Climbing Trees

Climbing Trees

By: Sophia Monique Batts

Behind RLS, hidden deep in the forested area surrounding the paved jogging path along Forest Lake Road, there were gigantic California Redwoods growing. Jokingly, in a daring sort of way, a nature loving, tree-hugging friend of mine, named Nic, encouraged me to go climbing. He could climb anything from huge boulders on the beach to steep rock walls. Hiding out in the woods, as we sat smoking Camel Cigarettes, I asked him nonchalantly, "What's the best smoking spot you ever came across on campus?" He cheesed at me, his pearly whites glistening in sunlight. He revealed in a slow-paced, laid back type manner, "There is this one Redwood with like the most awesome view ever! I know you could probly climb it. It's hidden, but easy to find if you know what you're looking for. It has got to be over 100 feet tall, easy!" He assured me, "I bet you could do it, if you tried!"

Nico explained, "You'll know it's the one when you see branches extending out all the way down to the ground." He divulged to me, "Yeah, I climbed up that tree before! At the very top is a stump left from the part that was cut down a long time ago. You could sit on the stump at the very top! You would be sheltered, nestled by branches, so no one would be able to spot you, even if they looked up!" He giggled handsomely with his long, messy, blond hair swaying oddly in the wind. Sweeping the untamed tendrils back beneath his knitted beanie, he spoke candidly, reminiscing about smoking phat splifs, being totally blazed up there, meditating for hours. The smoke bellowed from his two nostrils as his eyes glazed over.

This type of shit always intrigued me. He could have been lying, fuckin' around with me, but I was gullible, believing him with his smooth, hippy-like demeanor. Hanging onto his every word, I decided I wanted to try climbing something as big as that one day, if I ever got the chance. At the moment of truth, whenever I did discover that hidden gem, coming across it, I would prove to myself that I had the balls to climb it. I thought to myself, "Am I crazy enough to go through with such an insane plan!" I wanted so badly to sit on top of this humongous tree, my tiny glass-blown pipe in hand, smoking a couple of bowls. I would enjoy one cigarette atop that perch, sitting on the very same stump to which Nico referred. I decided to make it a goal.

Some days, I would take the path behind the church in daylight, searching as if I were on a treasure hunt. I would take different routes into the woods after lunch to smoke ciggys and see if I could find that notorious Redwood that the blond-haired boy was talking about. I told no one of my plans. I was on a secret mission.

And then came the day I spotted it. It stuck out to me. Out of all the other trees surrounding it, this one stood with an enormous trunk; big branches were extending outward all the way around, protruding down the base, all the way to the ground. I could step up into the gargantuan tree with ease. The lower branches were massive, safely holding my full body weight with their colossal strength. Because Nico had done it before, I was somewhat certain I had what it took to climb to the top of that tree. Looking up, I was reluctant, yet I refused to let fear get the better of me, letting trepidation stop me dead in my tracks. I felt that this was the ultimate adventure, an absolutely perfect smoking spot.

With no ropes or gear, armed only with a packed Marijuana pipe in my pocket, a box of Camel Lights, a Bic Lighter and courageous stupidity, I began making my way up into the heights of that mountainous mammoth. A giant tree, it was bigger than anything I had ever seen in my life. What possessed me to climb it? Sheer will. I had to make it to the top, somehow, 'cause I knew I could.

As I continued up the bigger bottom branches, gradually, the precarious climb began to feel like a matter of life or death. Either I could keep ascending higher, all the way to the top, or I could look down, losing my balance, plunging all the way down to my death. I chose to continue up and on. To persist despite feeling a deep ache in my heart with knots unraveling and cramping within the bowels of my belly. I became scared, sweating, breathing hard! Shaking, I made my way higher! With bravery, determination and the wholehearted faith that there was an actual stump at the top, where I could rest, I did not give up nor did I look down. I crawled up like a spider monkey, climbing swiftly, moving with great care and agility, without hesitation.

To my surprise, a stump is exactly what I found hidden within a cluster of smaller branches at the apex. I pushed myself up onto that flat, round surface, sitting atop the world! Having overcome moments of desperate fear, I meditated, even if it was just for a second in time.

I sat still, balancing as I busted out a bowl of White Widow, BIC slipping from pocket into palm. I fired it up right there, blowing back big plumes of smoke into the chilly air. Luckily, the people passing beneath, off in the far distance, could not make me out, aloft in the sky. I looked down at my surroundings awe-struck! I attempted meditating a while longer, yet all I could contemplate was getting down safely.

Instinctively, I knew I had to go down the same way I climbed up: holding on to the tree's trunk for dear life, trying to avoid looking toward the ground, staying flexible, moving strategically, keeping in constant motion. With a great deal of caution and tremendous agility, I scaled down that Redwood like an animalistic feline. At any point, a branch could have broken beneath my weight, causing me to fall. Luckily, I made it back down somehow. The sensation I felt from climbing was akin to the feeling of the floor dropping beneath me as I was scaling a tall mountain. In order to overcome my fears, I just did it! Subsequently, I felt a sense of tremendous pride, having accomplished such an incredible, death-defying feat.