Sleeping platforms

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moss said:
Spiking and that sort of thing is as about as ignorant and irresponsible as it gets. I thought spiking was over a long time ago as an anti-logging activity. I also thought mills have to scan logs no matter what considering there's a high probability that random metal junk will be in a percentage of logs.

If teenagers as terrorists doesn't work for you try this as an analogy. A bank robber makes a group of people lie on the floor at gunpoint, might even kill some of them. The victims are terrorized. I've never heard anyone call an armed bank robber a terrorist. The term ecoterrorist is classic spin. I'm sure some speechwriter/public relations hack is still patting themselves on the back for that one.

Over protect or under protect forests? It's a constant process to get it right. If you don't like the existing policy get involved to make the change.

Now why is it that we have to clearcut steep slopes for logging safety? Could it be that there is nothing left to log on less steep terrain? The typical places where you can find sizable wild trees in the east are in steep and rough terrain where it was too difficult to log with traditional techniques. Unfortunately that limitation has been overcome with current technology.
-moss
Moss, I can't speak to logging in the east, I have no knowledge about it. I do now what works here. As far as eco-terrorist/terrorist/teenage fun semantics, one mans freedom fighter is another mans terrorist, remember Ronald Reagan and the 1980s? No doubt pr hacks are employed by the timber industry, they have a home in enviro groups as well. Consider how the mid coast of BC has been successfully renamed the "Great Bear Rainforest". How logging has been changed to the more sinister "Industrial Logging". Mills never scanned logs here before the spikers came along, there is no "random" metal in logs from the middle of nowhere.
 
clearance said:
Mills never scanned logs here before the spikers came along, there is no "random" metal in logs from the middle of nowhere.

So what's the deal, is spiking still going on? I know it happened in the 80's, but are there any reports of current incidents? Or more specifically I wonder what the rate of found metal is in current mill scans. Tough situation 'cause if spiking is no longer an active practice spikes could still be in trees from when it was. It would be useful to know how often these things turn up in mills.

Yep, spin is spin, everybody does it. There's always a seed of truth on both sides. The difficult part is to get past the spinmeisters and find out what's really going on.

Thanks for keeping the conversation real, without using a flamethower.
-moss
 
Well I knew I was starting something when I started it, but I didn't know exactly what. I appologize if I steered the thread in a crazy direction, I am completely willing to discuss these issues in a different forum if that will let this thread keep on it's original path. That said, if people want to dig into it a little bit, they could invite me(all of us) to a different thread(I'm not sure I know how to start a new one myself at this point). As far as this topic, I'm quite sure I do have something to offer. I have set a sleeping platform 140ft in a redwood, that was completely suspended by ropes and webbing. This is the only good way to do it as far as I'm concerned, because I (as well as other recreational climbers) try and minimalize impact on the tree. I used 1in. tubular webbing to girth the tree with a wrap 3 pull 2. Then I used steel links (3300 lbs swl from a hardware store [biners are expensive]) to connect lengths of climb line as vertical supports. The platform was about 4 by 8' and had 8 places around the outside edge it was being supported by (smaller lengths of webbing wraped around structural timber [all recycled]). I have a couple pictures I will post as soon as I get the chance, but as far as tensioning and holding the weight, the climblines came down from the girth and went through more steel links (connected to the webbing grabbing the platform) and then back up to a directional eight knot, and then back down (creating mechanical advantage). pull tight, and secure with three half hitches and at least a four wrap barrel knot for each line untill level. We usually add some kind of rubber (usally an old tire) in between the platform and tree. 2in. webbing also helps to minimize impact. If your platfortm is sufficiently supported undernieth with studs and you use enough lines around the edge, it will hold as much weight as you can put on it. lateral supports and a bottom support will help keep in place in high wind. If it sounds complicated, keep in mind Iv'e had up to about five peoples worth of weight on that 4 by 8. A smaller one person set-up will be alot easier to hike out and haul up. I f you guys want to know about dreamcatchers, let me know. any Questions?
 
What thickness and how many ply are you using?

I'd like to have a single person deck made that didn't need stiffeners under the deck to simplify the construction and transport.

The way that you've built your hanging rigging and adjusting legs is pretty close to what I've thought about building.
 
Portaledges are the way to go for comfort, or if you have to ride out bad weather.

A lighter alternative is something called a "single point hammock" - I used one of these for a while because I was too cheap to get a portaledge.

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I made my own, but this one sells for a hundred bucks. 1/5th the price of a portaledge.

For sociability, nothing beats a big portaledge. If you use a hammock, make sure you have a spreader bar to stop your shoulders from getting squished together.

Also, you get into a single point hammock from the end. Bunch it all up and sit on it like a swing seat. Then spread the fabric out up behind your back and down under your legs. It's easy. Watching someone try and get in via the side of a single point hammock is pretty funny.

If you are seaching on the web, search for "big wall hammock" or "big wall sleeping"
 

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