[pct-l] Watch for falling trees

[Tobin Van Pelt]

While on the topic of witnessing falling trees ... I thought that I  
would quickly share my falling tree experience.

A good friend and I were hiking the AT in North Carolina in 1995 when  
we stopped off trail at a small water source to fill up.  It was  
completely still and there was no wind.  We sat quiet drinking our  
water ... when no more than 30 feet away we heard an enormous crack.   
A tree close to 30" diameter started falling .... slow at first ...  
then faster making an enormous crash.

Fortunately, it fell away from us.  Neither of us said much and just  
looked at each other in dismay and wonder.  To this day we relish that  
amazing experience of having been right on top of that tree when it  
went ... especially since there was no apparent cause such as wind.   
It was a very large oak as I recall and was very likely in excess of a  
100 years old.  It was quite an amazing experience.

Rocket Man



On May 13, 2009, at 8:10 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 10:44:55 -0400
> From: Thomas Jamrog <balrog at midcoast.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Watch for falling trees
> To: Trekker4 at aol.com
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <B48FAAC4-6C58-4416-AF9F-57549D12D31E at midcoast.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
> It is very unusual to witness the natural falling of a large tree in
> the forest.  Most people never experience it, even folks who spend a
> lot of time in the woods.  I was fortunate to witness a large tree
> fall when I was walking on the AT in Maine last September.  There was
> no wind, it was time for the tree to cease the growth cycle and
> initiate the decomposition cycle.  I hold it as one of my treasured
> experiences.  We ued to call these events "Happenings".
> Uncle Tom