Article Lead Image

Reflected Serendipity

Seattle man who climbed top of 80-foot tree goes viral

Sending good vibes to our troubled tree friend.

 

Molly Stier

Internet Culture

Posted on Mar 22, 2016   Updated on May 27, 2021, 1:31 am CDT

The saying goes “make like a tree and leaf,” but this guy can’t seem to take a hint.

Police and firefighters responded to a man who climbed to the top of one of Seattle’s iconic 80-foot Sequoia trees after 11:30am PT but their help was rejected, according to KOMO News, which is livestreaming the event. 

https://twitter.com/JonCordell/status/712407239626088448

Sporting a long beard and a wool cap, the man has been yelling at spectators and throwing small branches, apples, orange peels, and pine cones, among other things, at rescuers for nearly five hours. By the fourth hour of the ordeal, he had stripped the top of the tree bare and began chucking branches at officers and firefighters. He’s even made a request for a pack of Camel Crush cigarettes.

If this story sounds like Internet gold, it is. The hashtag #ManInTree is trending across the nation. A clever Twitter user has already created a Twitter persona for the man, tweeting from the account @Man_in_Tree.

https://twitter.com/ConnorHutyler/status/712410722752278528

Looks like this guy is rooted in staying up there. 

Photo via Reflected Serendipity/Flickr (CC BY2.0)

Share this article
*First Published: Mar 22, 2016, 9:33 pm CDT