Wild Trees

A book report by Brian Giles, OHGOS

This book is a gem for anyone interested in the exploration of previously inaccessible canopies of our Coast Redwoods, Giant Sequoias, Douglas Firs, the Australian Eucalyptus regnans (298’ tall) and groves of Pinus sylvestris, Scotch Pine—in Scotland—although the species grows from Finland to Mongolia to Spain.

Not only are new “tallest trees” measured, but many new species are discovered, including lichens that produce considerable amounts of nitrogen. Actual beds of humus in tree crotches support patches of huckleberries and bonsai species of other trees.

Key personalities in the explorations are highlighted as they struggle with the underemployment that accommodates the obsession with tree exploration and new techniques of rope climbing and horizontal travel through the tree canopy.

The text is spiked with tree climbing slang: the call “HEADACHE” accompanies any dropped object or falling branch; “cratering” is a death caused by an uncontrolled fall; known to the skydiving community as “bouncing”. Marriage is likened to rope management in the canopy. Reiterating is the production of multiple trunks, usually above 200’; the task of measuring the tallest becomes more difficult. Fire Caves are actual caverns within the tree’s trunk. Exploration of these fire-generated spaces frequently show the entire tree is hollow. Common in the redwoods as well as the Eucalyptus groves: most of the tallest Australian trees originate from a burn in the year 1710; the trees resprout in what is called a “fairy ring” of multiple trunks surrounding the burnt out and hollowed original tree.

Insight into the personalities of the key explorers adds depth to the compelling exploration itself. Marriages are kindled or crushed by the shared or not-shared compassion for the exploration. Some players go from years of spartan accommodations, like sleeping in a van, to the seemingly incidental reception of the PhD and tenure in the academic world.

Please note, this book contains graphic descriptions of sex in the tree canopy and may not be appropriate for minors.