The Overlooked Step When Choosing A Camping Spot That Could Save Your Life

Social media is filled with recommendations for essential camping items designed to keep you safe and comfortable in every situation imaginable. However, sometimes you don't need the most advanced gadgets to prevent a camping catastrophe — your own two eyes will suffice. When choosing a campsite, looking up and checking the canopy carefully for dead branches or entire trees could be the difference between life and death.

In forestry terms, these branches are ominously called "widowmakers." Sometimes rotten or otherwise dead, these detached branches hang precariously, waiting for the right gust of wind to come crashing down. They may remain caught and hidden in the greater canopy, posing a deadly threat when they finally fall to the forest floor. Where a widowmaker falls is often unpredictable because it can get caught on other branches or swing in a way you don't expect. A California forest ranger offered the following advice on Reddit: "Always camp 1.5 tree lengths away from dead trees!! Farther if the tree is uphill of you. This is critical." Add this to your list of rules you should know before camping in the winter, or in any other season, for that matter.

These dangerous branches trace their nickname back to logging in the 1800s. "It comes from the days of native forest harvesting when people were using axes and chainsaws out in the eucalypt forests," shared Associate Professor Cristopher Brack of the Fenner School of Environment and Society with Australian Geographic. The movement from the saws would shake dead branches loose, killing the logger and leaving his wife a widow. 

Although stories of widowmakers falling are often described as unpredictable events, there are a few things you can do to reduce risk. Most importantly, make sure you know what a widowmaker looks like. As previously mentioned, they can be whole trees or branches. During the summertime, you can look for branches with dead leaves, but this is less helpful during the winter months. Try tracing each branch back to the trunk to make sure it hasn't partially or completely snapped off. In addition, look for branches with discoloration that can signal a fungal infection.

Camping and wilderness survival expert @wildboyril does a great job showing campers how to identify potentially dangerous branches in a video on TikTok. He specifically pinpoints branches high up in the canopy that adventurers might otherwise overlook. You'll notice that one of the widowmakers he identifies is at an angle that doesn't match the other trees. If you see a branch with no leaves that appears to be "growing" in a different direction than the others, you should proceed with caution.

@wildboyril

A Safety tips that might save your life while camping #camping #outdoors #safetytips #survivaltok #wintercamping

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The only surefire way to keep yourself safe is to avoid camping under trees. However, this is a lot easier said than done, especially when visiting many of the best national parks for camping in the U.S. A more practical approach is to be extra careful on days with heavy snowfall or wind, and always look up before setting up your tent.