Rocky wrote on Mar 15^th, 2011 at 7:05pm:

...a rock that often comes very close to hitting you on the head at some point

Really?  I suggest you move out of the way or let the rock pull line until it hits the ground.  This is something out of Home Alone?
A smaller line & a smaller rock would help.  Use the small line to pull up the rope.


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the frustration and effort of finding a place to hang the pack and getting the line over the branch, etc., wastes a lot of time and energy and puts me in a bad mood.

Sorry that you find it frustrating.  I find it a nice tromp around the campsite.  Getting the lay of the land.  Perhaps finding some berries.


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Also, I never filter my water and I've never gotten sick.  I learned a guy working for one of the Ely outfitters who told me that he wasn't supposed to say anything about it, but none of the people working for the outfitter filtered thier water.

I read a story of a guy who lived to be 100 years old and smoked two packs a day.
Then there's the one about the guy who jumped off the Empire State Building.  As he passed the 50th floor someone asked how's it going?  So far so good was the reply.
I don't always purify.  Only when I want to be sure of not getting sick.