DAY 339
03.08.08
TREE 171
Finally some real snow in the Ohio Valley! It went on all day yesterday while I helped Michelle install her show at the Mary Anderson Center. I left just before 8pm and couldn’t get above 45mph on the interstate, and even then I was passing people like crazy. Just after the I-265 exit a deer ran in front of my truck and there was no way I was going to even turn or brake at all on the snow covered roads. Luckily it kept on running and hopped over the guard rail.
I made it to Will’s and our plan was to go sledding. I thought Dog Hill in Cherokee Park would be our best option. Originally we planned on driving but it just kept coming down so hard neither of us really wanted to drive. So we suited up and grabbed the two cafeteria trays I took from the Mount. The walk was long, slow, and tiresome. But Will and I had fun just shooting the shit. Will was very doubtful that these tiny trays were going to work at all. I told him, if the snow is packed they would work great, but in thick powdery snow it doesn’t. And this snow was only getting thicker by the minute. I joked that there are probably 100 people on the Hill so it will be nice and packed for us to have a splendid time.
As we walked through the park we were surprised to see so many headlights. We saw more cars in the park than we had the whole 2 mile walk there. And when we arrived at the Hill it was amazing. It was packed with people. The street was full of cars, people were sledding on any thing you could think of: car hoods, beer signs, laundry baskets, traditional sleds and inner tubes. There literally was 100 people there and dogstoo. So after resting a little while, we got to it and had an awesome time. At one point the snow stopped falling and it was like a light turned on. It was beautiful.
Then we called it. We had a long walk ahead of us and going up and down the Hill was tiring us out. We ate some snow as we walked and fell into a rhythm. I got more and more tired and felt my leg muscles straining against each slippery step. By the last quarter mile I had become snow crazy. I was saying any crazy or stupid thing that popped into my head. When we finally got upstairs to Will’s apartment I struggled to get off all my clothes and then crashed on the couch exhausted.
The next morning I woke up and looked out the window to see snow coming down very hard. When I finally got off the couch and looked outside again, I saw a foot of snow covering everything.
I began to mentally prepare for my climb. Then I put a bunch of clothes on and told Will to wish me luck.
I walked out his door and went across Market Street.
My feet sunk down into deep snow as I approached the ginkgo in front of the church.
At least 8 inches of snow stuck to the tops of all the branches. I reached up and put my hand around the first limb and it was covered in snow. My hand immediately started to sting. I brought it down and shook off the snow. This was going to suck. I knocked off as much snow as I could reach, warmed my hands back up and then went for it. I put both arms around the limb and pulled myself up with a little help from a tiny branch. I stood up and warmed my hands.
I studies my next move. I took my my elbow and cleared more snow, then I went up to the next branch. My hands were killing me. I thought of calling Will and having him bring me my gloves but I didn’t do it. I found other ways to cope like sticking my hands in my sleeves and hooking my arms around branches instead of holding them with my hands. It was extremely nerve racking. I looked up to my ribbon and it seemed so high for these conditions. But I didn’t give up. It was slow going but I planned and prepared each move with care.
Then I would quickly execute my move and regroup. By the time I did reach the ribbon I had a pattern down and it wasn’t so bad on my hands.
I was amazed I made it through. The first time was rain, now this time snow. I took out my camera and took a ton of pictures.
Downtown was so quiet and peaceful.
The sun had come out and everything was slowly beginning to melt. I pulled off my ribbon with such a feeling of accomplishment. Then I began to climb down. I was a little nervous because one slip would cause a fall. There would be no way for me to hold on to the slippery branches. But going down turned out to be easy. I put each branch under my arm pits and I was stable. No hands got cold, the snow had already been cleared from coming up, and it went quite quickly.
I dropped to the deep snow and followed my foot steps back to the street. Another day, another tree. And this one felt really good.
3-17-09: Sorry I don’t have any pictures from the sledding. Especially after spending all that effort telling you the story. It had nothing to do the tree climbing. But these latest entries are typical of the end of my hand written portion of the project. I thought people would want to hear more than what I had been writing. So I started to share more, tell more stories, and generally lengthen the entry. I realize this is a lot to read, and if nothing I hope you enjoy the pretty pictures. I was taking way more than I used to as well. This is about the time I started to take 20-30 images per climb. Now I take about that many or more.
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Sunday March 8th 2009. I went to the gym for parkour and when I returned a little after four I got cleaned up for dinner with my parents. We met at North End Cafe. Daylight Savings Time changed over the night before and the sun was pleasantly coming out after a brief storm as we ate. I was happy that I would have daylight after dinner to climb a tree. My parents dropped me off at my house and I got my camera and headed north on Cabel. I walked over the railroad tracks to the corner of Witherspoon and River Road.
I pass this corner about twice a week on foot or bike going to the Waterfront Park for parkour. When I went this time I saw a tree that was perfect for climbing.
It struck me as odd that I had never tried to climb it before.
I shimmied the trunk to reach the first branch of this hackberry. From there I climbed up through the branches to a nice perch at the top.
The sun was just setting beyond the Louisville skyline
and was going below the level of the bridge.
The streets were still damp from the recent rain and everything looked crisp and fresh.
Even the spot under the interstate overpass where hobo trash has accumulated and been burned seemed colorful and beautiful.
It was a beautiful view and clarifying and peaceful climb. It just felt right up there and I felt content.
As usual, I wanted to stay up there in my nook but my feet and butt started to get sore. I finished shooting my shots of the moon,
the nearby park,
the old RR bridge,
the Kennedy Bridge over the River,
and the nearby billboard.
I started to climb down and at the bottom branch looked to a very nearby tree for a possible transfer. I could reach on of the limbs and tested it for strength. I determined it adequate and stepped off the hackberry. I slid down the branch to the next limb and then jumped to the ground. Adding another tree made the whole experience even better. I can’t beat a perfect tree climb.