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  1. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by RADHiker View Post
    ChiefDuffy, which tarp setup did you use? We rode out a vicious storm last night at Grayson (thankfully in the shelter) and I'm sure my tarp setup would have been ripped to shreds. What works best for string winds?
    I have the old Speer Winter Tarp. It has 4 tie-downs on each side, but is a square (rectangular) tarp, not cat-cut. That's a lot of tiedowns to mess with, but it sure makes a difference in high winds! If I think bad weather is coming, I put a rock or heavy piece of wood on each stake. I also try to stake to bushes or tree roots instead of using stakes whenever possible.
    Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. -Kahlil Gibran

  2. #22
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Last night in Boone, NC conditions approximated the title of this thread. Temperatures for the week are predicted to range from mid-70s to mid-50s. Perfect.
    Mountain time.
    Island time.
    Good time.
    This is Paradise. I need a cheeseburger.
    Cheers Y'all.

    Wayne
    Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
    https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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  3. #23
    Springer to Elk Park, NC/Andover to Katahdin
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    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    What was it that allowed you to stay dry, or more over (as I'm a ground clown) what was it that got them wet...other than the water.
    Flash flood type rain that poured into the tents while I remained high and dry above it.
    I am not young enough to know everything.

  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by SouthMark View Post
    Flash flood type rain that poured into the tents while I remained high and dry above it.
    ah yeah, that'll do it every time, in the wake of the flood.

  5. #25
    Registered User dla's Avatar
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    Stay off the mountain tops and ridge lines. Never pitch in a burn area and check your trees for widow-makers. I personally don't like to camp up above 9000' or so because the weather just seems wilder the higher you go (assuming you can find two trees).

    I try to avoid really big old ponderosa pines because they can have widow-makers way up where I can't see from the ground. Younger trees are safer IMO.

    My WBBB setup has ridden out some good storms - so I'm pretty confident. I added an Under-Quilt Protector this year which I really like so far.

  6. #26
    Registered User ChuckT's Avatar
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    07-17-2013
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    Cocoa, FL
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    "Never pitch in a burn area" For why anyway???
    Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost

  7. #27
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChuckT View Post
    "Never pitch in a burn area" For why anyway???
    Many dead snags ready to fall in the slightest of breezes.

    Wayne
    Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
    https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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  8. #28

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    Thanks, CD. That one looks pretty solid. I'm going to give hanging a try......thanks for sharing
    "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver

  9. #29
    Registered User NY Hour's Avatar
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    Nice - the Andre Jamet. Brings back memories of my childhood My dad's was hunter safety orange, indestructible would be an understatement
    Been watching Ebay for one of these rare tents

  10. #30
    Registered User ChuckT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    Many dead snags ready to fall in the slightest of breezes.

    Wayne
    Hmm, walked right into that one
    Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost

  11. #31
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    It's all good. I would not have figured it out if I had not been to a big burn area in Texas recently.

    Wayne
    Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
    https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
    FlickrMyBookTwitSpaceFace



  12. #32
    Registered User gunner76's Avatar
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    At the first Grayson Fall Hang the only person to get wet was a person in their tent and they got a new trail name....Soggy
    Hammock Hanger by choice

    Warbonnet BlackBird 1.7 dbl


    www.neusioktrail.org

    Bears love people, they say we taste just like chicken.

  13. #33
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    Merry 2012 AT blog
    "Not all those who wander are lost."

  14. #34
    Registered User Theosus's Avatar
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    Although I realize that I could be hit in some fashion by lightning, I would much prefer to be hanging between two trees essentially isolated from the ground, than sitting mostly on the ground surrounded by a few lightning rods (tent poles). In either case, lightning directly to the tree one is attached to or to the tent poles is probably going to end badly... And I would expect exploding tree bark may cut your tree straps and dump you on the ground any way. I've been about twenty feet from a tree that was obliterated by a lightning strike, but fortunately was in a car at the time.
    I love the "anvil crawlers" on that video, the ones that come out of the cloud and streak across the underside of the storm. They can be beautiful and impressive, and from my experience they tend to stay up there and not reach out and touch the ground. I photograph lightning, and there's not much that can make the heart pound like standing in a field next to a metal tripod with your hand on a button, while a big storm crosses...
    Please don't read my blog at theosus1.Wordpress.com
    "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Thank God for Search and Rescue" - Robert Frost (first edit).

  15. #35
    Registered User dla's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Theosus View Post
    Although I realize that I could be hit in some fashion by lightning, I would much prefer to be hanging between two trees essentially isolated from the ground, than sitting mostly on the ground surrounded by a few lightning rods (tent poles). In either case, lightning directly to the tree one is attached to or to the tent poles is probably going to end badly... And I would expect exploding tree bark may cut your tree straps and dump you on the ground any way. I've been about twenty feet from a tree that was obliterated by a lightning strike, but fortunately was in a car at the time.
    I love the "anvil crawlers" on that video, the ones that come out of the cloud and streak across the underside of the storm. They can be beautiful and impressive, and from my experience they tend to stay up there and not reach out and touch the ground. I photograph lightning, and there's not much that can make the heart pound like standing in a field next to a metal tripod with your hand on a button, while a big storm crosses...
    I can't think of a scenario where you wouldn't be harmed if lightening struck the tree supporting your hammock.

  16. #36
    Registered User Country Roads's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    yep, I've pitched my tent in and among trees, I always look up to check for dead branches...when I remember to, and would mind the gentle swaying of a wind blown tree to be rocked asleep, But when things get rockin and rollin with trees crashing into each other, do you hammock hangers head for the hills, or just ride it out?
    Just like folks in a tent; we just ride it out. I have been in wind so high, my hammock bounced, rocked and rumbled. I slept great! The friends I was with, in tents, slept a bit less soundly than I did. But, my advantage was that I could hang my hammock where they could not pitch a tent. I only had a slight bit more wind protection than they did, but it did make a difference. In thunderstorms I figure we are all equal.
    Give Me Mountains & I Am Happy!

  17. #37

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    Lightning is one thing, but high winds really freak me out. Rode out a wind storm in SNP earlier this summer - rain stopped early and the wind went all night.

    I was careful to check for widow makers, which was easy since it was early season and no leaves were on the trees yet. We'd set up at night and in the rain, so I didn't get a good look around until morning. I did not check the ground the trees were rooted to - full of rocks and forest duff, but not much by way of solid soil. Just when I was falling asleep, a BIG tree fell very close to our camp. In the morning, it was pretty clear that the area was not a healthy environment for the trees there - lots of them seemed weak, really tall and thin, and the soil was very loose and of a poor quality.

    Big lesson learned that night: make sure to look up AND down when selecting a site, especially in bad weather. Walking another mile to a safer camp is way better than not sleeping all night because you think you're going to die.

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