DAY 106
07.19.07
TREE 100I’m in a nice cottage on Lake Michigan with Drew and his family. We just got back from eating lunch in Holland, MI and I wanted to climb a tree. I am climbing a new one today to take the place of the reclimb I can’t do on the trees in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. I asked Drew how to get to the hiking trails near by but when I headed out of thehouse I found a great tree within just a few feet. There was a nice little low branch to grab and a hollow knot for a foothold. From there I could reach the larger branches and work my way up. When the trunk split into small limbs I chose one direction till I could transfer to the other and get higher. Once in the top I yelled for Drew. He didn’t hear me so I called him on my cell phone. Maryliz answered and I told them to step outside. They came out onto the side deck and it took them a while to spot me. I was pretty high up, about two houses high. Then his whole family walks up unexpectedly and starts talking to me. Kind of funny but amazing we could hear each other so well. So I climbed back down to join them. Soon we will be heading to the beach and possibly riding sea-doos. Very nice except for a slight burn from yesterday. I love the beach and climbing everyday.
7-21-08: I am back from my long weekend in West Virginia. A bunch of my family stayed in cabins at Bluestone State Park. I had no cell phone reception which was kinda nice and we just cooked out, swam, took a pontoon boat out, played some ping pong, and I climbed some trees. I can’t wait to share with you the pictures and video. But first, let me talk about the entry above.
To explain what may not be clear: Earlier in my tree climbing of new trees in May 2007 I took a trip to West Virginia for Amypalooza (a celebration of her first mother’s day, her 29th birthday, and of receiving her PhD in Physics.) I climbed some trees there assuming I would not return to reclimb them. In their place I decided to climb new trees on my trip to Lake Michigan (July 2007). Eventually I returned to West Virginia to reclimb 2 of the 3 trees from that Mother’s Day weekend which I will post in the future. You may also recognize the tree pictured above from when I posted them as a reclimb from my most recent trip to Lake Michigan a few weeks ago. Clear?
Now, let me tell you about my trip to West Virginia just this past weekend. I drove with my parents to Beckley, WV and picked my brother, Scott, up at this tiny ass airport. It is literally one little building with about 10 parking spaces in front. There are some seats to wait for your flight just inside the door with a bible on every side table. 20 feet from the seats in the one gate that leads to the runway. I was surprised my brother could even find a flight here. There were only 4 people on his little prop plane.
After picking him up we drove about a half hour to Bluestone State Park and checked into our cabin. It was a nice little two bedroom cabin with no air conditioning but luckily it wasn’t as hot as it has been here in Louisville. My uncle, grandma, sister, nephew, and some cousins eventually showed up and we went out to eat. I wanted to climb a tree before it got dark but everyone wanted to go grocery shopping before we headed back to the cabins. By the time we finished shopping it was pitch black, even with the full moon light, and very difficult to see. We stumbled to my grandma’s cabin, then to my sister’s. I found a suitable tree right out front of her cabin and began to climb. My uncle stayed outside to watch and shine his flashlight on me as I went. The little tree was covered in this dry, flakey fungal growth which made for some skin bumps. I got pretty close to the top of the tree but it was hard to tell. I took some pictures with flash and tried to take a picture of the full moon but it was hard to stay still. I didn’t have the most secure position in the top of the tree. My uncle couldn’t see me up that high so he left me and went inside. I was kind of relieved to have the flashlight gone so my eyes could completely adjust. Then I climbed down with a bit of a struggle but much faster than I went up. I couldn’t see the limbs below me at all so I would just get a really good grip with my arms and then just dangle my legs and kick around till I felt a limb. Then I would have to test it by putting some weight on it to see if it was strong. I would either remember the limb and trust it, or just make sure to distribute my weight over my other holds if I could tell it was a smaller branch. At some points I just slid down the branches like a poll making my red bumps a little bit worse, but I was ready to get down. I made sure to climb my trees in the daylight from then on out.
Climbing a tree everyday
