Rec climbing outside of work?

[Lignotuber]

if I am going out to climb for fun, I try to go places with no people around. I have a good pack to carry my gear for a long distance and will go out a ways to get a good tree.

I usually go to canyons or open spaces adjacent to parks. Far enough that 99.9% of people never know I'm there but close enough I can yell for help if need be and will most likely be heard. If further out in nature, I at least make sure I have cell signal but I usually don't have that much time to dedicate to a rec climb.

 

[Matias]

I usually go to canyons or open spaces adjacent to parks. Far enough that 99.9% of people never know I'm there but close enough I can yell for help if need be and will most likely be heard. If further out in nature, I at least make sure I have cell signal but I usually don't have that much time to dedicate to a rec climb.

I live where I do partly because there’s no shortage of places to get away from people but still be within range of the amenities of “civilization”.

 

[Matias]

I also have acres of forest that I am working on sculpting to my liking, planting seeds and removing hazards, so I work for myself a lot, and few things are more enjoyable to me.

 

[Treeaddict]

A friend used to climb public park trees with a sign taped to an orange traffic cone which read “ tree research”.

A group of us have climbed in public parks without being removed. Passer bys have asked us many questions though. Mostly, “are you cutting the trees down?”

I felt like messing around with a woman when she asked if the trees were being removed. I told her that new research by the National Alliance of Asphalt Manufacturers indicates trees and greenery is bad for the environment. We’re removing the trees and making the whole park an asphalt parking lot. She didn’t thinks it was as funny as I did.

 

[moss]

if I am going out to climb for fun, I try to go places with no people around. I have a good pack to carry my gear for a long distance and will go out a ways to get a good tree.

100%

Sometimes hiking just a few hundred yards in from a trailhead will do it.

Doing scouting hikes in wooded areas is very productive, that way you can cover a lot of ground without hauling gear on your back.
-AJ

 

[Matias]

100%

Sometimes hiking just a few hundred yards in from a trailhead will do it.

Doing scouting hikes in wooded areas is very productive, that way you can cover a lot of ground without hauling gear on your back.
-AJ

Definitely.
One of my favorite trees for beginners is maybe 100’ outside of a city park near a disc golf course, but because the tree is surrounded by brush and grapevines, nobody even knows its there.

 

[rico]

I still do training climbs on a spar across the road 2-3 times a week. A prefab/rehab routine of a few 50-60 ft runs in spurs and a few runs of rope walking. A time when I can really focus on technique and listen to my body. At this point in my life I feel like it is essential for longevity in the saddle.

 

[Shadowscape]

National Forest Rec. Climbing
It was my understanding you were allowed to rec. climb in the National Forest. The other day I emailed the U.S. Forest Service to get a positive response to that question, rather than hearsay.
This is the response I received this morning:

Yes you can climb trees but, can not damage trees in any way.


Melissa Rickers
Public Affairs
Forest Service
Chippewa National Forest
p: 218-335-8625
f: 218-335-8641
melissa.rickers@usda.gov
200 Ash Avenue NW
Cass Lake, MN 56633
www.fs.fed.us

Caring for the land and serving people

 

[Muggs]

National Forest Rec. Climbing
It was my understanding you were allowed to rec. climb in the National Forest. The other day I emailed the U.S. Forest Service to get a positive response to that question, rather than hearsay.
This is the response I received this morning:

Yes you can climb trees but, can not damage trees in any way.

I'm amazed that they would give you such a simple and straightforward answer.

 

[Matias]

Is it really simple or straightforward though? “Damaging the tree” is a very grey area. You being on the tree affects it in visible ways, and some LEO might try to argue that that constitutes damage of some sort. Right or wrong, they can arrest you if they like, and then it’s on you to sue them to recover anything that process may have cost you.

 

[Muggs]

I guess I'm just amazed that they would say "Yes you can climb trees...", without first going into liability concerns and bureaucratic bullshit.

 

[Shadowscape]

Public trees, owned by us. You can also camp anywhere you want in the National Forests, although they do limit your stay for a couple of weeks, then you have to move. At least on paper. Knew someone who lived in the Chippewa National Forest. He would just move to a different spot every spring and fall with his wall tent and wood stove.
I know most of the personnel who work with the Chippewa National Forest. Of those I know, there isn't one of them who would give anybody a hard time about climbing the trees, unless they were doing some serious damage. I don't know how it is in other National forests, but I would assume it is pretty much the same. Very nice and easy people to get along with.
Only time you run into bureaucratic tape is when you do work for them. Then the red tape is overwhelming.

 

[ClimbingTN]

Public trees, owned by us. You can also camp anywhere you want in the National Forests, although they do limit your stay for a couple of weeks, then you have to move. At least on paper. Knew someone who lived in the Chippewa National Forest. He would just move to a different spot every spring and fall with his wall tent and wood stove.
I know most of the personnel who work with the Chippewa National Forest. Of those I know, there isn't one of them who would give anybody a hard time about climbing the trees, unless they were doing some serious damage. I don't know how it is in other National forests, but I would assume it is pretty much the same. Very nice and easy people to get along with.
Only time you run into bureaucratic tape is when you do work for them. Then the red tape is overwhelming.

Good information. I wasn't thinking National Forrest because we only have Cherokee in East Tn. I was talking about National Park Services which I guess both agencies are federal. I found this USDA article while researching.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/lets-climb-a-tree. When I looked at NPS, I only saw prohibitive at certain parks, not a general rule. I didn't find anything on the TN State Parks website. I usually am stealthy when I go anyway. Craig

 

[ClimbingTN]

All great suggestions! Thanks folks.

 

[Tuebor]

I've been asked to leave municipal parks, county parks, state parks and national forests for climbing trees. But I've not been caught and not been asked to leave a lot more times. Never been ticketed or fined, yet.

Always awkward being asked to leave public land that I helped pay for. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Even the park officers seem to not believe what they are saying.

Climbing alone in the hard to access backcounty using earth toned equipment and clothing goes a long way towards not being bothered by Ranger Rick. Probably not the safest thing to but it is effective.

This has been my experience, as well. Rangers or cops being anything from apologetic to threatening. One almost escorted me out of the park without letting me retrieve my gear. And I've been evicted from the whole park, not just the tree. I'd guess only about 10 per cent of my encounters with officials while climbing are uneventful. The reason is always liability, which is weird as I watch other people in the park play baseball, drive golf balls, do tricks at the skate park, walk dogs off leash, etc.

 

[moss]

I’ve had very few interactions with law enforcement over many hundreds of rec climbs on public land. Don’t create a reason for them to respond and you won’t be bothered. Climb further away from where enforcement wants to walk from their vehicle. Climb away from trails, in the age of cellphones its too easy for a walker to report: “Tree molestation!” to the local gendarmes.
-AJ

 

[Shadowscape]

I have never even been approached about climbing in public trees. Some curious onlookers, but zero contact with any authority figures. I suppose in different parts of the country people act differently. I don't know anyone who would care if someone was climbing a tree on public land. If someone were to complain about me climbing a tree, I would immediately jump to the conclusion they are tourists that live in a city someplace where trees are just decorations in their yard. Within 5 minutes' walk I am in public trees that have never been seen by another human being, and never will be seen until the logging equipment rolls in, if they ever do. I know there are lots of such territory scattered about the country. Get off the trails and into the woods and your troubles will not exist.

 

[Tuebor]

I've had 4 police cars drive across a grass field to surround me, doing more damage to the grass than I was to the tree. Unfortunately I'd have to drive nearly an hour to get to a park to climb a tree that is more than a 5 minute walk from a parking lot.

 

[Muggs]

I've had 4 police cars drive across a grass field to surround me, doing more damage to the grass than I was to the tree. Unfortunately I'd have to drive nearly an hour to get to a park to climb a tree that is more than a 5 minute walk from a parking lot.

That's more like what I was expecting. This whole notion of "you have nothing to fear if you've done nothing wrong" is for people who are not paying attention...

 

[Lignotuber]

The worst I've had was some rangers tell me I wasn't allowed to climb trees.. I only went after their shift ended after that.. I've also had rangers drive under me without noticing.

For slacking tree to tree, I used to be banned from all of the coastal parks for a while due to their liability concerns. That was after I called the cops on the rangers, they decided to side with the rangers lol.