Tree Climbing

Regenerative Culture Health, Healing & Movement
#1

Today my body remembered something so freaking fantastic I can’t believe I forgot it–climbing trees feels great! I hung out with my friends yew, magnolia, oak, apple, and cedar. We really enjoyed each other’s company a lot.

Something about using all 4 limbs to move yourself through space. And to feel the bark’s texture and smell, and the wood’s strength pushing back against you. And to perceive the spaces and orientation of the tree’s limbs with your BODY instead of just your eyes, takes you somewhere else entirely.

While climbing around, I found a spot in a cedar tree where I even thought I might be able to sleep. If I felt tired enough. I’ve wondered a long time about people who say they’ve done this—but HOW? This tree had a long & wide enough branch to sort of lounge my legs out on, and a little branch to hang one armpit over, then a nice springy twig just right to lean my head against. Amazing.

#2

I was on a huge limb that leaned out the side of a ridge,
the limb was like 2 and 20 feet off the ground at the same time,

standing there shaking makes you feel alive, I kept wondering if I’d be able to climb out farther if I had too (but didn’t >>)

#3

When my youngest daughter was a little girl she was fearless. We have a fairly good sized Douglas fir by our house that she used to love to climb. When she was about 9 years old she started climbing it all the way to the TOP! She would go up to where the main trunk is only about 5" in diameter. About 60 ft. up. Totally freaked the shit outta me!

She’d yell down for me to look and see where she was and I could hardly stand to look up. I didn’t want to instill fear in her so I would just say, “That’s really cool sweety now maybe you should come down.” Then she’d go on for a while about how she could see all over the place and start telling me all the places she could see from up there.

She eventually got too heavy for the little branches at the top to hold her and stopped going up that high, but she loved that tree.

She has always been fearless. She was training horses when she was 13. She’s still a very small person so back then she could get on the horses that had never been ridden and they’d barely feel her weight on them. Even when she got thrown she’d get right back on. I wasn’t real enthusiastic about it myself but she was very determined. Through her teenage years she spent more time with horses than with other kids. Looking back that was probably a good thing.

#4

I remember those days, when I was younger I would climb anything and everything, tops of trees, playground structures, you name it. I know I had no fear then, but now I can feel it, being on a roof, edge of a cliff, top of a tree, while I enjoy it, I can feel the fear.

#5

Yeah it’s funny how that cautiousness develops in us.

I dealt with my own fear of her falling by offering tobacco to that tree and asking it to take care of her.

#6

[quote=“heyvictor, post:5, topic:635”]Yeah it’s funny how that cautiousness develops in us.

I dealt with my own fear of her falling by offering tobacco to that tree and asking it to take care of her.[/quote]

That really moves me for some reason. :slight_smile:

I had a friend I’d go on road trips with who would get anxiety attacks about cops etc., so we used to offer up things to Mother Road. That helped her a lot, and though I didn’t ‘need’ it myself, it changed the way the whole trip felt.

#7

I’d love to climb trees. White pines are great for it. Too bad I can’t anymore.

It must be wonderful to do in the PNW.

#8

funny… as children we remember trees…

sad… as adults we forget them…

joy… as we meet them again

a reunion of family.

why else do they call us “tree huggers”