What a nice day to measure! I would have really liked to been apart of that trip. Christmas retail has all my time. After the holidays I would like to get out to your stomping grounds!
On Dec 4, 8:39 pm, [email protected] wrote: > ENTS, > > Well today was a big day for the Massachusetts group of dedicated Ents. At my > request, Andrew Joslin and two companion climbers took on the daunting task > of climbing the Henry David Thoreau pine in Monroe State Forest for the > purpose of doing a tape drop measurement. The day was perfect for the climb. > > We met at the Charlemont Inn at 8:30AM and had breakfast. To our delight, > John Eichholz was able to make it. So, after breakfast, we headed for Dunbar > Brook. While John and team readied for the climb, John and I scooted around > measuring other trees. We also measured the Thoreau pine from as many > locations as possible. Our ground-based measurements ranged from 157.1 to > 158.4 feet. John and I thought the most probably height for the tree to be > 158 feet. > > To cut to the chase, Andrew's tape drop came to 156.1 feet. John and I were > surprised, but that is the best measurement we have, so the big tree is no > longer in the 160 Club. However, John established a new mid-slope baseline > for girth using the Will Blozan method. Thoreau's girth is an even 13.0 feet. > So, the Thoreau pine moves into another girth class. Lose some, win some. > > John went farther out the ridge while Andrew and team were getting themselves > positioned in the top of the pine. John measured a sugar maple to 124.7 feet, > a new height record for the Dunbar Brook maples. The Rucker Index stands at > 123.7 today. Its all time high is 124.1. I found a tall ash upslope from > Thoreau and the Grandfather pine. Its dimensions are girth = 7.2 feet, height > = 128.9 feet. Not bad. I remeasured the Grandfather pine and got 144.7 feet. > That is a believable number, given Will Blozan's climb a couple of years ago. > I think he got around 143.5 feet or so. > > Well, enough chatter. The following images tell a little of the story. > > ThoreausBase.jpg: This image show's Thoreau's base. That is what a 13-foot > circumference looks like for a straight white pine. > > LookingIntoThoreausCrown.jpg: I tried to capture the appearance of how this > tree soars. > > TopOFThoreau.jpg: This image shows Andrew's pole at the tippy top of the > great tree. > > ClimberInThoreau.jpg: This image shows a climber ascending. > > AshMapleAndRock.jpg: This image is included to give an idea of the > surrounding terrain and forest. Great place. > and your team, all ENTS thanks you and your team, and most of all the great > Henry David Thoreau pine thanks you. We can promote this climb as a genuine > effort to put truth into the tree numbers. > > Bob > > ThoreausBase.jpg > 666KViewDownload > > LookingIntoThoreausCrown.jpg > 755KViewDownload > > TopOFThoreau.jpg > 419KViewDownload > > ClimberInThoreau.jpg > 537KViewDownload > > AshMapleAndRock.jpg > 636KViewDownload -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
