Happy Super Bowl Weekend Everybody
And tomorrow is Valentines Day

In honor of the chocolate goddess of Valentines
God’s gonna love you
Your Momma’s gonna love you
And your Dog’s gonna love you

After that it’s fifty-fifty
That oughta be enough, if you got a hammock

[SilvrSurfr]

Fortunately we live in a country where we can do that and still have plenty of options.

But it also rules out a lot of wonderful places. If you've never hiked the Grand Canyon, for instance, you're missing a great experience.

Long before I ever started hammock camping, I lived in Arizona for four years. Though I never hiked the Grand Canyon, I spent a lot of time hiking and camping, in and around Tucson, Arizona. My usual haunts were the Santa Catalina, Rincon and Tucson mountain ranges, though I did spend time out in the desert as well.

The scenery and the absolutely brutal weather conditions make it one of the most fascinating places I've ever seen. My sister and her dim-witted husband were rescued more than once by the authorities, and they never carried enough food or water to survive. After rescuing them a couple of times, the authorities told them that the next time they had to be rescued, they would be charged $25,000. My sister and her husband haven't needed rescuing since!

While I would love to visit the Grand Canyon, I'm okay with it being on my list of places I'll never see. I've travelled extensively in Europe and probably have 20 countries under my belt. You can't go everywhere!

SilvrSurfr, you could hang off two saguaro cacti

That doesn't sound advisable. I was hiking in the Rincon Mountains once, and found a rib from a saguaro cactus that made an excellent hiking staff. When I hiked back to my car, there were some park rangers or some kind of law enforcement there. They said, "I hope you aren't planning on taking that saguaro rib, because that's against the law." So I chucked the saguaro rib back into the desert and avoided prosecution!

[HomesteaderWB]

I was forbidden to hang at a state park once with my kids. Took a couple of Happy Meals and a Disney movie to stop the crying.

It took me a couple of fingers of bourbon to stop my crying.