I saw a porcupine crossing the road and stopped to get a better look. It then started to climb a tree to get away from me. I didn't know they could do that. It was like a spiky sloth.
I spent a winter tracking these guys all over the place. They are not really nimble creatures but yes they climb really well. In the winter they spend a lot of time up hemlocks destroying the fuck out of their branches. I almost fell on one once because it was just sitting there not paying attention to me. I've found them in apple trees in the summer and in the fall we trail ride right past them grazing in the hay fields. They do not give a crap if you are on a horse.