№ 3: Validation
In contrast to what I talked about in my last letter, there is a sole bit of tree climbing media that makes me feel like I’m doing it right: The Tree Climber’s Guide, by Jack Cooke.
In the last couple of years, I’ve twice been gifted this book by colleagues who knew of my hobby. It’s an attractive hardbound volume of quality construction, with lovely illustrations. In it, Cooke offers narrative vignettes of his climbs across London, while also meditating on nature, human behavior, and the history of the English capital. Despite it being called a Guide, it is no how-to book. Early on, Cooke even tells the reader that “this book will not tell you how to climb trees,” though he does have asides to discuss a little terminology and technique. Any guidance to the reader is more in Cooke’s demonstration of the attitude and philosophy with which he approaches the hobby.
What I appreciate about the book is that Cooke’s experiences are a lot like mine: he clambers up random trees in an urban landscape, without any gear, using only his own body (and an occasional boost from a friend).1 The way he thinks about and describes climbing often runs parallel to my own thoughts—both those I’ve already expressed in these letters, and things that I intend to write about in the future. For him, as for me, the pursuit of tree climbing is not just about exercise, it’s also about taking in the surroundings: idly relaxing and looking around while thoughts wander. It’s an alternation between athleticism and meditation.
I described in my last letter how the small circle of tree climbing resources is dominated by technical climbing, and how my experience as a free climber is poorly represented. Cooke’s book is a rare exception, and reading it felt very validating. There’s a lot of power and comfort in seeing that someone else does something the way you do.
That being said, the bulk of the book—featuring brief descriptions of dozens of trees Cooke has climbed around London, and documenting his thoughts while climbing—eventually begins to feel repetitive to me. His experiences during each of these excursions were clearly meaningful to him, but perhaps were too situational or personal to resonate with me. I could tell you about plenty of things I have felt and seen when climbing trees, many of which remain with me, but most of them are not worth recounting: you had to be there.
Nonetheless, I’m pretty sure that if you’re the sort of person who is reading letters like mine, The Tree Climber’s Guide is a volume worth considering. And that overlap between Cooke’s work and mine is important, because I’m fairly sure that it influenced my decision to launch Dryad, at least unconsciously. His book offered me some confidence, by putting into my head the idea that there’s an audience out there for this kind of content. And that was confidence that I needed, because while I was interested in writing about my hobby, I was a little nervous to start a whole project about it. I figured that there was a substantial chance of being met with awkward and embarrassing silence when I touted it on social media and shared it with friends.
But there are now over thirty of you who’ve signed up, and that’s not only heartening, but far more than I had hoped for; I was aiming for ten people. I’m not likely to get picked up by a major publisher (HarperCollins) anytime soon like Cooke was, but I’m grateful for the chance to share my thoughts with all of you. Your attention and responses, too, have been very validating, and I’m encouraged to keep pondering my hobby in ways that will doubtless deepen my appreciation of it. Writing these letters has been rewarding, and my excitement to share my thoughts is such that I’ve already drafted or taken notes on quite a bit of future content.
The Tree Climber’s Guide made me feel like I wasn’t alone in the way I experienced climbing, and it doubtless helped lead to these letters I’m writing, which I hope will serve the same purpose for another climber someday. To Travis and Jake, each of whom thought of me when encountering this book: thank you.
Of course, having someone help you get into the tree is clearly cheating ;).