DAY 134

DAY 134
08.16.07
TREE 51

Today was a crazy day for weather. I went out around noon to go find my tree in the wildlife sanctuary. It was hot and muggy. Louisville reported a high temperature of 105 degrees F! When I reached the white water tower I cut into the woods on the right. I followed a dried up creek till it dead ended in someones private yard right off route 150. So I cut up the hill and found an old road that had huge weeds and baby trees growing all over it. I followed it to two clearings, took a couple of forks that ended and I had to back track. I just kept following it, saw a box turtle, some deer, and I sweat profusely. Then the trail followed a barbed wire fence. I followed the edge of that till the trail had become so over grown with thorn bushes that I couldn’t make it through. I tried and my legs got snagged all over. They were red and bumpy from socks to shorts and itched and stung really badly. I found another passage along the fence and quickly found myself in the dense woods. The fence ended abruptly and fifty feet away was the Eagle Scouts trail on the sanctuary property. Thank god! So I followed it to the creek and then followed that to where it feeds into another. Just at this point is where my tree is. I looked for my ribbon and it wasn’t visible. So I jumped onto the slanted trunk and began my cat crawl. Slow and steady I arched under a branch and then there it was… not the ribbon, but some animal’s toilet. Five or six turds with flies all over. Two pieces fresh and light colored. I broke off a twig and cleaned it best I could. Then I crawled past making sure not to stick my hand in the residue those flies were still clinging to. Up a little higher to my previous stopping point. I stopped. I looked around searching for my ribbon. It was gone. Either animal or human did not approve and took it down. I got comfortable and took some shots. I debated going further and tried, but after one step I decided everything in this tree beyond this point was dying. So I cat crawled back down in reverse, careful over the feces. I was happy that I wasn’t scooting down on my stomach like I did last time. I have either gotten better at cat crawling or the situation just demanded that I do it. Back on the ground I started to feel thirsty and exhausted. I walked home going slower and slower and by the time I had ice water in my hand I could barely stand. That two hours of wandering through the woods was nice because with all these reclimbs I find myself not doing that as often. But today was just too hot.

Then I went home home to hang out with my dad, and the thunderstorms rolled in. They were amazing to watch. Crazy day.

Looking up from the bottom of the trunk

At my stopping point, you can see some of the dead branches I was weary of.

One of my favorite pictures



8-17-08:  It took me so long to do yesterdays make-up entry that I didn’t get second one done, so I am still on make-up.  I do have some stuff to say about this entry, however.

First, I apologize for not taking a picture of the feces.  I am sure that you were wondering what it looked like.  I was thinking raccoon poop.  But without a picture I can’t ask people what they think.  Just so disappointing.  I am not sure if you recall my entry from the first time I climbed this tree, but, I did slide down the trunk on my stomach and went over some feces.  There just wasn’t as much this second time.  Yucky.

Also, right before the rain came, the temperature dropped from 105 to the high 70’s in less than an hour.  It was crazy (as I said).  And the best thing about watching storms at my parents are all the really long, tall, skinny, trees that sway like crazy in the strong winds.  I like to imagine that I am in them.  What an awesome and thrilling ride that would be.

Okay, so I am going to tell you about my climb on Friday night.  That would be the 15th.  I met Norm and Jennifer for dinner at La Que (pronounces La Wey and means basil in Thai).  After we finished they had to run to check out a motorcycle and I grabbed my bike and went to Cherokee Triangle.  I had been there before and saw this massive hackberry right by the playground.  I figured I’d give it another good look since it was dark and this spot was well lit.  I figured it make a good climbed with nice pics.  It wasn’t long before I found a way in on an overhanging limb by the slide.  I carefully pulled the limb down and tested it by hanging.  It drooped low but held and I heard no cracking.  I was pretty sure that it would hold because hackberry trees have incredibly strong limbs.  I started to climb up it like a rope until it started to curve to horizontal.  Then I hooked my heels up on the limb and crawled in upside down.  Once I got to the last fork of the branch I righted myself to my feet and looked toward the trunk.  It was quite a ways away still and so I got to my butt and slip backwards till I reached the trunk.  Getting to my feet was difficult but I managed and then creeped around the trunk to another large limb.  Then I began to climb up.  These branches were so big and long It was quite hard to go fast at all, or very high.  I definitely didn’t get anywhere close to the top but I was satisfied with my height and position.  I then took a bunch of pictures.  Some with flash and some without. 






Since it was Friday night near Bardstown Road there were plenty of car lights to make neat pictures and help light some others.  When finished, I carefully climbed back down to the first branch and managed to struggle just the same going from my feet to my butt.  This time I scooted forward to the fork then stopped to take a few more pics.



With my bike next to the trunk you can really tell just how big this tree was around.  I am not even sure if I got half way up.  It was very tall too but I couldn’t get a picture of the tree in its entirety.  I did take one of the bottom, however.  That is, when I finished climbing down the rest of the branch.

It was then on the ground that I realized something.  That slide was an old McDonald’s slide.  People my age who grew up in the 80’s should remember the old slide with the steps that went right next to the slide.  And does anyone remember the hamburger thing where you crawl into a cylindrical tube, take the metal ladder rungs into the hamburger shaped top?  That was usually right next to the slide.  Good times.

(Sweet! I love google image search, and the internet, and playgrounds)