SoCal park off limits

So I went to the park today to climb a eucalyptus tree. Karina (my gf, a very novice climber) came with me and the plan was I go up set my friction saver, set her fs and line, come down, then we go up together, have lunch, come down, go home. Simple enough.

I get the throwline set on the 4th throw, set my line, footlock up. while I am ascending a few branches higher I see her putting on her saddle and throwing her flipline around the trunk of a neighboring tree...just checking if it still worked, I guess! So I get my line set, swing over to another lead, set her line, then come down, we're checking her saddle to make sure it's on right, getting her tied in when a truck pulls up.

I guess I should tell you that we were at a very peopled park. We were in sight of many people. As I've whined about in the past, the good trees in this area remain hidden to my eyes, so I've gotta make do with what I've got.

So it was a park official telling me that the park is not set up to allow us to do what we were doing and tree climbing and rock cilmbing were not allowed here. I did my bestest to remain polite and asked him if he could show me the rules because I didn't see any signs or anything. He said he'll go get them and I should proceed with taking down the ropes.

So we waited around for a few minutes and whined about how it was like we were playing soccer and he just ran up and grabbed the ball and ran away. He came back, showed me in the rule book where it said more or less, "no person shall affix ropes, strings, chains, or cables of any kind to allow climbing of trees or for any other purpose on park property."

I politely said no problem, we'll take the ropes down, but why is that the rule? He went on to explain that this is a non-traditional recreational activity that the park is set up for. It is dangerous and people could get hurt. He asked if I had any sort of license to allow me to do this and I smugly replied that I had the same license that allows those guys (points to guys over there) to play soccer and those kids (points to kids) to play on the monkey bars. His response: "Soccer's not dangerous and their parents are watching those kids."

I wanted to give him a 30 minute dissertation on how even though to the untrained eye this might seem similar to rock climbing (another sport in which I partake that I consider to be safe though other people see it as quite hazardous) tree climbing is quite safe and I would be at MORE risk if I just chased that black and white ball around while my friends kicked at my shins. But I decided that I would be....well...the opposite of preaching to the choir. Like it would fall on deaf ears. So I thanked him and told him we'd be outta there in a few minutes, then he drove off.

Funny thing is, when I pulled karina's rope out of the tree, it got stuck and I had to climb up to get it out anyways!

I think it was called Bengle Terrace park in Vista, CA. I guess it's officially off limits.

He had a co-worker with him who at one point said, "geez, not in a eucalyptus...they splinter." Ummmmm. I think I can figure out where to put my rope, thank you very much.

So anyone know any good areas around here to climb some trees?

love
nick

My respect grows for you each time you post. So I have to ask. Do you keep count of how many times you have been booted out of a tree? It is a status symbol, you know. To climb in public in front of everybody, now that takes a bit of gumption. It takes a REAL tree climber to shy away from stealthy ninja climbing techniques and do it where everyone can see you.

I personally quit counting after a dozen climbing evictions; some while in the tree and others either before or after a climb while grounded. Why do they always shout, “Hey!! What are you doing in that tree!?” Do they have a vision problem? Surely it is obvious you are climbing the tree.

Too bad that right now asking permission to climb reaps such poor predictable results. It is like asking a person not to ride a bicycle on the street because they might get hurt (frankly much more dangerous than tree climbing). But then again, it is kind of fun seeing if you can get up quick enough before inquiring minds want to know why you are leaving the ground.

You're right, the first thing they ask is what are you doing. I have considered fabricating a letter or ID of some sort to show that I am doing something official that the other person probably wouldn't understand. Like looking for Asian Longhorn Beetles or something like that. Problem would be if they made a phone call or two to verify it!

It is the act of being kicked out of a few trees that has makes me want to set up a network of some sort that tracks where all the good climbing areas/groves/trees are in the country. I could just go online, click in my zipcode, then see all the trees near me. I know it's possible.

The thing that bummed me out most is that karina has only climbed a few trees and it's a rare day when she's feeling the courage to give it a shot. We got "busted" just moments before she was heading up.

There will be another tree. Maybe one day I'll have access to my own damned forest. Until then.....

love
nick

I AM WORKING ON THAT!

Hey the server is up and running, and the software has been downloaded...

give me a few days will ya!

I guess that is the semi-offical announcement that TCNC is going to have a climb area database, in the very near future.


I STILL need folks to send me their gps data, though. So comon folks can't you see Nick needs a tree he wont get kicked out of?!

Icabod, the database you are setting up, what info do you need. Must it only be lat/lon number? Can we include notes about the tree (specie, size, misc. comments), tips about access....things like that?

Will your data base be for north cackalacky only, or is it for all of
us (us, you and me, us united states...pun intended).

I'll get you some numbers soon!

love
nick

I have taken the topic of a tree climbing database to its own thread in general discussions. This needs to be brought to more of the readership here.