Up a Tree

If your inner child is healthy, you may still enjoy climbing trees. Tree Climbers International exists to nurture this indulgence. This leads us to take a look at Zacchaeus, the Patron Saint of Tree Climbers.

When you're a kid, the presence of a great tree with lots of low branches is a certain invitation to climb up and see the world from a greater height. Of course, falling from that great height often leads to one of the first childhood trips to the emergency room and a cast on a busted arm or leg for the elementary school class to sign. Such a diversion, however, rarely becomes a deterrent for the determined child adventurer, as there will always be another tree beckoning to be scaled.

Adults, on the other hand, usually have a more restrained approach to being "up a tree." Usually, being "up a tree" means that one is stressed and at wit's end (As in, "Timmy fell out of the tree and needed a $250 trip to the ER. Now I'm up a tree!").

But not every adult associates being in the branches with being "out on a limb." There's an organization, in fact, called Tree Climbers International, which promotes the sport of low- impact, high-safety tree climbing for adults using ropes and harnesses. The ...