[KarlK]

The subject line in the July email from Backcountry Horsemen's Dana Chambers said "Advanced Saw Training Event Scheduled." Hmmm, gotta check that out; oh lookee here, it's gonna be run by Tony Karniss. "I'm in," I thought, "be stupid to miss that." The thing is, Tony K is a Real Deal sawyer with decades of experience as a production timber faller and extensive involvement in organizing and leading complex trail logouts. Moreover, he's a fine instructor, as are the other top sawyer leads in Washington's BCHW saw program (Tom Mix and Del Sage). If you're interested in upping your sawyer / trail work skill set and get an opportunity to work with any of these guys, go for it. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. The event's venue, the Olympic rain forest, is a teriffic learning environment because it doesn't just drop a lot of *really big* wood on trails, but it's also prone to spectacularly complex jackpots. These characteristics provide notably high-end saw challenges and present many opportunities for adding to your sawyer and trail engineering skill sets. If you like that sort of stuff, the rain forest definitely "gives it to you good and hard" (hat tip to H.L. Mencken). Earlier this summer the Grays Harbor chapter of BCHW had logged out a long stretch of the West Fork Humptulips trail #806 (https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2022-07-28.9217970442). Our task was to finish bucking out, brushing and treading the upper three or so miles from the Campbell Tree Grove to the 2204 road. Well sir, the crew did that, and did so under hot and humid conditions that were, to use an old word, rebarbative. But while much dripping sweat and elevated breathing rates were noted, nobody seemed fazed by the thermoregulatory or physical challenges thus overcome. Kind of amazing, really. Many thanks to Tony Karniss and Tom Mix for the incredibly hard work they do, not just on behalf of BCHW's saw training and certification program, but also for the major planning, logistical and travel hurdles they routinely endure to put trips together. Many thanks as well to the highly skilled crew members on this outing; I learned a lot from you guys. And finally, while I'm All Hat and No Horse, I enjoyed my role as Mule Holder, and appreciate the invaluable support you packers provide.

(L-R) Young Carl, Arthur and Not-Young Karl (photo by Brian Englund)

A Horse, of Course (photo by Dan Stranahan)

TonyK_TomM_MikeF (photo by KarlK)

Working on Big Wood (photo by Paul Martin)

Looking Down a Big One (photo by Paul Martin)

Big Cookie Away

Carl Englund (photo by Brian Englund)

Karl and Carl (photo by Brian Englund)

Tony Karniss, BCHW Saw Trainer Extraordinaire (photo by Dan Stranahan)

Teddy, Professional Logger, Tireless Volunteer and Mentor (photo by Dan Stranahan)

Remains of a Jackpot (photo by Dan Stranahan)

Derek (photo by Dan Stranahan)

Marie (photo by Dan Stranahan)

Kyle (photo by Dan Stranahan)

[RichP]

Awesome! Thanks for all the hard work and those are some amazing trees. The BCHW are a great asset to the outdoor community.

[meck]

My wife and I have really enjoyed hiking that trail a couple of times over the last few years. Thank you and the crew for all of that hard work!