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How would you climb this Grand Old Lady?

It's honestly however you want to climb that you think is fun, or want the practice of. Personally, I'm in the SRT camp, but maybe try both SRT/DRT and see what you prefer!
 
That butt log is going to be double hearted as soon as it starts the swell for that first fork. Making all but custom sawed short lumber, worth way less then if you could get at least an 8 foot log before the double heart.

I’m a timber guy. Been doing it for 25 years in sone capacity or other. While markets do exist for shorter fas lumber, they are rare and don’t drive premium pricing like longer cuts. And, as hard a good red oak has been to move over the last 15-20 years, it’s likely not going to be sold to a veneer buyer.
 
When climbing bolts it would be a chore to advance a lineman belt around that big tree. It’s certainly doable but a huge PITA.
 
Thanks for all the input so far! I pretty much agree with those that suggest either DRT or SRT. I actually have the gear for SRT-I don't think I have a rope long enough for DRT, so I am going to try SRT. I don't want to put bolts in trees on my property because:
1-I really don't like sinking bolts into trees.

2-I'll probably run into the same problem where someone sees the bolts and climbs a tree and hunts from it, unless I remove the lower bolts, and then put them back in every time I hunt, which would be kind of a PITA.
 
TradBowGuy said:
Note- I learned that for me, the higher I need to pitch the throw ball, the less weight I should use. I went from a 16oz to a 12 oz, then I got it thru.
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I would say for me that, with all of the weights, 12 oz. is the most accurate for me at any height. The only reason that I would need to go heavier is if the throw ball does not have enough weight to overcome the friction on your throw line and is getting hung up (dependent on the throw line used). Learning to throw the ball properly was a big thing for me!
 
TradBowGuy said:
The situation is this. I have 3 trees on my property in NW PA that are about the same size as this Grand Old Lady who is in the front corner of my 1 little acre of Heaven. She measures 10.5 ft around her trunk at waist level (I strung a piece of paracord around her, then measured it's length.) About 13 ft up, she splits into 2 trunks, (you can see her widening before the split at the top of the photo) then the North trunk splits again about 15 ft above that. I got a throw ball thru that upper split today, (not gonna say how many attempts it took, only that it was less than 30, & fun! ;) ) & fed a paracord loop thru, so I'm ready to pull up a climbing/rappel rope. That part of the tree has a decent lean in the North (right side of photo) direction.

Note- I learned that for me, the higher I need to pitch the throw ball, the less weight I should use. I went from a 16oz to a 12 oz, then I got it thru.

I want to use her as a practice tree.

The 3 trees that I want to hunt from are in killer locations-each of them are at a point where 4 or 5 trails intersect, & my cameras show good activity. Other trees around them are climbable, but small-basketball size, & I personally don't like hunting from a tree that I can't hide behind-it's just my way, I guess. I always hunt from big trees, which are harder for me to climb than smaller ones-but I just like big trees!

My thoughts-either do 2TC with REAL long tethers, or a better idea in my mind is to climb SRT. But I figured that I'd throw this one out to you "gurus," & let me see what you think. I watched JRB climb that big Sycamore on YouTube, & thought, what the heck...I can do that...with some practice maybe!

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SRT is the only way to go. If you were to 2TC and had to pass a branch or split at some point, how would you get your rope back around a tree that large once you’re up in the air… I’d SRT with a canopy anchor and love every miniute of it. The bigger concern is what are you gonna do for a platform in this instance
 
Fl Canopy Stalker said:
The bigger concern is what are you gonna do for a platform in this instance
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I figure that at the height just below the split, she's small enough to put a platform on-if not, I have several WE Stepps with 8 ft ropes on them-they can definitely get around her at that height, so I'd use a Perch & 2-3 more stepps.
 
TradBowGuy said:
I figure that at the height just below the split, she's small enough to put a platform on-if not, I have several WE Stepps with 8 ft ropes on them-they can definitely get around her at that height, so I'd use a Perch & 2-3 more stepps.
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You gonna use that throwball and try to swing that 8’ rope around lol
 
Nah-I figure that I'll pre-set the platform or steps in July or August at the latest, so I'm not too concerned about noise. The step is heavy enough to be my throw ball-since I'll be hangin' right across from where it's gonna go!
 
TradBowGuy said:
Nah-I figure that I'll pre-set the platform or steps in July or August at the latest, so I'm not too concerned about noise. The step is heavy enough to be my throw ball-since I'll be hangin' right across from where it's gonna go!
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Watch out for squirrels and your straps. I’d opt for a ring of bolts or that crotch platform thing if you want to leave it out for a while.
 
I don't consider really large trees particularly safe to climb via techniques that rely upon a lineman's lanyard and/or tether around the tree to keep you safe. I only use those types of methods, so I would not climb this tree. The reason I think they are not safe enough for me is that I feel I need to be able to be reasonably sure during the climb that my ropes are "dressed" properly around the tree. I don't climb trees where my hands are not around 12 to 18 inches from each other if I were to reach around the tree. And I usually climb trees that I can fully reach around.

The only time I've had a close call was when I climbed a very large tree with sticks. A stick daisy chain was hung up on the backside of the tree in a big splinter to where I thought my daisy chain was taut, but when I put weight on it the stuck part of the chain came undone from the tree and now the stick was loose and fell. Thankfully, I was not using an aider and my other foot was on the lower stick still and I was okay.

I would only attempt this with some type of rope technique where the rope holds you from a high anchor and you climb the rope and not the tree.
 
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I would go with a ladder stand with a hidden cell camera facing it. If I got the signal someone climbed up in it I would meet them out there with my local warden or the Sheriff. It ticks me off dealing with thieves and pricks on public land I sure as heck wouldnt tolerate it on my own private land.
 
Bolts. I would use 2 tethers or linemans togeather for the pre-set. Then hang a safety line from the top for subsequent visits so that i wouldnt have to use linemans when going hunting. I have quite a few of them like that. Initial setup is a lot of work, but I love a big tree. If your concerned about trespassers, maybe use screwins for the first 3.
 
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