The Only Place You Can Legally Climb a Redwood
Dangling like a piñata from a polyester rope, I’m inching up a 1,000-year-old tree named Grandfather. This forest in Northern California’s Santa Cruz Mountains is said to be the only place where one can legally climb a redwood. I’ve covered about 100 feet in 30 minutes, halfway to the top. Suspended in my saddle—a sort of swing-meets-diaper—I try to maneuver around a thick branch and accidentally send myself careening away from the craggy trunk. I panic and make the mistake of looking down at the tiny people below. But it’s too late to turn back. Tree Climbing Planet founder Tim Kovar, who organized the excursion, glides over. Though the master climber has scaled more than 5,000 trees, this undertaking is exceedingly rare, he says. “More people have been to the top of Mount Everest than to the top of an old-growth redwood.” I take a deep breath, focus my gaze on a few sapsucker holes, and return to a rhythm: Sit, stand, extend. After an hour I finally reach the crown and am rewarded with majestic mountain views and a glimpse of the Pacific. I stretch my aching fingers, then begin my slow-motion shimmy back to earth.
Upward Bound
The perils you’ll face at 200 feet.
Vertigo: If the world starts to spin, focus on one speck of bark and take deep breaths.
Tangled locks: Long hair can get hopelessly caught in climbing gear. Tie back your mane.
Hand cramps: Sit back in your saddle, place your palms together in a praying position, and slowly push your fingers back and forth.
Panic attacks: Trust your equipment. Kovar’s climbers use handgrip contraptions called ascenders to advance upward and a belaying device with a safety lock to prevent free-falls.
While in Santa Cruz // STAY: Request a Monterey Bay view at the ultra-retro Dream Inn, where surf murals deck the walls and beach cruisers are free to use. EAT: Pair Jamaican Oxtail Stew with a local pint from New Bohemia brewing at the Jerk House. DO: Geek out over dubious “Gravitational anomalies” at the screwy shack known as The Mystery Spot. (Spoiler: Subtly slanted angles distort objects and create a convincing optical illusion.)
This article appears in the December issue. Subscribe now.
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