Flat Ground!!

[slowp]

I get to wander about on some flat ground now. No yarders going at the moment. Here's a couple of pictures. Thinnings make for bad pictures. The trees get in the way. This guy also recently got a Yoder or is it Yoader? He named it. He named it Melvin. No pictures of it yet. This unit is a Designation By Prescription marked unit. The purchaser/logger is responsible for marking the cut trees. I believe it might be all conifers, except cedar. The leave trees are the biggest diameter tree at 6 inches (stump). Doesn't matter what the rest of the tree looks like, only how big it is at 6 inches. Then you take a tape, and measure out 12.5 feet. Anything smaller within 12.5 feet of the leave tree gets cut, unless it is a cedar or hardwood. So, we get some pretty squirrely looking leave trees left.

 

[SAW]

Nice looking dozer/skidder/ Do yall run any rubber tire skidders?

 

[slowp]

Nice looking dozer/skidder/ Do yall run any rubber tire skidders?

One guy on a different sale does. He has his son working for him so he gets line pulled. The other two are both using grapple cats. I only run a paint gun and go ahead and mark additional trees to cut so the equipment can fit through.

 

[2dogs]

The last few days our disfunctional crew has been working a youcalipeetus job on a steep sidehill. My feet feel like they are on fire each night till the ibuprofen kicks in. My knees are still sore each morning. Those dang gum trees produce heavy wood!

 

[slowp]

The last few days our disfunctional crew has been working a youcalipeetus job on a steep sidehill. My feet feel like they are on fire each night till the ibuprofen kicks in. My knees are still sore each morning. Those dang gum trees produce heavy wood!

You have my sympathy. I actually used ice packs a couple times last summer on the knees. That was after going up and down the 70 to 90% yarder ground. Steepness makes for good deflection, but it is hard on the knees! Here's some more flat ground. I can't ever get close enough for a good processor in action picture. There's a good reason for that too. Here's another grapple cat. The operator is almost 80 years old.

Well, here's the bad picture of a processor.

Here's what the purchaser marking looks like. The hemlock in the back is the leave tree.

 

[2dogs]

I see two different marks, an X several and a slash on another. What do they mean?

My daughter is still of the age where she will rub my feet at night. Especially if I throw a few bucks her way. That is absolutely heavenly even if it only lasts for 5 minutes. I don't dare ask the spousal unit since she is the major bread winner and gets home a 4:30 in the morning. I'd be lucky to still have my feet attached to my legs.

 

[Bushler]

I was talking to one of the better loggers in this area recently. They're using a shovel to bunch turns, and a grapple Cat (D-6) to skid to the landing.

Now I want a grapple Cat to do that. A shovel moves a lot of logs a short distance quickly, but its boring and slow when you're more than three throws from the landing.

Last winter I was 9 throws out, and it was insanely boring.

 

[SWE#Kipp]

Thanks for all the nice pictures Slowp, keep up the good work

 

[Gologit]

Slowp, I'm proud of you. You're finally starting to give Cat loggers equal time. Well, maybe not totally equal time but we'll take what we can get.

When things slow down a little I'll post pictures of some of the ground we're working. The steepness of it would probably make some of your "ologists" go into cardiac arrest. They'd probably want to heli-log it.

 

[slowp]

I see two different marks, an X several and a slash on another. What do they mean?

The blue X's are the purchaser's marking. He likes to use X because so many times they are remarking units that already were marked, but the original plan changed. The green slash is me, I go through and mark any leave trees that will need to be cut to get equipment through on the skid trails. The purchaser's marker is also using up some red and yellow paint but they'll be Xed too.

I forgot my camera yesterday. On another sale, they are hand falling then bunching with a Yoder and then using a grapple cat to skid the logs in. The yoder has MELVIN taped on the front of it. The yoder is smaller in size than the shovel they were originally using and there is way less scarring. Melvin Rules!

I hiked into one of the helicopter units. They're doing a good job too. I'll put the "after" picture on that thread.

 

[hammerlogging]

shovel logging

I cut for a crew in SE TN modified shovel logging. Steep mountainside, good timber. Dozer opened roads across the face, we cut everything in advance, shovel would come through and set out drags for a large grapple skidder that would fly down the mountain with about 1500 feet per drag. Moved the hell out of wood. A little 450J would follow and bunch for the grapple skidder what little the shovel couldn't reach. Heck of a crew in some ways, in others, well, I guess thats why they're gone now. But, an excellent system, and they were the first in the area to do such, I doubt anyone has duplicated it since. It was expected to be heliwood until they showed up- at a time I needed a new crew to cut for. Good while it lasted.

 

[slowp]

I wandered around checking the logged part of the unit and also marked out some more trees for trails ahead of the processor. Here's what a main skid trail looked like after.

We're getting rain now but the soil is dry an inch or so down and holds up well.
The cat operator will go back through and fluff up the soil, (I can dig in a regular shovel no problem as it is) make some waterbars, and throw some brush on the trail. They used old skid trails where they could, and we noticed on this piece of ground, the biggest trees were growing in the old trails. That's not supposed to happen. The son of the owner is now running the grapple cat, and he can do wonders with machinery. The guy on the processor is the youngest son, and he is an excellent operator also. They really care about how things turn out and look.

 

[Bushler]

Pretty common for reprod to come in better on and near the skid roads, and haul roads as well. Doug fir loves light, and mineral soil.

 

[joesawer]

I need some flatter ground. Lately my girlfriend has been complaining about the dirt and rocks mixed in the saw chips in my pockets.

 

[slowp]

My feet are feeling normal now. Flat ground is boring but nice.

 

[slowp]

Here's the yoder. They built the spur road with it. We don't have much rock to deal with in this area. The yoder is named for Melvin in Axemen.

This is the new pickup (Bubba 2) that is replacing the Ford. Shorter wheelbase but lower to the ground too. I like the music radio in it, and the Allison something gear thingy. I think I might see about adding more antennas.

 

[slowp]

Pictures of the older grapple cat. Guess there's a few boulders on this ground to make things more exciting. The monsoon started on this morning. Our ground will take quite a bit of rain before turning into mud. Must be all that pumice. The upper part of this unit is helicopter. I am tempted, but will not give in, to have them leave a skid trail clear to walk up on. Bad bad. :angel:
The lights are on because it was a dark day. I had to edit the pictures so things would show up.

 

[slowp]

dowloaded today.

The processor at work.

Today's picture of Melvin at work. Too many trees in the way for a good picture. Melvin is bunching the hand felled logs.

Just up the road, on the way to the ancient Skagit site.