Brand new Logger! Start felling Monday!

[lfnh]

yup, gotta draw the line.

 

[matthew sparks]

Well another embarrassing note. As I was cutting with my BAR and chain. I puked. I lost pretty much everything I had drank today. Thank God it started storming majorly the second I did it and didn't have to go tell them. No more powerade. Puking up purple was a mistake. I will be puking up water only from now on instead of being a purple fountain. SO I may be a little off in the head right now.

I guess I over hydrated. It was after a gallon of liquids 5 hours after I started. I did cut the last 10 trees in the amount of time that it took me to cut the first three.

Also the owner said he can cut 80-90 a day but usually cuts about 40. He said he is safe and takes his time and he hopes I do the same. He said he has a guy he brings in only when he has to that cut 91 trees by 1pm one day last week. However, he said that he swamps the logs and you have to move everything in the forest to get them out and nobody can work around him because he is dangerous.

The skidder operator kindof seems like a stoner. He said "put them where you want them and I will figure them out man". I almost laughed. He was so laid back for a logger.

 

[northmanlogging]

In reality most loggers are fairly laid back, just more paranoid then the average american... So we can be a little hard to get to know.

I've learned to eat and drink what I crave, sometimes its gatorade, other times just plain water, eating can be large chunks of fried meat, or more of the carb variety... usually just large chunks of meat though...

I still hurl if I eat or drink to much and then try to bust ass though... so don't feel bad about it

 

[Easttnlogger1]

I hate puking worse than anything I think but I happens sometimes, drinking to much anything isn't good I usually put my little cooler on the dozer or skidder and carry a bottle of water in my back pocket when it gets hot,so I can drink when I feel the need not just when I get a chance...

I see alot of people in my area cutting with a 20" bar.. I usually cut with a 24 sometimes a 28 the 20" bar don't save enough weight for the work they make u do in bigger stuff..

How many we're cuttin on the job u were on?

 

[KiwiBro]

I could lose just under 3l (about 6 pints) in the first hr of a marathon if the weather was hot and humid, unless taking on fluids, back when was fit enough to do them. Yes, powerade had the same impact on me too. Way too strong. Experiment with watering it down, and other fluids and you'll settle on one that works best for you, that you can handle while working hard. Also, you'll become more and more used to taking on fluids while working hard, the more you keep trying. Worth weighing yourself at the start of the day, taking note of how much you drink and weighing yourself at the end of the day.

 

[Philip Wheelock]

...I guess I over hydrated...

I'm thinking it's more like heat exhaustion got you. Powerade's too concentrated; drink cool water early & often & add a bit more salt to your regular food. Green grapes for snacks. Everyone's got a different tolerance level for eating & drinking while performing hard work in high heat. So take it slow; it will take a few weeks for your body to get used to this gig. I'm thinking that the storms coming through Kentucky in the next few days might be a good thing. Be safe.

 

[treeslayer2003]

i leave drinks like that alone till done falling for the day............many of them are full of sugar. you threw it up for a reason.

 

[Locust Cutter]

I'm definitely no Treeslayer but, cutting/loading Hedge on the trailer when it's 110f isn't for the weak, lazy or unfit. One thing you have to do, especially with Gatorade or Powerade, is to fight the urge to chug it down when you're hot, tired and thirsty. That is about the worst thing you can do. Sip it here and there, using water as the main re-hydrator and let it process slowly, otherwise, as you noted, the colored fountain sucks. Also, don't ever be afraid to stop for a minute or two and cool off, as heat stroke is not a laughing matter.

 

[rwoods]

Back in the sixties my brother took his basic training at Ft.Polk, LA. His DI busted his chops for calling his rifle a gun. He had to do 50 pushups while saying "I'm a dying cockroach" and kiss his rifle on each down-stroke. Now what do you pros require when one calls his bar a blade? How about when one says his blade is getting dull (speaking of course about his chain)? Or is all this blade talk just a southern thing? Ron

 

[slowp]

I'd ditch the gatoraid. Water should do the trick. Drink water when you get home too....keep a big glass of it to sip on. It takes a while to acclimate. Here, once you get used to a heat spell, the weather changes back to cool drizzle.

Don't push too hard. Any physical job in the woods requires a steady pace. Slow down and pace yourself. You might even up the production by slowing down.

Oh, and a chaser who'd come back after a long shutdown was cramping up. Somebody had some pickle juice for that, and I guess it worked. Yuckers!

 

[Red Elm]

Back in the sixties my brother took his basic training at Ft.Polk, LA. His DI busted his chops for calling his rifle a gun. He had to do 50 pushups while saying "I'm a dying cockroach" and kiss his rifle on each down-stroke. Now what do you pros require when one calls his bar a blade? How about when one says his blade is getting dull (speaking of course about his chain)? Or is all this blade talk just a southern thing? Ron

A person is CALLED a logger as soon as he/she starts earning money in the logging industry. One BECOMES a Logger over time with experience. He's okay, he'll learn.

 

[SliverPicker]

What northman and 1270 said.

WATER: If you feel thirsty it's too late. Start drinking (water) as soon as you start your saw in the morning.

Slow and steady. You'll do fine! Keep us posted.

 

[056kid]

Drink water and eat pickles, boiled eggs, grapes and meat. A little bag of baking soda is good to keep around in case you start feeling ill. Half a teaspoon in some water will settle your stomach and produce several satisfying burps!
Stay safe!

 

[matthew sparks]

Hey guys. Logging saved my life. I was really hot but the Gatorade didn't make me throw up. About an hour after my last update and saying "blade" instead of "bar" my entire body took a turn for the worse.
I have had teeth issues for years. If I have a toothache I get it pulled. Then carry on with life. I had been having some tooth pain. On a scale of 1-10 it was a 3. NOTHING MAJOR!

Apparently the 95 degree steep hill climb cause me to bring that infection to the surface. I was in the ER Monday night. I was near Sepsis and had Bacterium and a lot of other big words I know nothing about.

Long story short I had 18 teeth pulled( all my front teeth, what I had left) and am being fit with instant dentures Friday. If I hadn't pushed my body to the max I would have never known. So in essence logging saved my life. If I had became Septic I think 37 percent of people die. I don't know. Doctors spouted all kinds of things off to me about how close so many things were to happen.

I apologized to the logger and let him know him and his company were not at fault and I thanked him for hiring me and told him I had many ********* employees in my fishing business with excuses and quit on me and that was NOT the case. He understood and I have a job waiting for me the second I heal.

He is a really good guy.

Thanks all for your support over the last several days in preparing me. I expect to be back next week, but I will make sure I am ready first. The percoset makes me feel like logging tonight but I am sure I would just kill myself out there logging on drugs. HAHA

 

[northmanlogging]

Good times!

Heal up them trees are growing fast.

 

[Red Amor]

Nice hot cuppa black billy tea and a couplla bully beef sangars when I was workin hard like you blokes don't eat much through the day now no breakfast no lunch go all day , run outta stesn twards the endI have a big tea evening meal that's why um old n fat ;o(( yeah hah\So you be careful out there youngster , work well work smart mind how you go , look after ya gear, n you.ll be oright good luck :O))

 

[SliverPicker]

Try your Gatorade diluted. 1/3 GA and 2/3 water. Its an awesome mixture. I can't drink it straight to same my life. Its horrible stuff until you water it down.

Congrats on Day 1! Get betterer soonerer!

 

[treeslayer2003]

yep, i get the powdered and mix it week.
i got bad teef to so i can relate............my dentist will yank um if not too bad infected. lemme know how ya like the dentures.

 

[4x4American]

Holy cow! If I were you, I'd just go in without yer teeth in, proberly make ya fit in with the crew

 

[bitzer]

Typically I eat a decent breakfast when I'm cutting. Couple of eggs, sausage, bread or biscuit. Maybe a couple of donuts after that. You need fuel to get a good day of cutting in. The only time I stop in the first four hours of cutting is to fuel up the saw. After that I eat a few granola or candy bars. Something fast to fill me up and give me a little boost for the last couple of hours. (I don't cut more than 6 hours at a time normally). When I get out of the woods I throw down some lunch while I'm getting changed to hop in the skidder. We haven't gotten the jungle heat of summer up here yet. Usually we will get 95 and 95% humidity. I'm still only packing out 1 gallon of water. When it gets that hot I will pack out two gallons and I will have a third in the truck/skidder. When I get home I'm pretty much drinking water all the time.

Time savers- I'm sure as you get into it more you will find ways to be more efficient. Keeping wedges and an ax on your person at all times will keep you from looking for em. Have a tool pack that you carry along with your jugs with extra e-clips, sprocket rims, washers, starter cord, electrical tape, spark plug, hex or torx wrenches (depending on your saw). PACK CHAINS! DO NOT SHARPEN IN THE WOODS!