Leave the Damn Trees Alone

Ok, so I have to rant here a bit. At the Front Porch cliff at the Narrows, there was this cool bonsai tree living in a nook near the start of two routes. Fortunately, the tree wasn’t blocking any important holds, it was just chilling there, doing it’s tree thing, probably all zenned out or something, contemplating the sick view across the valley. We had climbed these routes many times (which share a start) and the tree was fine.

The other day I go to the cliff and immediately notice the tree is gone! Pulled out by it’s root! My first assumption is that someone did this intentionally, and if so that really pisses me off. This just shows a complete lack of respect. That little tree was a cool part of the cliff and those routes, and now it’s sitting at the base of the wall dying. I hope the tool who yanked it could finally send those pitches after the tree was gone, since it must have been such a hindrance to have it there.

Perhaps it was an accident and I’m overreacting, and in that case there’s a lesson to be learned about grabbing small trees when you are gripped. But if someone intentionally yanked this thing out, then that’s just sad.