Is there a worse feeling...

[MickyB]

Is there a worse feeling than being in a forest and then hearing the crack of a tree that is about to fall. It has happened to me on couple occassions including today (not even windy). You don't know where it is going to fall and you wouldn't have time to get out of the way. All you can do is pray!!!

[madmacca]

You just hope it is a fairly dense forest and it gets caught up in other trees.

One of the things that scares me is walking along a track and seeing a branch that has speared vertically into the ground. I'm sure it's all just mental, but I'd much rather be crushed than impaled.

[puredingo]

Unbelievable loud too. It's happenes quite a bit with me and it often makes me wonder how much of the indigenous population it took out and if they had a method of dealing with it.

[Snowzone]

Even worse when your inside your tent having pitched under trees for whatever reason. You have absolutely no idea if somethings about to flatten you or spear through the tent. I had a rather large branch fall to within about 10m of my tent at Wilsons Prom a few years ago.

[perfectlydark]

Even worse when your inside your tent having pitched under trees for whatever reason. You have absolutely no idea if somethings about to flatten you or spear through the tent. I had a rather large branch fall to within about 10m of my tent at Wilsons Prom a few years ago.

This. Last weekend as the wind picked up at night all I could think of was 'was that tree overhanging my tent again?'..
Still i figured there was naught I could do so let the wind drift me off to sleep

[GPSGuided]

All probability of course. But has there been a documented case of such a mishap here in Australia? Tree selection obviously plays a part too.

[Snowzone]

All probability of course. But has there been a documented case of such a mishap here in Australia? Tree selection obviously plays a part too.

There has been from camping under river redgums along the Murray River.

[Moondog55]

Certainly is a much worse feeling.
Walking on a snowy ridge to hear the sound of ice cracking and see a crack appearing 3 metres downhill from where you thought was safe to walk

[Moondog55]

All probability of course. But has there been a documented case of such a mishap here in Australia? Tree selection obviously plays a part too.

There has been from camping under river redgums along the Murray River.

That's why big old river red gums are called "Widow makers"

[frenchy_84]

I believe it happened to a school group on the meander falls track where one or possibly two people died. I remember a memorial plaque in place.

[Lindsay]

Walking along the Milford track on a nice sunny day and hearing the occasional low flying jet aircraft passing overhead. I mentioned this to the ranger at Mintaro hut who told me that this noise was avalanches, not aircraft

[tastrax]

....than off piste skiing with mates who are much better than you - I always remember sidling across a very steep ski slope at Treble Cone NZ one year (off to a secret lunch spot location that one local was showing us) and all was going well until we hit a patch of very slick ice. My mates were all yahooing as they skated across ...needless to say I was giving the steel edges the best workout they had ever had. I was also hoping we didn't need to come back the same way!

[Grabeach]

I was going to say losing my grip about 6m up a small cliff (luckily fell in 2m stages), but then realised I didn't feel anything. It all happened too quickly.

[Hallu]

Having the ground suddenly give up under your feet, then trying to grip any shrub or grass you can find while sliding down. Happened to me in Lerderderg.

[Bluegum Mic]

Unfortunately young girls died down at crosslands reserve in Sydney with a large falling limb. There's been a couple of incidents down there.
The worst I've struck was hammocking up mount glorious way. We'd had over 150mm of rain and the wind picked up in the early hours. A massive tree came down not far from me and 10 minutes later the one it landed on came down. Terrifying when your hanging between to trees.

[michael_p]

Back in 2009 we camped at Honeysuckle Ck in the ACT. There were lots of burnt out trees still standing after the really bad bush fires that had been through Namadgi NP.

We walked up and over to the Orroral Valley then down along the valley to the Orroral Campground. The wind was howling (see photo below). As we got closer to the Orroral Campground there is a section of the walk that heads into a forested area. As we walked through the forest section all I could hear was creaking and cracking timber, couple this with the trees we heard coming down during the previous night and I have to admit to being scared. I was so glad to get to the cars at Orroral Campground.

It was like this all day. You can see lots of burnt out trees in the background.

Cheers,
Michael.

[metastable]

Unbelievable loud too. It's happenes quite a bit with me and it often makes me wonder how much of the indigenous population it took out and if they had a mgethod of dealing with it.

I heard an interview with Jared Diamond, the author of "Guns, germs and steel". He has spent a lot of time with indigenous people. He recounted a story where he pitched his tent under a tree. The tribesman he was with would absolutely not sleep in the tent till he moved it. He was annoyed, but thought about it later, realising that while he would have slept under a tree maybe 100 times, they had done it 1000's or 10,000's of times. They had seen people die from it and knew that the probabilities were against them, so they just did not do it, if they could help it.

[metastable]

Unbelievable loud too. It's happenes quite a bit with me and it often makes me wonder how much of the indigenous population it took out and if they had a mgethod of dealing with it.

I heard an interview with Jared Diamond, the author of "Guns, germs and steel". He has spent a lot of time with indigenous people. He recounted a story where he pitched his tent under a tree. The tribesman he was with would absolutely not sleep in the tent till he moved it. He was annoyed, but thought about it later, realising that while he would have slept under a tree maybe 100 times, they had done it 1000's or 10,000's of times. They had seen people die from it and knew that the probabilities were against them, so they just did not do it, if they could help it.

I found the interview here http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/201 ... 694553.htm The section where he starts talking about "Constructive Paranoia" on the above topic starts at the 32 min mark.

[madmacca]

All probability of course. But has there been a documented case of such a mishap here in Australia? Tree selection obviously plays a part too.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/schoolgirl-16-killed-in-freak-accident/2005/08/31/1125302632617.html

[Lizzy]

I was there just across the river when those young girls died at Crosslands.... Was one of the scariest experiences of my life. We had groups of kids on a course when this freak weather whipped in without warning. We only had time to gather the kids together under a little rotunda- massive trees were crashing down all around us. We were lucky- the kids across the river not so lucky... They took shelter in their tents. Trees were literally snapped in half. It wasn't just branches.

[Ellobuddha]

Getting caught in a rockslide in Nepal with rocks the size of chairs whipping past your head making a horrible whirring noise. Lying behind a knee high bank on the high side of the track, wondering whether you were going to cop one in the head and get thrown of the bank down into the river or if the whole side was going to give way and bury you under it. Most scariest thing I have every experienced. Nothing to do but make the smallest ball and hope. I got caught with two Nepalis and when it was over we ran out of the zone and they got down and prayed.

[ULWalkingPhil]

I remember when that tragedy happened. A tragic loss. God bless her and her family and friends.

Ive had a close encounter at Fraser Island. If I had of chosen a camp site next to me, i don't know what would have happened. I was almost going to chose that site, a storm in the middle of the night, than I heard this large crack beside me, was not till a got up in the morning I noticed a huge tree branch speared into the ground at the exact location I would have had my tent, the branch would have pearced the ground at least a foot.

That taught me a huge lesson.

[MickyB]

I know this one has nothing to do with bush walking but a few years ago a neighbour of the in-laws was at home in bed one night and couldn't sleep. She decided to get up and go to the local pub. When she got home she found a huge gum tree had fallen through her house and across the bed where she was sleeping only a few hours earlier.

I believe it happened to a school group on the meander falls track where one or possibly two people died. I remember a memorial plaque in place.

I have seen a few plaques around Victoria. From memory there is one in Sherbrooke Forest and one near the base of Stevensons Falls in Marysville.

[GPSGuided]

All probability of course. But has there been a documented case of such a mishap here in Australia? Tree selection obviously plays a part too.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/schoolgirl-16-killed-in-freak-accident/2005/08/31/1125302632617.html

Thanks. That also settles it.

[Bluegum Mic]

I found this. The table on the second page lists them
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&sour ... w4QBumkAHA

[Travis22]

Yep, the young girls is the last 'incident' i remember too. Absolutely can and does happen.

Only a couple of years ago out group packed up and left a camp ground for a safer location after a 3rd tree had come down near where we were camping. With the fires that have ripped through the Victorian bushland over the years, and recent years IMO trees and or large branches coming down seems to be a more frequent thing. Either that or perhaps im just out there more often these days

Personally, i absolutely love the sound when a big tree comes down and im nearby to witness it. However it isnt a much fun when it comes down on the track you need to take to get out with your vehicle.

Travis.

[David M]

There is a memorial at Steavenson Falls at Marysville (VIC) to three teenage kids that died sometime in the 1960's when a tree fell on them without warning on a calm day.

Regarding the comment above about seeing branches speared verticaly into the ground, I have often seen this in the Mountain Ash forests in Victoria (not saying the branches are necessarily from Ash).

[TerraMer]

Same feeling, different scenarios;
hearing avalanches and landslides at night and having no idea how close they are or if you're in their paths;
when your hair stands on end in a storm, you can taste the electricity, you're counting less than 2 seconds between bolts and claps and the only cover are dead trees on a wide grassy plain or standing on top of a rocky outcrop jamming yourself under a 1/2m ledge watching lightning strike only metres from you.
i'd rather die of old age but the less i care about controlling my destiny the more i enjoy the adrenaline rushes.
the more time you spend with Nature the more of these kinds of encounters you experience but the less they catch you off guard.

[Onestepmore]

I have to confess to having a pretty unsettled scary time last Monday night when I was in the northern Watagans, Newcastle area by myself. The trees are really tall, and, while it was pretty sheltered at ground level where my tent was, the trees were swaying and whipping around high up. The wind was really stong, and you'd hear it roar overhead from one direction, and then circle, and then it'd be like, here it comes, over me now. There was a full moon and it was very bright outside, and the shadows moving slowly over my tent were like a macabre dance of gouls or wraiths outside. I did hear that horrible rifle crack sound of a big branch breaking a couple of times in the night, which was pretty disconcerting. I was car camping at Bangalow campground, which has a cleared area, which sounds really tame, but the trees are so tall they easily span the clearing several times over. The nearby Gap Creek campsite is closer to the walking tracks, but unfortunately a large tree has fallen on the toilet hut there.....

PS I have a confession to make. At about 2 am I chickened out and took my bag and beanie and (PLB lol) into my car and slept in there. The wind dropped about 5 am. While still at risk of a tree falling on my car, possibly the chances of survival are a bit better (wishful thinking maybe). It was way too dangerous to drive out of the forest in the dark with branches dropping everywhere, and I don't carry a chainsaw.
Of course my cheery little green tent was sitting happily there, unscathed the next morning.
Was I a wimp?

During the night I couldn't help but think of the student on a school camp who was killed at High Range, near Mittagong, when a tree fell on their tent.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/02/ ... 75028.html
She went to the same school as I did.

[phsculpture]

I have a similar ‘chickening out’ story. Last spring I was the only one camped in Weddin Mts NP, the Ben Halls campground. After an idyllic day, and a nice hike up to the Eualdrie lookout, I was sitting in my chair relaxing in the still air and late afternoon sun. All of a sudden, the grazing kangaroos perked up and all took off. I guess they knew. 1/2 an hour later the wind picked up to a stiff breeze. With the sun down, I soon got into my tent, pitched near a Kurrajong tree, and not too far from some largish Fuzzy Boxes. Anyway, over the next hour, the wind just kept increasing, along with my anxiety. So I bailed out to my car, which I've never done. I was paranoid enough to move the car away from the trees (Falcon station wagon) and even angle it towards the wind, which was brutal by this stage. I reclined the passenger seat, and wriggled into my bag. Almost had to put my seat belt on. It was just like severe turbulence on an aeroplane, and lasted 3-4 hours. It was sort of exhilarating, but I was a little strung out the next morning. Yep, and my tent was just fine.