DAY 123
08.05.07
TREE 37This was an amazing climb! And a vast improvement on my first climb in this tree. I approached it with a very strong desire to improve on my previous high point but I was guarding myself against disappointment because I remember how big the branches are, how slippery the bark is, and how after one area I couldn’t figure out how to get higher. So I parked at Drew’s parents place happy that no one was there yet so I could climb in peace. I walked over to the tree and was happy to see the bark looked dry. I knew that would improve my chances. So I pulled myself up onto the low horizontal branch and walked to the trunk, up a big limb, and around to the other side of the trunk. I cat crawled long another monstrous branch to my blue ribbon. I ripped it off and crawled back to the trunk. Quickly I found a way up by using a knot hole. Around the trunk again I climbed up a main branch. Up pretty high I took some pictures and looked around. I noticed another possible path to an even higher point on another main limb. I went for it, back down to the trunk and up. There were some difficult spots but nothing too bad. I got up, paused, looked some more and transferred to another limb to get a few feet higher. Up there I realized I could transfer back to the prior limb to get up another few feet. I stepped up another little branch and was at this point extremely high. Two houses worth in this neighborhood of large 2-story houses. The branches below looked amazing and I shot many pictures. I whistled at a dog who titled his head back and forth in confusion. Drew and MaryLiz finally showed up and they were impressed. I was really high up. Not much of a breeze and very hot but I was on an adrenaline high. I just couldn’t get over this tree and my accomplishment. I climbed down with relative ease just tracing my movements in reverse and made it to the ground. And I thought it an amazing improvement that during this climb I never once thought of falling or death. I was just enjoying the experience. Truly a favorite climb, especially in comparison to my first climb in this huge tree.
My first stopping spot
My second stopping spot
My final high spot
This is how much higher than a two-story house I was.
8-5-08: In the first picture at the top, Drew is the one in blue on the left, and MaryLiz in green and white on the right. It was probably a good thing that Drew’s mom didn’t see it, I think she would’ve freaked. Most moms do. And for my mom, I think I should clarify about the “thoughts of falling or death.” Climbing trees without safety equipment can be a scary experience. But to prevent anything bad from happening I would constantly imagine the worst possible thing that could. Then I would take the steps to prevent that. For almost every move high up in a tree I would imagine a handhold fail, or a limb break under my foot and try to predict how my body would react… could I hold on? would I fall? how far? would I hit anything on the way down? would it stop me? if I was going to fall, what could I do to prevent serious injury? If I fell that far could I dig my phone out of my pocket and call 911? Do I have reception here? (And sometimes, in the tree, I would pull my phone out and check.) By envisioning the most awful occurrences I was saving my butt. Every little movement, hold, and method I use is all planned and used to prevent slipping and falling, and most are backups so that if one hold fails I still have 2 others to keep in one spot.But I don’t think telling your mom not to worry stops them. Ever since I got my bike I think she’s worried about me riding that. She must worry about me all the time, riding and climbing. No need to worry, mom.
One last thing, in the picture with the house roof, if you look closely you can see the dog I was confusing. I whistled over and over and the dog’s head just kept tilting to the right, then to the left, and back. He just couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I guess dogs don’t look up either.
I tried to get out yesterday to ride and climb before it got too hot… cause it is getting hot here. There is supposed to be a air quality warning today and get up to 97. A good day to be outside. Well yesterday wasn’t that much better. But I felt like riding to that tree off the River Walk Trail that I had spotted the other day. If you have ever been on the trail you’ve seen the markers they’ve embedded in the trail to mark the tenths of a mile. This tree is right at the 5.7 marker. I am not sure where it starts, but possibly at the beginning of the trail in the Portland neighborhood. If someone knows would you tell me… I’d like to know.
When I got off my bike I realized there was no easy way to the base of the hackberry tree. The weeds and undergrowth is thick and I had to forge a trail just to lock my back up on a small tree. Then I pushed through more weeds just hoping none of it was poison ivy. I don’t think there was, though, so I’m good, no spots today. At the base I also realized that I could not reach any of the branches. The hackberry bark is thick and rigid but fragile and breaks off easily so you can’t use it as finger or footholds. I began to look for any smaller trees that I could climb and then transfer into the tree with, but there were none. I was determined to figure this out, I really wanted this climb. I then started to look for large branches that I may use as a ramp. And the first one I found, not 2 feet from my feet, was the most perfect limb I could have asked for. It was a osage orange branch that had been cut and tossed right by the tree I wanted to climb. Osage Orange branches are perfect because they are so strong native americans used them to make bows for their arrows. I wedged the branch between the ground and the trunk until it was sturdy… then I crawled up and reached for the first large limb.
(Now, looking at this branch in the picture I realize I am not 100% sure this is an Osage branch, but it looks close, and for a cut limb, it was very strong… so I figured.)The climb up this tree was quite hard. I had to do a lot of grabbing a large branch from underneath, then lifting my legs up and hooking one over the top while the other braces on the trunk giving me leverage to rotate my body from underneath to the top. The higher you go, the scarier that move becomes. Especially on those big limbs because I have to squeeze with my whole arm and the barks digs right into the skin. But that isn’t the worst part. My fingers grasp on the bark and while I lift my legs that bark begins to crumble under my fingers and my arms slip in tiny increments. So I have to work fast to get on the top of that limb. (See mom, no need to worry.) There was also a large vine growing in the tree that I had to use at one point to reach the next closest branch… and I hate using vines. You can test their strength with all your might over and over but each test you are just weakening it. So, even after you think it’s stable it could wear down and break shortly thereafter. So I try to use vines very sparingly. Once I got past half way and the branches became skinnier the climb became easier. I picked my main branch that I thought I could get highest on and went for it. I hit my high spot and had a pretty nice view of the river and the 2 stack industrial thing that is just across the river.
I also took some other shots of the trail and looking down, also a close up of the berries in a hackberry tree.
Then I climbed down which was just as hard on the arms as in was going up. They got a little red and bumpy. It can be worse on the way down because that move that I described above to get onto a limb… in reverse I have to grab with all of both arms and then slide underneath. If you can imagine incredible rigid and thick bark than you can imagine sliding on it. Maybe? Like I tell people, it’s better than falling. By the time I was back to my limb ramp I was panting heavily and my body soaked, arms red and covered in bark debris. I was ready for the swift bike ride to cool my off and was really ready for a big glass of ice water.
