The man determined to climb trees in all 67 counties in Pa. has conquered Philadelphia and Delco this weekend

For Van Wagner, it’s 38 trees down and 29 to go.

Actually, Wagner climbs up the trees. The only thing falling, he hopes, is the number of people who fail to appreciate Pennsylvania’s 16.8 million acres of forest and the need to manage them well.

That’s why the 47-year-old from Danville, Montour County, was in Newtown Township, Delaware County, and Chestnut Hill on Saturday. Wagner is in the middle of a quest to visit the highest points of elevation in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania and then climb the tallest tree he can find nearby.

The idea, he says, is to engage with other tree lovers, post inspiring messages on social media, and raise awareness of “our forests and the trees and animals within them,” and also the “many challenges and risks” in forest maintenance. “It’s been exactly what I wanted,” Wagner said Saturday of his project. “It’s getting people to get outside and get familiar with their mountains and their forests.”

In a span of about 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon, Wagner, wearing a Phillies jersey for good luck, went 50 feet up a 100-foot elm tree on the grounds of Chestnut Hill Baptist Church on Bethlehem Pike. So, at 500 feet above sea level, he crossed Philadelphia County off his list of highest climbs.

Earlier that morning, he went up a cherry tree in Newtown Township, to add Delco to his have-done tally. He made a climb in Chester County last year, so only Bucks and Montgomery Counties are left from Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Saturday’s climbs came under a gray sky and during a constant drizzle, but Wagner never considered a delay. He slipped on his helmet and harness, launched his rope through a fork of two high branches, and walked up the elm in Chestnut Hill like Spiderman.

» READ MORE: Van Wagner is determined to climb trees in all 67 Pennsylvania counties

Jim McCambridge, a 56-year-old physicist from Swarthmore, also an avid climber, learned about Wagner’s Philadelphia visit on Facebook and scaled the same tree at the same time on a nearby branch. Joel Eckel, a 47-year-old teacher from Germantown; Luke Wagner, Van Wagner’s son; and a half-dozen friends and curious locals also observed the climb.

Eckel pointed out the coincidence of Wagner climbing on the same weekend that activists are protesting the removal of long-standing trees in the redevelopment of FDR Park in South Philadelphia.

Wagner began his tree tour on Jan. 28, 2023, in Montour County, and said he hopes to finish within a year or two. He is still making arrangements to visit the counties in Western Pennsylvania. At 3,213 feet above sea level, Mount Davis in Somerset County, southeast of Pittsburgh, is the highest point in Pennsylvania.

Wagner chronicles each climb and posts YouTube videos to his online Master Climb Log, and often includes original songs as background music. He said he may tackle Lehigh County next.

A certified arborist and forester who grew up in Danville, Wagner runs a tree service with his two sons and teaches agricultural science at Danville Area High School. He is also a Pennsylvania historian and has won awards for his natural resource education programs from the Pennsylvania Forestry Association and other groups.

Forestry is big business in Pennsylvania. The state’s name means “Penn’s Woods” in Latin, and, according to a 2020 study by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and other agencies, Pennsylvania ranks first in the nation in the production of hardwood lumber.

“We have some awesome and unique wood products in Pennsylvania,” Wagner said. “Martin guitars. Gilson snowboards. Skateboards. Baseball bats. There aren’t too many industries that can claim to be truly sustainable. Hopefully, future generations will be enjoying our wood products just like we do.”