Thanks Bob, great day in the woods. Apologies for the longer than expected time it took to get the tape drop.
I want to asterik the tape drop measurement, looking at your photo I think the outer twig on the right is a little higher. I think it will take another manual measurement at some point to rule out an error on my part. Plus 2' difference indicates that something more than the top twig choice is amiss, especially when the ENTS A-team is on the ground. -Andrew [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 > > > > > > > > > -- > 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] > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -- 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]
