Last year I spent a lot of hours sitting in a particular tree with my Summit climber. The deer in my avatar was killed from this tree. This year when I went to check out the spot, the tree was lying on the ground. It was completely hollow, all the way up, with only about an inch of wood all around it's approximately 12 inch thick trunk.
Good grief - I sat for hours in that death trap. It looked perfectly healthy from the outside. Now I'm chicken to climb another tree! Is there a way, short of drilling holes in them, to determine if a tree is solid or not?
This is the main reason I'm trying a ghillie suit on the ground this year - I just can't seem to get up my nerve to get in one again after seeing that hollow trunk on the ground.
BillJ
Got any pictures of it?
Did it have the "crown" broken out of it last year?
After cutting down several trees I would never think of getting up a tree with a broken "crown" even if it looked perfect on the ground.
You can also look closely around the roots to see if there's any "holes" between the roots and the ground. If there's an area that looks like a snake or squirrel could crawl into that tree may look perfect everywhere else but I'll guarantee there's at least SOME length of rotten/absent core. It may be 2' or 15'.
Knock on wood
Unless another hurricane (like Ike) sends 70mph winds up our way again, I'd say the hollow trees should be safe enough. Ike blew over alot of big, solid, not-hollow trees all over thep place here in central ohio.
Knock on wood...before you climb! Pat
cruising ax! many foresters (myself included) have used these to check to see if a tree is hollow or not....especially walnut and black oaks. I always carry a throwing hawk with me to the woods and it works the same. just a few taps and i know if a tree is safe or not.
Broken Arrow - I'll try and get some pics the next time I'm out. And pintail_Drake2004, I'll have to check out carrying an axe.
But for now, I'm having too much fun on the ground in my ghillie. Maybe that's where I'll stay this year. I do miss the visibility of being up in the air, though.
BillJ
Look for mushrooms or other fungus growing on or around the tree. Sure sign of a tree in decline.