A spidery oak tree climb

Here is a link to a new video showing a climb in a vast oak tree with co-dominate leaders. The canopy is vast and spidery which made the climb more difficult and longer than it initially appeared from ground level. I'm planning on returning to this tree soon to attempt a traverse or two between the co-dominate leaders.

The tree is located on private land and is also a favorite of local hunters during the hunting season, foot pegs seen at the base were installed by them not myself. The oak appears to be the oldest on this hillside and has probably spent most of it's years in a clearing which has since grown over. This would explain the exceptional span of the canopy compared to neighboring trees.

Please enjoy the video responsibly and view in 1080p for the best possible experience. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/KFxizFg6V1g

That's a fine old, I think northern red oak. It has a classic codominant structure, two trunks grown together but not actually merged. The tip-off is the vertical bulge of callous tissue from the main fork down to the ground, the tree is trying to make up for the weakness by trying to grow around the crack. Besides that the tree looks very healthy. A forest scientist told me that for red oak that is a sign of fire burning through the forest, the parts of the tree above ground were killed, the roots sent up new sprouts and they eventually developed into the two massive trunks growing cheek to jowl. Because there is no actual physical connection between the two trunks, one (with the most lean) will eventually tear out. Any tree with that structure needs to be considered carefully before climbing, yours looks pretty stable for the time being. Thx for posting, looked like a great climb.
-AJ

Excellent info Moss, thank you. I would never have considered wildfire as a possible cause for the dual trunks, interesting to think about happens to trees over long timelines.