DAY 245
12.05.07
TREE 169
This was an awesome climb! Another experience that was slightly scary but also expanded my abilities. Today was a very cold day. I got back from work, changed clothes, and figured I’d better go out and climb before it gets dark and unbearably cold. Stupidly I wore only an undershirt and two hoodies… and pants of course. I stepped out of the house and headed towards 393. Back in 2003-4 when I was living with my parents, I had taken a walk down 393 and found a whole area of woods with a large creek and a rocky cliff. It was a memorable day and I brought home a few animal skulls I found. I just knew I’d find a good tree. But once I got to the road the cold wind was awful. It was blowing right through my sweatshirts. I put my arms under my clothes and shivered down the side of the road. Buses and cars would race by causing more wind to rush over me. I was hoping for a good tree nearby just off the road. I kept finding okay ones bu they didn’t call to me. I have learned to wait for that feeling that I have when I see a tree and just know it’s the one I’ll climb. So I walked on and tried to ignore the cold. After a few minutes I spotted a sycamore, actually, it was a group of sycamores just off the road to the left. There was a big lodge-like house just beyond. I stepped down to the base of the trees and began to figure a path. Nothing seemed to be possible and with all the leaves gone I felt too visible. So, again, I continued on. A few paces away was another sycamore closer to the road. I began to climb up a smaller tree trunk to get to a bigger tree and an SUV stopped in the road. I jumped down immediately and walked on down the road. I think they were just turning but I bet they lingered to try and figure out just what the hell I was doing. So I kept on.
At the bottom of a hill, on the other side of the road, was a tall bare tree growing right next to a little rock formation. That was it! A path was visible. I crossed the road and climbed onto the rock wall. I reached my arms around the trunk and it had a nice rigid bark to grip. A little soft and cork-like, but strong. I shimmied up till I got a grip where the trunk split. I worked my way up to stand on the split and reach for the first branch. Then slowly I moved higher being very careful because I was cold and already pretty high up. At some spots the few limbs I had seemed weak but I kept pushing it. I am glad I did because I got o the top.
It was such a great feeling to have conquered this difficult tree. I did the usual, tied a ribbon and took pictures.
Since I was at the bottom of the hill my pictures weren’t too spectacular, but interesting enough. And though I was warm from the climb, I figured I shouldn’t stay up there too long. I took my last look around then looked down.
I used the same couple of steps in reverse to get down a few feet then stopped. I realized that I could shimmy down easily because gravity would help. It wouldn’t be slow and physically draining like going up. It was risky so high up but I wrapped my legs and arms and began my slide. I probably went twenty to twenty-five feet to the rock wall. It was easy and amazing. It got me so pumped I walked all the way back warm while singing Christmas music. It just lifted my spirits and made my day. It is so great because every time I pass that tree I’ll remember that climb and how it made me feel. Good climb!
12-7-08: The tree from the entry above was not the hardest by any means. If I climbed it now it would be an easy tree. But it was a first and it was clear at that time that it was a big step forward for me. It was the first time I utilized shimmying so high up in a tree and all the way down. I get these ideas in trees about movement that seem dangerous but possible. And when I finally attempt the idea and realize it’s possible, it is incredibly rewarding. It made coming down from trees even easier. At times it is difficult to reach branches as I move back down. But after that tree I realized I didn’t need the branches. All I had to do was squeeze tight and slide. It made getting down a lot quicker too.
Also, I believe it was Wham!’s Last Christmas I was singing. At least that was one of them. I love that song.
On Thursday I started planning and sketching designs for a bike rack. The city of Louisville is calling for artistic bike rack proposals and I think that would be an awesome project. I got so into it I let time slip. I even went to Drew’s office to see if I could get a mouse to make drawing on the computer easier. When I finally decided to biked home it was sunset and I figured I’d climb the first tree I saw that looked decent. I just crossed the tracks on Adams and saw a sycamore on the side of the road. I leaned my bike up against the trunk and backed up sizing up my jump to reach the first branch. I incidentally gave myself a bit of an obstacle by placing my bike right where I needed to run. But I worked around it. Parkour has taught me to overcome all my obstacles. So I ran jumped and took a step off the trunk just above my bike frame then reached up and grabbed the branch. Then dropped to the ground because I didn’t have a good grip. This often happens. I tried again and failed, then on the third time my hand stuck. When I knew I had it I grabbed it with my other hand and lifted my leg to hook and rotate my body on top of the branch. Once one my feet I climbed fast up the limbs to the top.
The tree wasn’t too tall but once I settled my position I looked around and had an incredible view of downtown, the interstate, the bridges, everything.
What a beautiful evening. Even the damn billboard looked pretty to me.
I looked straight up and there, in the clear dark blue sky was a half moon.
The frigid weather of the day disappeared in my excitement and I was a shootingmachine. Cars kept passing by underneath and I wondered if any noticed me, or at least my bike.
I was dreading this climb because of the cold temperatures but I am glad I put it off to the moment I did. What a great view. When I finished my pictures I climbed down to go shower and get ready for 2$ pint night at the BBC Taproom. That climb started off a real good night.
I’ll leave you with a few more shots from the climb. There were just so many, I wanted to include them all.
