COOL article on Mt St Helens Logger
- Thread starter STEVEGODSEYJR
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
Thanks for sharing.
Good article , thanks !
coastalfaller
ArboristSite Operative
I went to Mount St Helens a few years back. Found a book in the gift shop, I believe it was called "Blast Zone". Fictional characters, but based on the actual story about the loggers on Mt St Helens just prior to the eruption. Great little read. Worth picking up.
I have a friend from the States who falls up here now. At the time of the eruption, he was falling in that area too. He says the same thing, thank god it blew on the Sunday. They were planning on working that weekend and for whatever reason, didn't end up going out.
I have a friend from the States who falls up here now. At the time of the eruption, he was falling in that area too. He says the same thing, thank god it blew on the Sunday. They were planning on working that weekend and for whatever reason, didn't end up going out.
Joe46
ArboristSite Guru
Wallace Bowers was a good friend. His uncle and my Dad logged together out of Onalaska in the 30's. I have great childhood memories of spending time on his folks farm outside of Winlock. To add to the tragedy, Wally's wife died later that summer from cancer. Wally was a faller for Weyerhauser. He was taught the trade by his Dad who also fell for Weyerhauser, and was killed by a widow maker in the late 60's. Hope it's OK to share some personal memories.
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
Great article!
I live 21 air miles from St Helens. The day before it blew my father and I went up to Ghost Lake to fish. We got to Bear Meadows and just beyond when we came up to a gate. I remember looking at the mountain and saying to my father: that mountain will never blow. Imagine my surprise the next morning when I heard thunder and went outside in my shorts to find rocks and limbs coming down on us. That was the beginning of hard times in this area. They shut down the whole forest. No one could get in without a pass. After that was just plain hard work in the woods around here. My father and I had a contracting business at the time and cut the first Forest Service sale in 1981. I'm glad those days are over. It was an experience that makes for a lot of stories though. I also had friends that died. I also had one friend that was one of 3 that actually went through the blast and survived. He got burned pretty bad. He was salmon fishing on the Green river when hit them. There were three of them. Just 2 of them made it out. They never found the other guy. He hated the navy, however, the training he received from them save his life. They jumped into the river and pulled their shirts over their heads to keep the oxygen from the river in and the gases out. Burned their feet hiking out as the ash was so hot. Tough story.
I live 21 air miles from St Helens. The day before it blew my father and I went up to Ghost Lake to fish. We got to Bear Meadows and just beyond when we came up to a gate. I remember looking at the mountain and saying to my father: that mountain will never blow. Imagine my surprise the next morning when I heard thunder and went outside in my shorts to find rocks and limbs coming down on us. That was the beginning of hard times in this area. They shut down the whole forest. No one could get in without a pass. After that was just plain hard work in the woods around here. My father and I had a contracting business at the time and cut the first Forest Service sale in 1981. I'm glad those days are over. It was an experience that makes for a lot of stories though. I also had friends that died. I also had one friend that was one of 3 that actually went through the blast and survived. He got burned pretty bad. He was salmon fishing on the Green river when hit them. There were three of them. Just 2 of them made it out. They never found the other guy. He hated the navy, however, the training he received from them save his life. They jumped into the river and pulled their shirts over their heads to keep the oxygen from the river in and the gases out. Burned their feet hiking out as the ash was so hot. Tough story.
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
Anyone out there ever cut in the blast area?
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
There's two ways to visit Mt St Helens. Up the 504 in the Toutle River Valley or through the Gifford Pinchot Forest either through Randle or Woodland. Do you remember which way you had taken?
coastalfaller
ArboristSite Operative
It was the 504. Up to the Johnson Ridge Observatory. Very cool trip! Good book too!
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
If you looked across the plain to the east from Johnson ridge you might have seen the parking lot of the Windy ridge viewing site. All of that country is my back yard. From there could actually see the first forest service sale they laid out. We also cut a lot of timber down the Toutle River. I've cut a lot of timber up that way. We used to have to drive clear down 12, cut across Toledo to the 504 and up the Toutle. On the South Toutle was the finest timber I've ever cut. One of the jobs we had was 9 million feet of fir that was beyond comparison. The whole sale was a "pull" sale. Every tree had to be pulled and quartered up the hill. There was 6 men to a set. We had a cat skinner, a line man, a climber, a faller and two buckers. I volunteered for the climbing job. I'd climb about 35 trees a day. I had three 60' chokers that I'd climbe 80-90'. Then I'd sling the choker around the tree, set it and climb down, pull up the bull line and scoot down the rest of the way. By that time my dad would have the undercut in the tree and either be waiting for me or getting the next one ready to go. I had no trouble sleeping back then. Here's a pic when I was a squirrel. Yeah, I think I was a little nuts back then.
coastalfaller
ArboristSite Operative
When we were there it was during that period when it was pretty active, I want to say around 04? Murphy's Law though, the day we went up it was socked right in! lol Couldn't see much! I definitely want to get back there in the near future though, along with another trip down the coast!
I hear you on the driving, seems like all I do these days! Man that sale sounded like a lot of work. Definitely must have been nice fir!
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
Yeah, the driving was brutal. Six hours total driving time to get in 6 cutting. To top it off it was one of the windiest winters you can imagine. We would typically drive 7 days a week to get in 4. You don't mess around in that kind of timber with the wind. To give you an idea of the type of timber, we cut one that was 8 1/2 feet. We measured out the tree to the break at 16". There was a total of 288 feet in the tree. No forks either. Tree after tree 250'. Yes it was nice timber and well worth the drive.
coastalfaller
ArboristSite Operative
Man, no kidding that was worth the drive! Phenomenal timber! We've got some areas with beautiful sitka spruce still, not likely that we'll get to cut it though.
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
I've only cut a few Sitka Spruce and that was over on the Quinalt Res. Sure cuts nice.
I took home some seedlings and planted them by the creek that runs by my place. They're doing well. I was told at the time that they only grow on the coast up to 12(?) miles inland. I think those are the ones that the Japanese bought and sent back to us in the form of Zeros during WWII.
coastalfaller
ArboristSite Operative
There was quite the boom on "airplane spruce" during the war. I didn't realize the Japanese also got in on that! I thought it was just the allies! They do cut nice though! Pretty much my favorite.
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
Yeah, they bought up a ton of it.
Have you ever cut any noble fir? Talk about nice cutting. The wood is soft and cuts like butter when you get a Ginsu chain on. The bark is bluish purple and the first limbs are up about 130 ft. Clear as a bell. You've really got to watch it, though. If it even looks like you're going to nick a stump you'd better cut it off. It'll slab like you can't believe and leave the brightest tell tale white wood shining like a babys butt. These pics were taken for some silvey tree jack advertisements. This was some real nice wood.
Only Noble I ever cut was blowdown across roads in Kapowsin country, but it was easily the nicest wood to cut ever. Never had any trouble with slabbing. Maybe it's a temperature thing?
coastalfaller
ArboristSite Operative
More great pics! Thanks for sharing!
I can't say that I have cut noble fir, no. Worked with an old timer years ago, top notch professional. He was working in a nice big spruce patch. Well he proceeded to lay a 7ft spruce over another big stump, you want to talk about slabbing! He was so upset with himself I thought he might have to be put on suicide watch! Poor guys embarassment was magnified too...........it was literally right along side the mainline! Now this guy was a total professional, just had a brain fart. He took ALOT of ribbing over this as it was definitely not the norm.
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
All I remember is that is you even got close to a stump or rock it would slab real easily. Very soft wood that the Japanese used to buy for their wall separations in their homes as it made such fine veneer. On the stump it was a lot like cottonwood as it's so soft, wet and heavy. You had to be careful when jacking or wedging leaners to make sure you had your ducks in a row. Once they set down you'd really lose the water trying to gain back ground you lost.
nw axe man
ArboristSite Operative
I remember when I was bucking for my dad when I was first starting out cutting. He had fallen a nice 4-5' fir alongside the road. It had fallen over a little ravine, one that I had to reach up to cut. The top bind was pretty severe and apparently I had not cut down from the top enough. They were logging in the same unit and trucks were hauling down the road as well as the logging crews. I promptly ripped that log about 20-30' down each side. My dad just gave me that "you dumb s#(% " look and took a big piece of fir and stuck it in that ripped log. "There" he said. "Now that alligator won't have to go hungry". Talk about humiliated. I took special pains after that to make sure I didn't rip any more logs. I guess that stuff only happens right next to the roads.
