Orcas: From Treetop to National TV

— by Lin McNulty —

Donated hand-carved Lummi logo. Photo: Treehouse Masters

Even if you are a Treehouse Master, apparently you still need a little local Mudd, Witt, Sides, and a Duke to bring your project to completion.

A young couple named Diane and Brian on Dolphin Bay Road had never had a treehouse when they were kids, so they contacted Treehouse Masters to build one for them as a summer camp for family and friends.

Enter Fall City-based Pete Nelson, host of the reality Animal Planet TV series, Treehouse Masters. While he was scouting about, looking for  someone with local color and carpentry skills to do the finish work on an Orcas Island treehouse project, someone at Ship Bay immediately recommended Jimi Mudd. Has he ever built a treehouse? “Sure,” said Mudd, “1,000s of them; it’s just that this one has a permit, insulation, electricity, and an exquisite spiral staircase.”

Once the exact site on the property was selected, the treehouse-to-be was pre-fabricated and brought to Orcas for construction. Parts included a 1,000 pound beam. The two-story treehouse is supported by three trees and a post of Schedule 80 steel pipe set in four yards of concrete with lots and lots of rebar. The post, dictated the architect, needed to be as strong as the trees next to it.

The treehouse needed to represent the true meaning of summer camp – the only problem was, Nelson had never been to summer camp! Ah, but  his wife, Judy, had. She is a Four Winds alumni! Along with Judy, Pete visited Four Winds Camp to gain the inspiration to create a luxurious space that combines Native American aesthetics with fun camp features, including archery, rock climbing walls, and enough bunk beds to sleep plenty of “glampers.”

Pete Nelson points out the elegant redwood and maple spiral staircase. Photo: Treehouse Masters

Among local construction workers brought in for the finish work to the pre-fab structure were Jimi Midd, Cameron Sides, Walter Witt, and the Clyde Duke crew. Orcas filmmaker Conrad Wrobel also assisted with the filming of the episode.

The project was topped off with a blessing from the Lummi tribe in which they donated a hand-carved logo of the tribe that includes a bald eagle and two orca whales as the bird’s wings.

Referred to as a tree whisperer, Nelson sees a tree as a tripod for a house. “This treehouse,” he said, “I will never forget,” calling Orcas “the most perfect place on earth.”

At the end of the project, Mudd was asked by the team if he could follow them to Nashville the next week to help with their next project. “Are you kidding me, man?” he replied. “Why would I want to leave Orcas?”

The episode was broadcast on the Animal Planet series “Treehouse Masters” on Friday, August 1.