DAY 262
12.22.07
TREE 187
It was a very nice day. I got to sleep in, the sun was shining, and the temperature got up to 63 degrees. I didn’t have to work and I could climb whenever I wanted. My brother wanted to go run so I thought I’d join him and climb a tree. He wanted to go to the high school track down the road and I drove. We got to the lot and parked. The wind gusted every once in a while but the sun was warm. I walked on to the track and looked into the distance for a good tree… and BAM! There it was. In the back left of the stadium, a perfect tree.
Even better yet, it was just inside the fence. I couldn’t believe it. This tree was practically the only one within the fence perimeter and it was perfect. Scott began to run his laps and I sized up the tree. The trunk split low and had four main leaders that went way up. All were approximately equivalent in height so I looked to see which one had the best path. I climbed up to the first split and followed the obvious path up since I only had one option. I climbed up constantly looking for transfers to the other three leaders. I got up to the top of one and realized it wasn’t the highest.
It was easier to tell from up here, and as I looked down I saw possibilities to go back down, transfer, and climb back up even higher. But just in case I couldn’t, I tied my ribbon and took some pictures.
Then I made my way down, transferred and was stuck. Too many dead limbs and vines on this leader. I looked for other possibilities but it was a no go. I stayed in the tree for a while trying to figure out a way up higher. But it just wasn’t in the cards. It was time for me to get down. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Once I was on the ground again and back on the track my brother was done running. The climb, though seemingly perfect and serendipitous, was in fact, a disappointment and not that challenging. Maybe it was because I didn’t challenge myself enough to actually go up another one of the leader limbs. But either way, since this was the first go at it, I leave myself room for improvement.
12-26-07: I bet I could climb all the four main leaders of that tree now. Maybe I should go out there and try sometime.
Last Sunday I got up and cleaned a little. I took all the lights down Charlotte and I had put up the day before. Then I gathered all my dirty clothes and items I borrowed from my parents. Then I drove to Buckner. I hung out with my mom, ate, did laundry, and listened to the strong wind outside. It was damn cold. Possibly in the single digits. It was so cold my mom had refused to go out to eat. She wanted to stay in and do her best to warm up. I, on the other hand, was thinking about climbing a tree. I had put it off all day andnow it was dark. I folded up all my clean clothes and mom mom wished me well as I went out into the freezing air. It must have been a negative wind chill. It was awful.
As I drove I tried to think of a good place to climb. With all the wind I thought maybe the Ohio River would be churning and look pretty cool. So I pulled off River Road into a little park near where the railroad crosses. The sign says it opens at sunrise and closes at dusk. It was definitely past dusk but I wasn’t planning to be long. And I thought no one would see me. There was no one out. I drove down the drive and parked by the woods. I got out of my truck and the cold wind off the River hit me hard. I had to make this quick. I walked briskly into the woods looking for an easy tree. Nothing in the woods is easy, not like the full-branches trees in a field. But I had made my decision. I found one that seemed climbable with a path pretty high up. I took my hands out of my pockets and got started.
Immediately they began to ache with cold. I would climbed up a branch then shove my hands in my pockets or under my hat. I kept going up till I had no more options left. I tried to revive my hands once more for the photos. I knew it was going to be bad. I got out my camera and tried to stay still but I was shivering, the wind was blowing, and my hands were starting to go numb. I was becoming desperate. My eyes weren’t focusing and my brain was concentrating more on the pain then on what I saw. It was like a dream. Flashes of lights and white tipped waves. When I was looking it was quite beautiful, but mostly I remember thoughts and pain. I only took a few shots of the waves,
the tree,
and the surrounding objects on both banks.
I put my camera away, warmed my hands as best as I could, then scurried down the tree. I had to get down and get back inside my truck. I slid down the trunk skipping the branches. Then I hit ground and walked. I could have run but my hands warm quickly and it wasn’t as bad as I thought up in the tree. I got back to my truck… no cops. Good. Tree climbed with pictures of the River just as I planned. I could go home now and relax.
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