October 2009 – Week 4

Looking back, this was one eventful week. Lots of good climbs and fun times. I love fall. It is so beautiful right now. I got a lot of hiking in and had a good Halloween.

And with this I am officially caught up. Let’s see how long it lasts. Be sure to go back and check the other entries I posted today. I did all of September and October today so there should be 8 new entries in total. Be sure to collect ALL 8!!!!

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DAY 932 10.22.09 – A couple trees next to my house numerous times to set up my hammock and rope system to get in the hammock which was suspended about 20 feet over my roof.

This was shot through the mosquito netting which is why it looks so blurry

Me pretty happy with myself for accomplishing this feat which has been a dream for a while now. I could lay in the tree tops and relax. I read, napped, it was a thing of beauty. No wonder I was smiling.

Later that night I went to the BBC to show Rob the bartender this picture. I have been making origami christmas ornaments to sell at the BBC in the back room on the night of the December First Friday (Dec 4th). I am making ones from BBC beer labels and out of topographical maps.

DAY 933 10.23.09 – Huge Oak on the corner of Shelby and Jefferson.

I walked behind the fence to the tree and there were a few smaller branches to get into the large ones. I kept climbing and got all the way to the top which was four or five stories up.

I had a great view on this warm fall day. The leaves were really changing and the clouds gorgeous.

I got a call from Amanda Bishop and we made plans for the night.

DAY 934 10.24.09 – Poplar near intersection of Chamberlain Lane and 146.

I was leaving my parents and went to Little Caesars to get a $5 Hot & Ready pepperoni pizza. I parked then walked out to the street and the tall Poplar caught my eye. I went over and saw a way up an overhanging limb and went for it.

I got into the trunk and the next branch was too big around for me to get onto. I was disappointed but took some pictures and appreciated the climb nonetheless.

DAY 935 10.25.09 – A beautiful Maple on Millenium Trail at Bernheim.

Garett was below watching.

It was early in our 14 mile hike so it was a good stretch for me legs. I went up the Maple and transferred over to this large dead tree covered in fungal growth.

Even though it was completely dead and missing most its smaller limbs, it was steady as a rock.

I took a bunch of pictures but didn’t want Garett to wait to long so I scurried back down. It was a really good hike and now my feet are killing me… but such a beautiful day at the peak of fall around here.

More shots from the day:

DAY 936 10.26.09 – Large Maple in Thurman Park (one across River Road from Cox’s Park). I had climbed it before in the spring when the leaves were new… spring of ’08 perhaps. Don’t even remember. Will these years of climbing start to run together? I guess I’ll find out. I got up easy with a trunk run, and then went up the taller side of the two trunked tree. I got to the top and the sunny day was beautiful from up there.

Leaves yellow, and you know, most of the changing leaves right now are yellow.

I wonder if it’s a result of certain conditions or if it’s just the Maples’ time so it just seems all yellow out there. Lots of little white bugs flying in a cloud too. I went down after shooting pictures and went out the same limb I crawled out the last time I climbed. I dropped but was prepared for the distance this time. When I walked away an old woman in cool sunglasses was eying me hard.

Random share. With the BBC Bourbon Barrel Stout labels I invented an origami fold to make them look like little Bourbon barrels. I think I will put them on a string of lights and see how they look. What do you think?

DAY 937 10.27.09 – Cool wet night. I walked down Brownsboro Road and realized there are a lot of apartment complexes along there. I found a nice tree in front of one. It had nice low branches but they were all very slippery. It didn’t stop me from getting near the top with some problem solving and risk taking. Shots were hard to take in the low light and wet conditions.

I climbed back down carefully and walked home just in time to Drew to invite me to his place for burritos, so out the door I went and back down Brownsboro Road.

DAY 938 10.28.09 – After a long 3 hour session of Parkour at the Waterfront I followed Christian (and Mark followed me) to New Albany for a movie night. By the time we got to Christian’s house it was 11pm and I really needed to climb. He said there was a maple in the back yard that could be good and he showed me the way. It was nice, both Mark and Christian followed me into the tree. At one spot I was out of limbs to get higher so I shimmied on the damp limb. The other two didn’t follow but I stopped at the top and tried to get a picture of them below me.

It’s nice to have company sometimes since I am so often solo on my climbs.

DAY 939 10.29.09 – Another beautiful Fall hiking day. Matt Milewski texted me about going to hike a part of the Knobstone Trail in Indiana. I looked out my skylight and saw blue and couldn’t pass it up. I walked to his place and we drove to the Memphis, IN exit off I-65 and drove the Jackson Trail Head. Then hiked in to the KT and out a few miles.

We stopped at the peak of a knob to snack and rest

and I climbed an Oak tree.

Matt and his girlfriend Kelly watched and took pictures of me.

The view from up in the tree was pretty incredible.

The trees are just gorgeous right now.

Then I climbed down and we hiked a little further out before resting a few minutes and hiking back to the car.

I can’t wait to hike the whole KT. Hopefully that will happen soon.

Unfortunately with this pulled muscle in my butt, I may have to put that hike off 🙁

DAY 940 10.30.09 – After a BBQ dinner with Drew at the KBC on the corner of State and Frankfort I walked down State towards Brownsboro Road. It was dark and raining. I spotted this large tree on the very edge of the sidewalk. It’s large yellow leaves were dripping and dangling over the stree. It had massive branches that angled out like strongman arms and then shot straight up. It was entangled with cable and phone lines. Wires were actually wrapped around branches and strung in it like a mess. I tried three times to get into this very challenging tree. The rain didn’t help one bit. I finally solved the puzzle and got onto the first branch. I climbed carefully up through the limbs avoiding the cable lines and the dead limbs.

I was getting soaked as I used all parts of my body as holds so as not to fall. I crept slowly to the top where the tree was mostly dead and covered in fungal growth and limbs with broken ends. I tried to take pictures but I and the camera was getting soaked.

It was too dark anyway. I put the camera back in my wet pants and enjoyed the view with my own eyes. Something I forget to do sometimes when I am so into taking pictures. Then I start the climb down. I went a different way since certain sections made me nervous. I made it down to the last limb and wasn’t certain I was going to be able to reverse my original entry. As I tried a couple different ways, I was about to drop my legs, my body was literally holding to the side of this large limb, when I heard a door shut. The apartment building (house) right by the tree opened and a woman walked out.

I froze in place not wanting to scare her. I was in plain view but just hoped that if I didn’t move she wouldn’t look the couple feet up from her head to see me there dripping with my bright red rain coat on. She never did… head down, right past me. Once she was on the street and to her car I rotated back up onto the limb. My muscles were strained. But I wanted to get down so I dropped down once again, got my hand holds and dropped to the leaf covered street. A soft landing thankfully. As I felt my clothes and checked my electronic gadgets I noticed a slippery spot on my pants. I must have crushed a slug. Eck! I was soaked through and ready to get home. But I still had a few minute walk left in the rain.

Later that night I went to Zanzibar to see a cheap Wax Fang show. Good stuff. Lots of funny costumes too. Papa Smurf was my favorite. He didn’t win the contest though, Abe Lincoln did. What the eff?

DAY 941 10.31.09 – Climbed a Maple near the intersection of Ewing and Frankfort last night before some people came over.

I had on my duct tape pants but nothing else from my costume. I was a shark this year. Last time I climbed this tree Natalie was with me and we had just gone to Nita’s Liquor Store to get a bottle of bourbon for Drew and Shelly’s trip to Chicago. I believe that was July 15th. We had placed the bourbon on the ground and climbed. This time it was night, the leaves are bright yellow, and I think some of the branches had been cut off. I still got in the branches, climbed up and took some pretty sweet pictures of the leaves and the moon in between them.

My pants looked pretty cool in the light too.

A Halloween entry wouldn’t be complete without pictures of the night and all the costumes and friends!!!!

Garett, aka Doogie Houser MD & Morgan, aka Anti-abortion Protestor

Amanda, aka the Mermaid (with legs and some really cute shoes… or so Morgan thought)

Ty, aka Sea Diver with mustache that suggests he’s french. They are why I was a shark, thought it would fit their theme.

Ty’s essential diving gear

Daniel, aka Dustin Hoffman from Outbreak, which I had issue with since his suit was yellow in the movie. But he did a good job dealing with his own weather system inside the suit.

We went to Zach’s after my place and he had quite the food layout and decorations. I was most impressed with his homemade Ernie costume.

Finally a picture of me in my shark suit. unfortunately you can’t see the dorsal fin.

Later we ended up at Zanzibar for dancing. I danced, but couldn’t move much due to the wheels on my heels. I wore my Heeley’s so that I could make it look like I was swimming like a shark. I decided to walk home that night which took about an hour and a half. I rolled down the down hills which was awesome and I think totally weirded out the people driving by late at night. Duct tape shark… look at him go! I fell once and almost fell a handful of times. But it was a fun night. Better than last year, that’s for sure!