Hi,
I was just in CT and found they banned any tree attachments in State parks and forests. Can anyone confirm or comment on how to address this problem?
Hi,
I was just in CT and found they banned any tree attachments in State parks and forests. Can anyone confirm or comment on how to address this problem?
Unfortunately, this same thing has been reported by many others in regards to hanging hammocks at state parks. Each state will have their own rules. Here in Utah, they did a test at one of the state parks, where they set up basically a large jungle gym thing to hang hammocks from. I haven't heard if they decided to keep or expand this to other sites.
You could look on your state parks website, and see if they have someone you can contact to talk with. You may not change their mind, but it's something.
Solutions to addressing the problem: Tensa4, Tensa Solo attached to vehicle bumper, various Turtle Dog (two and three leg supports) designs. My experience with park officials is their hands are mostly tied. You might show them you are using 2-inch straps or putting sticks between the straps and tree bark. But the problem is, other campers don't notice that fitness; they just see a hammock. So they will complain or set theirs up with less attention to that detail.
Making the situation worse - many campsites have trees removed except for the border between the two sites. As such, a territorial issue (whose tree is it) ensues. Because tempers can grow hot, and we have ... well I'll avoid that topic and stick with hot tempers ... the poor park official wants to avoid that situation altogether.
Like a salesperson who welcomes an objection because then they know the issue they have to address, so it might be useful to find out why the ban was enacted in the first place. For example, if it is to eliminate territorial disputes, arguing that the straps don't hurt the bark would be ineffective.
My experience is that most of those who manage the park - most, not all - are reasonable, understanding people. But they have a job to do. The word from on high didn't say, "... ban them or not; it's your choice ..." So it helps to understand the position the park official is put in.
Once I was in a park that might have been a "no attachment" area - it was years ago, in Canada. I forget the specifics. But I put the hammock back in the trees (forest border, not between sites) where it blended in - not "in your face day-glow pink. And the park wasn't crowded, and there wasn't an adjacent camper.
These days - yes, it's "cheating" - I might set up the hammock when a park official isn't around, get the suspension distances set, then take it down and stash it in a tent. At night, after the last park official round, it would go back on the tree. First thing in the morning, it would come down again. It helped that those situations were mostly on islands where the park ranger arrived by boat.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
North Carolina allows hammocks at all state parks that allow camping. However, not all the camp grounds are hammock friendly ( lack of trees ect ). Ther last time I was at Stone Mt State Park, they had a map showing all the hammock friendly camp sites
I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !
More like playing the rules, but we digress.
Stealth camping. You don't use a lot of camo in your kit. Much easier to apologize when it's not totally obvious you were attempting to hide your camp.
Playing by the rules. Those are the rules.
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Yeah, I shouldn't have worded it like that. The situation I was remembering was NOT a blatant violation of posted rules. There were no posted rules. Had there been a clear sign: "No Hammocks Allowed." Of course, I wouldn't hang there.
Some people skirt the law with personal justifications. I see all the time when I see people justify their dog being off-leash in "Dogs must be on leash" areas, or people driving with a cell phone up to their ear.
We even have a ban on the length of pickup trucks that can use the downtown parking spaces (because the pickups are larger than what the diagonal spaces were designed for and adjacent cars have to back out blind - there's a special parking area for large trucks). When I was getting into my car adjacent to one of those behemoths, the owner approached the cab. In my best, non-accusatory, "Excuse me, did you just drop your wallet." voice, I said, "Just letting you know, there's a $340 fine if your ride extends over this line." His reply was, "Oh yeah, well they'll just have to get over it." I wonder if that works with other law enforcement issues? "Well officer, you'll just have to get over it."
Life is messy. There are fuzzy edges. A person can point out someone's "edges" while they themselves have their own. I'll avoid military justifications (it's okay for us, but not for them) as that would, and should, pull the whole post controversy.
And there are situational issues - greater good is different than just personal inconvenience. I was not advocating ignoring a POSTED "No Hammocks" area just as I would not advocate ignoring, "No Trespassing", or "Private Property" signs. I could have edited my post, taking out the "cheating" word - note that it was in quotes, not literal - after the above posted "rules" critiques, But we are having a week of 100° + temperatures; what's a little more heat
Last edited by cougarmeat; 07-24-2022 at 12:46.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
OK.. We went to a NC state park and talked to the ranger.. actually he found us. The park had 3 official campsites and upon talking to him he pointed us the best site. I told him that we were were using hammocks and it was no problem. Just ask. If no bueno just move on. No biggie. We could have just found another place.
Your previous post seemed to indicate hanging somewhere where you could have been cited, whether there was a "posted" sign or not. Did a rule/law exist or not? Most of the state parks that prohibit hanging don't have a sign saying so but it is in the printed rules for that location.
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