View Full Version : Hanging in the Great Smoky Mountains
geomaniac
03-06-2010, 21:34
I read somewhere, that the rangers in the GSM national park wont let you use a hammock to camp. You are forced to sleep in the shelters or tent. Does anyone know if anything is being done to enlighten the Rangers to the fact that Hammocks are more in line with the leave no trace principles than tents? IMO anyway.
Ox97GaMe
03-06-2010, 23:18
There are no restrictions about hammocks in the park that I am aware of. Im a maintainer in the park and I always am hanging my hammock near the shelter. In fact, a lot of times, I leave my hammock in the tool box at either Mollies or Spence to keep from carrying up and down the mountain.
When I am at a backcountry campsite, I am always hammocking.
LNT ???? I will just need to disagree with you on that point.
MedicineMan
03-07-2010, 04:57
Lostone, you're right hammocking is very very bad....best to leave it alone.
geomaniac
03-07-2010, 08:22
Lostone, you're right hammocking is very very bad....best to leave it alone.
Enlighten me, I need to know if I am causing more damage. Sleeping on the ground you have to clear an area to pitch a tarp and then you are laying on the ground which compacts the forest floor and smashs plants etc.
I use tree huggers to protect the tree bark and can camp over rocky ground where there are no plants to damage. I dont use or build a fire, so when I leave a site you cant tell anyone has been there. Please tell me if there is a better way, other than staying out of the woods. Its all about good stewardship of our forest and I want to make sure I am doing my part.
Lostone, you're right hammocking is very very bad....best to leave it alone.
Enlighten me, I need to know if I am causing more damage. Sleeping on the ground you have to clear an area to pitch a tarp and then you are laying on the ground which compacts the forest floor and smashs plants etc.
I use tree huggers to protect the tree bark and can camp over rocky ground where there are no plants to damage. I don't use or build a fire, so when I leave a site you cant tell anyone has been there. Please tell me if there is a better way, other than staying out of the woods. Its all about good stewardship of our forest and I want to make sure I am doing my part.
It's called satire :D, hammocking is less invasive than tenting/tarping
GeneralLee10
03-07-2010, 08:28
I read somewhere, that the rangers in the GSM national park wont let you use a hammock to camp. You are forced to sleep in the shelters or tent. Does anyone know if anything is being done to enlighten the Rangers to the fact that Hammocks are more in line with the leave no trace principles than tents? IMO anyway.
Enlighten me, I need to know if I am causing more damage. Sleeping on the ground you have to clear an area to pitch a tarp and then you are laying on the ground which compacts the forest floor and smashs plants etc.
I use tree huggers to protect the tree bark and can camp over rocky ground where there are no plants to damage. I dont use or build a fire, so when I leave a site you cant tell anyone has been there. Please tell me if there is a better way, other than staying out of the woods. Its all about good stewardship of our forest and I want to make sure I am doing my part.
First you say tents than you say tarps which one is it going to be?:-?
geomaniac
03-07-2010, 09:37
First you say tents than you say tarps which one is it going to be?:-?
Either, Or,....cant I have both? :>):eek:
Some Rangers in SMNP insist that hikers use shelters.
kayak karl
03-07-2010, 14:13
Some Rangers in SMNP insist that hikers use shelters.
there isn't a shelter i could not hang in in the Smokies. slip the strap between the logs and tie a branch on the other side. i had them to myself every nite, but at icewater where 11 others showed up.
you can usually hang under the roof but off the sleeping platforms -- so you're actually being a good neighbor and freeing up sleeping room!
butts0989
03-07-2010, 17:57
"Some Rangers in SMNP insist that hikers use shelters."
what do you mean by this, that depending on which ranger you run into determines whether you can hammock camp or not, seems a little dumb....
Tuckahoe
03-07-2010, 18:16
Enlighten me, I need to know if I am causing more damage. Sleeping on the ground you have to clear an area to pitch a tarp and then you are laying on the ground which compacts the forest floor and smashs plants etc.
Please explain what you mean by clearing an area to pitch shelter. I'll pick up and move sticks that may be where I intend to set up my shelter, but I have never cleared an area to pitch shelter. I leave leaves & etc. where they settle.
The biggest problem on this site in discussing the Smokies is that folks only think about 70 miles of the park's 900+ miles of the trail. The AT is NOT what the majority of the park is like.
You can hammock in any campsite in the park. At shelters (and all but 3 of them are on the AT), you are supposed to have reservations and stay in the shelter. Interestingly enough, regulations say no tenting is allowed at shelters unless there is thru-hiker overflow, but nothing about hammocks... :-?
In any case, the reality is that on any warm weather weekend, you'll likely see tents near shelters because many folks hit the backcountry without understanding that they need reservations for a shelter. Happens all the time. Still it's for the best to do the right thing and get a reservation if you're going to stay at a shelter. I've seen more ridgerunners and rangers on the trail in the last 5 years than in the previous 20.
SGT Rock
03-07-2010, 19:11
I hammock all the time. Never been hassled. I just hang back until the shelter is full and then say "Woops. The shelter is full, guess I'll have to hang."
I've never seen a ranger on the AT, and I have seen some ridge runners. But I've never seen a ridge runner pull in way after dark.
geomaniac
03-07-2010, 20:19
Please explain what you mean by clearing an area to pitch shelter. I'll pick up and move sticks that may be where I intend to set up my shelter, but I have never cleared an area to pitch shelter. I leave leaves & etc. where they settle.
Ive known people who rake all of the leaves away down to bare dirt. They usually end up leaving a muddy bare spot. Obviously inexperienced and didnt want my advice about keeping their gear clean.
"Some Rangers in SMNP insist that hikers use shelters."
what do you mean by this, that depending on which ranger you run into determines whether you can hammock camp or not, seems a little dumb....
That's exactly it! Some are cool some are a PITA.
MyName1sMud
03-10-2010, 18:29
That is just plain dumb man. There is no way they would outlaw us hammock lovers
Jester2000
03-10-2010, 18:58
Ive known people who rake all of the leaves away down to bare dirt. They usually end up leaving a muddy bare spot. Obviously inexperienced and didnt want my advice about keeping their gear clean.
Soooo. . . they carry a rake when they're backpacking? Makes no sense. I'm going to start doing it.
As an aside, if you're a geomaniac, what are you doing living in Gerogia? And where is that exactly?
Ox97GaMe
03-11-2010, 08:52
some people take things WAYYY too literal in these threads. Although the literature for the park specifies 'tenting', it applies to all forms of camping (hammock, tarps, cowboy, etc.).
Yes, every ranger is a little different when it comes to their personality and attitude. What will be consistent is that if you are at a backcountry shelter, it is not full, and there is a ranger there, you will be required to stay INSIDE the shelter. If the shelter is full, the ranger will discuss the various options with you.
What I can also tell you that after 13 years (and a couple thousand miles) of hiking in the park, I have only encountered 1 ranger in the backcountry ANYWHERE in the park. The odds of actually seeing one is extremely rare. You will see more snakes, boars, or bears than you will rangers. IF you do meet a ranger, just understand that they have been trained to give their same cookie cutter speal about camping restrictions. It is not just for thru hikers, it is for any of the 6.5 million tourists that visit the park as well.
Lastly, there is a policy about thru hikers (in season) staying at shelters. This policy is not always perfect, but it tries to account for the one month window when large numbers of thru hikers are coming through the park. The park rangers are usually a bit more understanding during this time period than they would be during other times of the year.
What I have found from being around park rangers is that if YOU start being a PITA, then they will be more than happy to make your life as miserable as they possibly can. And trust me, if you give them reason, they have the means to do so. They like collecting stories to tell each other (and the tourists) about idiots, morons, and rebels they encounter in the park, just like hikers tell stories about the rangers.
And sometimes a rule or regulation doesnt make sense to you, but it is in place for the other 6.499999 Million other people in the park that may not be as 'experienced' in backcountry backpacking as you are. If you assume that only .1% of the visitors in the park act like morons or idiots, that equates to an average of nearly 200 idiots per day that the park service has to deal with. They really arent out there just to make YOUR hike miserable. They truly do have more important things to be doing. Unless you give them a reason.
Just Jeff
03-11-2010, 09:43
Very good post, Ox97.
Jester2000
03-11-2010, 11:27
Very good post, Ox97.
I second that. Good points, well said.
mbiraman
03-11-2010, 11:35
Very good post, Ox97.
+1 on that post.