Gatekeeper Hornbeam

Height

3–6 m

First branch

3–4 m

Trunk girth

40–65 cm

A very pleasant surprise that it's possible to climb this hornbeam! You have to clench and do some cool maneuvers on the semi-narrow branch, putting your foot on the stumps. Then you're able to flip and grab the first branch that goes off of that, and then you can hop onto the main thick branch. That goes up all the way to a position where you're sort of floating above the cycling road, and that's so, so, so fun! You can feel like a little gatekeeper elf welcoming all the people into the forest and waving them goodbye, although no one notices you when you're up there. It's a very, very fun position to be in! I stumbled a little on the way back on that narrow branch. It's good to watch out while you're maneuvering down there. It's quite easy to have an ugly slip and a fall.