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KarlK
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Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Posts: 584 | TRs | Pics
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KarlK
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 Tue Nov 29, 2022 4:57 pm |
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On November 17th strong E winds toppled numerous trees across the popular Skookum Flats trail.
The very next day, WTA crew leader Gary Zink emailed a bunch of BCHW and WTA sawyers saying that USFS trails manager Mary Boros in Enumclaw wanted to mobilize a *next-day* logout of the most popular section of the trail. (Impressive show of initiative here).
Hmmm, I thought; maybe I can weasel out of the domestic duties planned for the 19th.
Success! La Esposa paroled me for the 19th, so I was among the dozen responders who gathered at 0900 at the N trailhead located just off SR 410 about 25 miles S of Enumclaw.
We bucked a fair number of large trees. Most were apparently healthy Douglas firs uprooted by the wind (in a windstorm mature Doug firs are long levers with a lot of wind sail up high, hence they are subject to immense bending moments).
I had a terrific time working with an outstanding group of skilled sawyers!
 Quasi-crunched outhouse (KarlK photo)  Chilly Safety Briefing (Emily Snyder photo)  Moose Fangworth Thurston Meower the Third (International Cat of Mystery). Moose eschews chilly safety briefings (KarlK photo)  Hiking in (Emily Snyder photo)  Cutting a notch in a log with top bind (Emily Snyder photo)  Emily at work (KarlK photo)  Big blowdown (Emily Snyder photo)  Emily cutting the offside of a windthrow (KarlK photo)  Chips away! (Emily Snyder photo)  KarlK trying to un-stick his bar (Emily Snyder photo)  Moving heavy rounds (KarlK photo)  ArthurW (Emily Snyder photo)  So far, so good (KarlK photo)  Sawdust here, sawdust there sawdust everywhere! (Emily Snyder photo)  OK, what's the next step? (KarlK photo)
Karl J Kaiyala
 Brushbuffalo, BarbE, hearingjd, ejain, kiliki, Walkin' Fool, day_hike_mike, mosey, awilsondc, dave allyn, Now I Fly, lopper, RichP, hikerbiker
Karl J Kaiyala
Brushbuffalo, BarbE, hearingjd, ejain, kiliki, Walkin' Fool, day_hike_mike, mosey, awilsondc, dave allyn, Now I Fly, lopper, RichP, hikerbiker
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hearingjd
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Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 67 | TRs | Pics
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Thanks for your work, Karl!
A bunch of us from Snoqualmie Fire Lookouts Association went out day after the BCH guys did and kept sawing. Then last Saturday, a bunch more guys from Back Country Horsemen went out and finished the job. By my count, we had to saw out 36 trees on that 1.3 mile stretch of trail!
 the trail before.... really ugly  Cutting and cutting and cutting. Handcarried one saw in 1.5 miles (hand carry, no dog shield) and arms were really tired after this day.  saw buddy Bruce swamping out trail
Hiker John
Walkin' Fool, mosey, RichP
Hiker John
Walkin' Fool, mosey, RichP
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KarlK
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Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Posts: 584 | TRs | Pics
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KarlK
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Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:56 pm |
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Very cool hearingjd; one great thing about liking saw works is that there's no shortage of saw work. Combined with the fact that there's not an abundance of sawyers, we get to have all the fun.
Karl J Kaiyala
hearingjd
Karl J Kaiyala
hearingjd
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Carbonj
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Joined: 12 May 2020
Posts: 56 | TRs | Pics
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Carbonj
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Tue Nov 29, 2022 9:13 pm |
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hearingjd
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Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 67 | TRs | Pics
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| KarlK wrote: | | Very cool hearingjd; one great thing about liking saw works is that there's no shortage of saw work. Combined with the fact that there's not an abundance of sawyers, we get to have all the fun. |
Sadly, way more saw work than I want to do LOL!...
JH
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Gwen
LO Girl-of-the-Month
Joined: 14 Feb 2010
Posts: 1673 | TRs | Pics
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Gwen
LO Girl-of-the-Month
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Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:31 pm |
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Can someone please get Gary Zink to add me to his call list? I've lost my contact info for him.
Thanks to all for the strong effort. That's a great winter trail.
Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
hearingjd
Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
hearingjd
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bertman
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Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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bertman
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Wed Nov 30, 2022 11:25 am |
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It wasn't the most elegant operation (stuck chainsaws) but we did get quite a bit of work done. No injuries and no lost equipment. As a non-chainsaw operator, I was mostly swamping, moving debris, and carrying the chainsaw from worksite to worksite. My shoulders were really sore the next day.
hearingjd
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Gwen
LO Girl-of-the-Month
Joined: 14 Feb 2010
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Gwen
LO Girl-of-the-Month
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Wed Nov 30, 2022 8:42 pm |
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It's true that chainsaw work isn't nearly as elegant as crosscut, but you can get through the mess a whole lot faster. Swampers always needed. Stuck saws suck, but if there's another saw to cut it out, no harm, no foul.
Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
hearingjd
Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
hearingjd
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Blowdown
Sawin' Logs ...
Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Posts: 375 | TRs | Pics
Location: On the Summit |
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Blowdown
Sawin' Logs ...
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Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:46 pm |
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KarlK
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Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Posts: 584 | TRs | Pics
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KarlK
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Wed Dec 07, 2022 12:52 pm |
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| Gwen wrote: | | It's true that chainsaw work isn't nearly as elegant as crosscut |
My Dear Gwen --
I'd argue that this depends on which aspects of 'elegant' one chooses to focus on. I place considerable emphasis on the operator. While it is true that chainsaws are noisy, oily, smelly and decidedly dangerous in the wrong hands, a good operator brings all manner of 'elegant' to actual chainsaw work.
Some of the very best chainsaw elegance I've witnessed in the three major chainsaw work domains I've participated in (disaster reponse/mitigation, trail work and wildland fire) has been that of female operators.
Why? A receptive attitude about the learning process, and the cultivation of a smart efficient approach to the work.
For their part, many guys act as if guyness confers innate power tool expertise, and a license to just muscle their way through the work.
I'd like to see a lot more women get into trail work involving chainsaw work.
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