Highest point in Bedford County PA. climb #46 of 67 trees on 67 mountains in 67 counties

Climb #46
Bedford County
June 18, 2024
Elev 3120’
40.288958, -78.562966
Boots on the ground agriculture
Today I got to share the tree tops of Bedford County with Pennsylvania secretary of agriculture Russell Redding. He heard about my effort to climb the tallest trees on the tallest mountains in each of PA's 67 counties to raise awareness for forestry in the state, and he asked if he could get involved. Well today, he got involved! He and I climbed a beautiful Red Oak at the highest point in Bedford County PA. The high point is in Blue Knob state park. The park staff did a fantastic job hosting. Park manager Layne Nolan helped me pick out the perfect tree for the climb. As we prepped the tree for the event we noticed an old abandoned piece of electrical hardware nailed into the tree about 25 feet before the ground. Before it was a state park this mountain was the site of a US military installation going back to WWII. With the help of some tools from the Blue Knob staff we removed these metal relics from the tree. (just a reminder, please don’t put metal in a tree. Nails, screws, wires will lead to problems down the line). Secretary Redding, DCNR Forester Jason Alright, PA Office of outdoor recreation Nathan Riegner, and executive director of the Pennsylvania hardwoods development council Jon Geyer spoke at the event before the climb. It was a great day celebrating Pennsylvania’s forests! A special thank you to Stephanie Phillips-Taggart of the Keystone Wood Products Association for supporting this project since its inception.

[@franciss.3298]

The dynamic rope method of climbing appears to take at least five times more physical effort the srt method at least it looks that way when you are climbing.

[@JamesShehan-f7k]

Wanna be tree huggers 😂