Report on May "Second Saturday" climb

A pair of documentary filmmakers wrapped up their many hours of footage of treeclimbers last weekend with a trip to Cornbread Creek in the north Georgia mountains for the May 8 "Second Saturday Wilderness Climb." It was their eighth trip from Birmingham to the Atlanta area for the filming of the ducmentary.

Writer Alica Blackwood and photographer Randy Crow said they expect to spend the next month editing the 12-plus hours of video and distilling it down to a 20-minute documentary that they plan to enter in several film festivals around the Southeast.

Once the documentary is finished, Crow said they hope to continue working with the recreational treeclimbing community to create a longer feature-length program on the rapidly growing sport.

The first documentary likely will be entered in festivals in both Birmingham and Atlanta later this year, and several copies of the video will be provided to the treeclimbers who are featured in it.

"We're basically focusing on the five main people behind recreational treeclimbing in this part of the country," said Blackwood, a former reporter for The Associated Press who is writing the script for the documentary.

They have spent at least one full day with each of the five -- recreational treeclimbing founder Peter Jenkins and master treeclimbing instructors Abe Winters, Genevieve Summers, Joe Maher and Tim Kovar -- and also interviewed several other experienced treeclimbers for the documentary.

The May "Second Saturday" climb started at a fast-food restaurant about an hour north of Atlanta (Note for Jim K.: There likely will be video footage of our waitress, a girl called Dawn who didn't have a double-barreled name but who shouted our breakfast orders so loudly that she made up for it).

Joe and I arrived just after 8 a.m., to find Alica and Randy waiting for us in the parking lot. Peter Jenkins arrived a few minutes later, followed quickly by Abe Winters, John Routon and Rod Justice.

We convoyed north for another 35 miles to the Cornbread Creek climbing area, which is five miles back into a wilderness area from the nearest powerline and paved road.

Randy filmed Peter and Joe as they started their attack on Big Mama Pine, a very difficult Eastern white pine in a dense rhododendron thicket that had previously been climbed to about three-fourths of its height. After about three hours they both managed to work to within a few feet of the crown. Peter said his head was about two feet below the crown, which he measured at 158 feet.

Peter also made other measurements of the tree, which he hoped to nominate for a possible state record.

Abe and John picked out a pair of previously unclimbed 90-foot white oaks nearby, and each made solo climbs to the main crotches in those trees.

Everybody else, including Alica and Randy, climbed in the famous yellow poplar named Marilyn that has a breathtaking 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains and 751,000-acre wilderness area, including the nearby Appalachian Trail and the Eastern Continental Divide. Streams east of the ridgeline all flow to the Atlantic Ocean, while those a few hundred yards away on the western slope all flow to the Gulf of Mexico.

Alica and Randy filmed an interview with Rod in the main crotch at about 95 feet up, on the use of treeclimbing to help physically challenged children. Rod told them about the treeclimbing program at YWCA Camp Cavelle in Michigan, which someday might be expanded to other camps for physically challenged kids around the country.

I climbed on up, reaching a point on a four-inch limb that was about 20 feet above the main crotch. There was not a good spot there to hang out, so I descended and acted as ground support for the other climbers.

After repacking our equipment, we convoyed south about 15 miles to the "quaint" (that is the local chamber of commerce's description, I personally think its just a patently fake tourist trap) alpine village of Helen, Ga., where we dined on sandwiches and cold adult beverages at a small cafe on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River.


The next "Second Saturday Wilderness Climb" is tentatively set for June 12 and is open to all experienced treeclimbers who will be in the Atlanta/north Georgia area that day. Details about the upcoming climb will be posted later on the the message board.

Wild Bill,

The update on the video documentary sounds great. It's important to capture on film a moment with the nucleus of people that started and fostered recreational tree climbing. The story behind the climb always equals in significance the skill and technique employed. Good things are being accomplished.

Thanks for referencing that a moment in a southern waffle house may also be included. I would have asked. Really. From the sound of clinking dishes to the announcement, "Honey, your grits will be right up", it's all part of the tree climbing story. Though I'm the only known person north of the Ohio River that likes grits, I still order my glass of iced tea without the quarter pound of sugar.

As I mentioned to you in a different thread, debriefing these Panama tree climbing expeditions on video would be beneficial - even at an amateur level.

I look forward to seeing this documentary and the other sharing by individual climbers.

Regards,
JimK

By agreement of the members of the 2004 expedition to the Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation at Boca del Drago, "What went on in Panama, stayed in Panama."

Now, having reiterated that statement on this message board, I can tell you that there are two ways to find out what actually happened there: first, join the Jan. 10-20, 2005 expedition to that warm and very hospitable clime; or, second, get every treeclimber you know to bug the hell out of Bob Remenapp at ArborQuest, who has promised for months that he'll finalize his video of the trip and send it out to fellow participants.

...does Panama have waffle houses?...

There you go Wild Bill, your dream is still alive!!!!

Have a great day!

The Panamanian version of a "Waffle House" is located on a little one-lane (or two lanes or even three, depending on the vagaries of local commuters and the locations of the latest potholes) dirt street near the laundromat in the heart of beautiful "Bocas Town," which is the local name for Bocas del Toro. The restaurant is called the "Om Cafe," which I've been told means something or other in various Asian dialects but apparently has little to do with the coloquial Spanglish that is spoken in and around this banana-plantation and Jungle-Joe paradise.

It has a tiny and rickety front porch with wobbly tables way too close to each other, and the whole building has needed a good paint job for at least two or three decades. The waitresses generally wear the garb of native Panamanian indians, and customers who come by car or truck just park their vehicles in the middle of the street if nowhere else is available.

At the Om Cafe, one dines on the most delicious giant pancakes in the world, chased down with gallons of equally delcious Panamanian coffee. Anyone who has ever toured this wonderful country will tell you very quickly that no one, no where, brews better coffee than the Panamanians.

This cafe is also home to that great, great waitress -- Alicia Luisa, who is a first cousin of Alice Lou at the Waffle House in Dahlonega, Georgia and who is the patron goddess of recreational treeclimbers everywhere.

If you don't believe this story, the next treeclimbing expedition to the rainforests of Panama will begin Jan. 10 when everybody meets beside the roof-top pool at the Hotel Covadonga in old-town Panama City. Come see for yourself.

Wild Bill,

I think that you hit upon an important concept: tree climbers need a patron goddess.

...Alice Lou at the Waffle House in Dahlonega, Georgia and who is the patron goddess of recreational treeclimbers everywhere.

Would Alice Lou oblige us in posting her pic? Knowing our patron goddess may be the missing link in mainstreaming recreational tree climbing.

Your narration of the Panamanian Waffle House made me realize that I know no Spanish words for morning activities.

Regards,
Jim

Jim K., Harry and others;

We're beginning to tread into deep and dangerous waters here; a photograph of Alice Lou, patron goddess of recreational treeclimbing actually does exist. She is wearing her wedding veil in the photo, in preparation for her nuptual night with whatever treeclimber is available in the bridal suite at the John Milledge Motor Court and Motel in the heart of beautiful downtown Milledgeville, Georgia, two blocks north of the county courthouse on the U.S. 441 bypass.

Will I post this photo on the internet? Not likely! We are not talking about someone who is plain homely, this woman is so ugly she could make a Union Pacific freight train back down a dirt road. She buys her makeup by the pound from the Tammy Faye Bakker cosmetics shoppe, and her clothing is custom designed by Dixie Tent and Awning Company. Any attempt to post this photo would likely result in immediate suspension of my home internet service and a hefty repair bill from the service provider.

(In reality, the lady in the photo is a very lovely young actress who managed to change her appearance so dramatically that even her own Momma wouldn't know her.)

But, for those of you who are desparate for an introduction to the grand goddess of treeclimbing, she has consented to join the Jan. 10-20, 2005 treeclimbing expedition to Boca del Drago, Panama. Make your reservations now for this fantastic journey into the canopies of some of the biggest trees in the western hemisphere.

Wild Bill...... I can't believe that you are talking about brother Joe's girl.He does not share,not even in Panama.Between Abe and Joe,I don't which one likes her the best.