Ultimate uncle builds dream tree house for nieces and nephews

HATCHER PASS — It seems life’s experiences these days are all about being “extreme.” From BASE jumping to motorcycle trick riding to free running, we’re putting more “extreme” into the activities we do and watch. In a state where “extreme” seems the norm — like high-altitude skiers dropping from helicopters — it takes quite a bit to qualify as over the top in Alaska.

That said, there’s only one way to describe the tree house Derek Conklin built for his nieces and nephews this past summer — “extreme,” in sort of a Swiss Family Robinson meets the X Games way.

“I was up here visiting, and my sister asked if I could help make the boys a little tree house,” said Conklin, who was visiting from Arizona.

One he started the project, Conklin said it snowballed from there, adding more and more amenities.

“We were just going to make a one-story little fort for them, then we decided to make it a little bit taller and make a little loft in there for them,” he said. “Then we decided to make a platform around it so the little kids can stay on. We just kept building onto it.”

When a next-door neighbor was selling a slide for $20 at a garage sale, the slide found its way onto the tree house, Conklin said. “Then we built a fireman’s pole.”

Next to the tree house is a bungee swing — a seat attached to a giant bungee chord stretched between two trees. When “launched,” the person on the seat bobs, weaves and swings all at once.

After that, there was only one thing missing from the ultimate tree house, Conklin said.

“That’s when we got excited about doing a zipline,” he said.

After researching how to build a zipline and procuring a supply of 10,000-pound aircraft cable, Conklin installed a 230-foot zipline running from a platform attached to the tree house.

Overall, Conklin has three sisters in the Valley who collectively have 14 children. But “Uncle Dave” may be the biggest child of them all, said sister Rebecca Gall. The tree house is on her property, much to the delight of her four boys, ranging in age from 4 to 14.

“It’s true, it’s true,” she said when asked if her brother was just a big kid at heart. “There’s a lot of kid in him. … You know, it makes him a great uncle, I’ll tell you that. We’ve been blessed to have him living here in the summer.”

Gall’s boys were too excited about demonstrating the zipline Saturday to sit still for many questions.

Recalling the first time he rode the line, 8-year-old David said that “it was scary at first,” but now he thinks “it’s fun.”

Levi, 14, described the tree house and zipline as “pretty cool.” Because he’s older and bigger than his brothers, he moves faster along the zipline, which suits him just fine.

“The first thing I thought was I wanted to see how fast it would be,” he said.

Isaiah, 10, is more about action.

“Who wants to do it first?” Conklin asks the group.

“Me!” Isaiah shouts, already at a full run. “I’ll race you there!”

While the boys love the adrenaline rush from the zipline, Rebecca said that as a mom, she’s always talking to them about being safe. They aren’t allowed to use it unless under adult supervision. They also have to be securely fastened into a harness attached to the line.

Conklin admits he’s living a little vicariously through his nieces and nephews. He doesn’t have children himself, so “these are kind of my kids, too,” he said.

He also said the tree house has helped fulfill a longtime wish from his own childhood.

“No, I never did have one,” he said about having a tree house as a kid. “But I always dreamed of having one.”

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.