August 2008 – Page 20

DAY 130
08.12.07
TREE 47 (+1)

Last time I wrote, “Fucking insane Climb!” But after today’s reclimb, that first time seems like a walk in the park. Last week Mark Barker and I walked around the wildlife sanctuary and I showed him this tree. I felt like pointing it out because I felt as though it was a difficult obstacle that I overcame and was proud of it. Only, when I pointed it out to him I noticed some low limbs had been broken off and my blue ribbon was no where to be seen. So when I walked out there today I had prepared myself mentally for a very difficult start without those key first limbs. I studied and hypothesized, and eventually got started. Hugging the trunk, inching up to two little bumps. From there I got a hold of a tiny limb, then with one decent foothold lunged upward to the first substantial branch. From there every step was an arduous challenge. Little branches spread far around this thick grey trunk. I finally got up to where the trunk split in two. The holds were really tricky and I had to plan, but I was so determined to get to my ribbon. Then up a little higher… I was starting to worry about getting down and without my cell phone I was worried if something actually happened. On a large offshoot limb I got a comfy seat and looked around wandering where the hell my ribbon was. I figured an animal got it, or a bird. Then it hit me… 20 feet away in another tree was my blue ribbon! I had climbed the wrong tree. I was a good amount higher in this one. I laughed at myself out loud, wandering how I didn’t catch it. How did I just figure some limbs had broken off at the bottom? They are the same type of tree in the same area with similar branch formations. So I prepared myself for the climb down saying over and over, “if I got up, I can get down.” With gravity on my side it should be easier, so I scanned and planned and I followed my steps in reverse and made it down. My heart was pounding, hot and sweaty, muscles tense and starting to tire. It is amazing how all these feelings were absent as I was concentrating so hard in the tree.

I took some pictures of this tree then took the few steps down to the real tree. Again I laughed because this tree looked so easy. The limbs were small but low and evenly spaced with no big gaps. I jumped up and climbed quickly and fluidly. I took no time to decide because the next available limb was always in reach. I thought musingly how when I first climbed this tree I thought it was so hard and scary. This really showed how much I have improved. Truly, that first tree of today was my hardest challenge to date. I flew up this current tree to my ribbon, took it down, then went slightly higher. Amused at my climbs I went back down a little slower as I was getting very thirsty and my muscles tired. I jumped to the ground feeling more fatigued than I have ever been after a climb and walked back to the house through the heat just thinking about this reclimb compared to the first. I have truly improved.

This is a picture of the tree I mistakenly climbed first. I took and liked most pictures from this tree since I got higher and had a better view from there.

If you look carefully you can see a roof in the distance. This is a house in a neighborhood that adjoins to the sanctuary property.

There are power lines that run through the sanctuary and over the lake. I was so high this was what I could see of the lines.

Then after taking this picture I noticed another close tree with my blue ribbon. See if you can spot the blue in the picture below.

Here is a close up:

This picture is looking up at the trunk of the real tree #47. You can see all the little branches that are pretty evenly spaced. The first tree I climbed by mistake did not have as many limbs.

8-13-08: Slowly I am catching up from getting behind this past weekend. The entries are getting longer with so many more pictures from each climb. This is one entry in particular with a long entry and many pictures due to the additional tree. If you look closely at the long picture just below the text of the entry you will see how few the limbs are towards the bottom. I am still amazed that I was able to climb that tree. I was just so determined. And those little beech limbs may look tiny but they are very strong. Some can be only as big around as my finger and hold and body weight. Another aspect of the bark that is unique to beech trees are the bumps I referred to. Like large warts, there are bumps on the smooth bark that are big enough for a finger or two to hold. I used a few of those to help get up as well. That day was truly one of the most scary and exciting days of the entire project so far. It felt as if with that one tree I improved my abilities tenfold. After that I knew I could climb many more trees than I would have thought. I guess you could say it was a happy mistake.

Now for another mistake. I went to my parents on Monday to do some laundry, blog, and get my new climbing equipment that I had ordered and shipped there. I got the last two items I needed to complete my set up for climbing with a rope and harness. I got the harness (or saddle) and lanyard out of the box, tried it on and grabbed my rope, split tail and carabiners and was eager to try it out. I went out to the backyard and picked a long and tall poplar right off the back deck. I tied my a knot on the end to throw the rope over a high branch and executed the move successfully after a couple tries. I lowed the other end and tied it to my harness and then attached my split tail to the other end of the rope. Now all this may mean nothing to you if you don’t understand how you climb a tree with this gear. My mom was definitely struggling to understand exactly how the process goes. I’ll do my best to explain.

One long rope is thrown over a limb. One side is attached to me and the other side I pull down so my body will go up. The split tail is tied with a special knot to the side of the rope I pull down on. That special knot slips up the rope as I ascend and catches and tightens when I stop. That way if I let go I don’t just fall all the wayback down to the ground. Once I reach the limb I had thrown the rope onto, I throw my lanyard around the trunk and attach it to both sides of my harness. This holds me in place as I undo the split tail knot from the rope, gather up the long rope and throw it again over a higher limb. I do this repeatedly until I have reached the top. It is a slow and methodical process.

So that is what I did. Only towards the top of this very tall tree I stopped using the rope and just climbed the limbs and kept moving my lanyard up with me. I got up to the top of this tree and this is what I could see.

That is my parents house. That is a large tow story house, and I was really far from it. I love tall trees.

That is the tennis court just 15 feet from the trunk of the tree I was on.

And my parents pool… granted, it is a small pool but still….

Next door neighbors house and barn.

Another neighbor’s roof and looking out towards the horizon.

And some of the most beautiful clouds perfectly spotted throughout the sky. The teeny tiny black dot in the center is a turkey vulture.

I usually take a lot of pictures looking down but I couldn’t see a whole lot. On such a tall tree that is mostly just a tall straight trunk, there isn’t much to look at anyway.

So, when I was done at the top I thought it would be really awesome to repel down from the top. I even thought about filming the descent since it really only takes one hand to pull the split tail knot down to slip and lower myself. I got the rope and the knots all set, unhooked the lanyard from around the tree and began to drop. I quickly realized I wanted both hands for this maneuver and put the camera away. I would stop every once in a while and take a picture or two.

This was from about halfway down. I lean back in my saddle and kick out from the tree and lower myself down.

There I am a little low still and getting close to the ground.

Okay… here is the funny part. As I get about 30 feet from the ground I look down and notice that the other end of the rope starts to come off the ground. I slide a few more feet and as that end gets closer to me I realize that I need that end of the rope to go to the ground. I have a 120 foot rope. That means I can only repel from the maximum height of 60 feet. Judging from my lack of rope and my current height, I must have started from around 75 feet. Not a problem, I just have to climb back up to the nearest limb, which was 6 or 7 feet above me. But wait… the knot that I have to slip back up is too tight. This knot tends to do that on the way down. So I was stuck. All I had to do was get my weight off the rope to loosen the knot and then climb up. But I was dangling in mid-air and couldn’t reach the trunk. It was close but just out of reach. And this damn harness was built to prevent swing. I couldn’t get myself moving for the life of me. It was at this point my mom walked outside to see how I was doing. I told her the situation and asked if we had a ladder. Nothing that tall. I honestly wasn’t sure what I was going to do there, but I knew I had to figure something out. It was a good lesson about the limits of my gear. And I laughed. I am sure my mom was really worried but I really wasn’t that worried. It was just going to take time and I had to be calm and collected to be able to think this through. I even took a picture of my dangling position to record this moment.

Finally, I leaned all the way back in my saddle and my toe touched the trunk. I gave a little push and then swung back to the trunk and grabbed it. I squeezed the trunk with my legs and threw my lanyard around it. Then I dug my feet into the trunk and got my weight off the rope just enough to loosen the knot. I did it! I solved my problem. I knew exactly what I needed to do from the beginning but it was just difficult to accomplish the task. I climbed up to the limb, repositioned the rope and safely repelled all the way to the ground. It felt pretty damn good to be on the ground and to know I’ll never put myself in that position again.