Lets talk skidders...

[hammerlogging]

Slowp, the little thing on the back is where the 3 straps come together. It buckles on the side. They are great for woods workers indeed. But, we're running our little yarder now and I'm getting a little time under it since the pressure is off the falling side for now. Everyone wishes it had talkie tooters like the big yarder (which is parked) cause its so much faster and simpler to communicate. B ut, the radios work. They're great for cutting, Like "hey, lunch time yet?) or.... "can you come cut me out?" (never happens to me....sure.....i.e happens to everyone once in a while.

 

[bullbuck]

those saws were great i wore out two of them,cant remember having any major trouble with them

 

[Greystoke]

those saws were great i wore out two of them,cant remember having any major trouble with them

Yeah, I had a few...good chainsaws and very dependable, but after running a 394, I could never go back as the 394 was way smoother, plus more power, then I started running 066...

 

[redprospector]

It seems like Montana always swings from one extreme to the next...

It was in the 70's a week ago, and I was in heaven... Yesterday, my digital said 105.5° on the sunny side of the house (not direct sunlight), and the other thermometer in the shade said 86°... I was sweating like I was standing in the shower.

Glad you guys are still midrange temps, I hate the extreme cold, and extreme hot... I'm a middle of the road kind of guy when it comes to my weather.

105, WOW!
I'll be thinking of you while I'm working tomorrow, it hit 69 where I was working today. I think I broke a sweat, but I can't remember. :hmm3grin2orange:
It get's to 105 or more in the desert, but not here. I couldn't live like that.

Andy

 

[Metals406]

105, WOW!
I'll be thinking of you while I'm working tomorrow, it hit 69 where I was working today. I think I broke a sweat, but I can't remember. :hmm3grin2orange:
It get's to 105 or more in the desert, but not here. I couldn't live like that.

Andy

Luckily, it's not a real humid heat--but instead a dry heat. Still cooks you good when you're working in the sun though.

A lot of folks don't realize how warm NW Montana can get in the summer.

 

[slowp]

I better bite my tongue. Much to my surprise, there was a note from the fire guy saying we are going to be a levl ll today. I'll have to go and break the news to the yarder crew. Yesterday was hot, buggy, and dirty. We don't water roads here, because it rains all the time, right? I came in cranky, hot and needing a shower. The new house is well insulated and was refreshing to walk into.

Yesterday, one of the cutters and I were unpleasantly surprised. He laid out corridors, and I came along after to mark out the trees. What the map said and what was on the ground were different. The map said the average yarding distance was 250 feet. On the ground, which was 80 to 90% it was more like 800 feet of knee punishment. The good news is, I'm starting to shrink from the workouts. The bad news is, I wake up in the morning feeling like I've been run over by all the trucks.

 

[Metals406]

I better bite my tongue. Much to my surprise, there was a note from the fire guy saying we are going to be a levl ll today. I'll have to go and break the news to the yarder crew. Yesterday was hot, buggy, and dirty. We don't water roads here, because it rains all the time, right? I came in cranky, hot and needing a shower. The new house is well insulated and was refreshing to walk into.

Yesterday, one of the cutters and I were unpleasantly surprised. He laid out corridors, and I came along after to mark out the trees. What the map said and what was on the ground were different. The map said the average yarding distance was 250 feet. On the ground, which was 80 to 90% it was more like 800 feet of knee punishment. The good news is, I'm starting to shrink from the workouts. The bad news is, I wake up in the morning feeling like I've been run over by all the trucks.

Is level three "Hoot Owl" for you guys? It's going to be another steamer here today again... At this rate, we'll be under "extreme fire danger" soon.

Glad your new house is keeping out the heat.

It's good you're getting a good workout, at least the gym membership is free!

 

[bullbuck]

hoot owl?thats wild down here our fire season starts usually late march and th rains dont come until july,we have been very lucky with getting some substantial rainfall this year, but about two months ago you could have farted and the whole place would of went up...thts crazy metals is that 105 in the mtns.?

 

[Metals406]

hoot owl?thats wild down here our fire season starts usually late march and th rains dont come until july,we have been very lucky with getting some substantial rainfall this year, but about two months ago you could have farted and the whole place would of went up...thts crazy metals is that 105 in the mtns.?

Yeah, in the mountains... Like I said, that's on the warm side of the house... So some direct sunlight hits it. When you watch the local weather, they always say it was like 20° cooler than what I get here? Not sure if they take their readings in the shade?

I usually take both readings on either side of the house, and average them... For example, it was 105° on the hot side of the house, and 89° in the shade... So I'd say it was 97° out. We've gotten really hot in years gone by... I remember the forecasts calling for like 112°.

My house is at around 3,250'... Not way up there. Our tallest peaks around here are just over 10,000'... Average around 7-8k.

 

[bullbuck]

thats crazy i never would have thought that,until recently i think our record high was 86 degrees,we are but a short spine of mountains surrounded on all sides by desert,with our tallest peak being right at 12,000 ft plus we are maybe 80 miles as the crow flies from juarez,i guess the elevation must be on our side we are at 8600'ft and upwards for the highlanders..yeah slowp i think normally they would have shut us down a couple months ago for hoot owl but i think they understand we are all one step away from the poor house so they turned a semi blind eye,cooperation?i think so ,after all two d6s with 4 inch grousers and 5 fallers i mean we are pretty well equipped to stomp out fire on all but the worst ground...and i also doubled up on the insulation in my remodel thats a nasty job but one you will certainly not regret...

 

[slowp]

Level II is Partial Hootowl. Yarding and falling have to shut down at 1:00 PM.
We've had wind and low humidity. My hair went straight. The humidity is up a bit today, because my hair is curly again, but the mill shut down for a 3 day weekend so the logging is shut down too.

On a Level III day, yarding and falling (by hand) are totally shut down, and the skidder operations shut down at 1 PM.

We're supposed to cool off and maybe get some moisture Sunday?

 

[Metals406]

Level II is Partial Hootowl. Yarding and falling have to shut down at 1:00 PM.
We've had wind and low humidity. My hair went straight. The humidity is up a bit today, because my hair is curly again, but the mill shut down for a 3 day weekend so the logging is shut down too.

On a Level III day, yarding and falling (by hand) are totally shut down, and the skidder operations shut down at 1 PM.

We're supposed to cool off and maybe get some moisture Sunday?

I remember trying to work in Hoot Owl... We could work 1AM to 1PM--we actually stopped at 12PM, and did a 1 hour "Fire Watch"...

Obviously, we didn't start at 1AM either, but our normal time of 6AM. Hoot Owl makes for a really short work day, and a smaller paycheck.

Word tell is, you guys might share some of that moisture with us on Sunday... But it's supposed to be in the form of thunderstorms. We may have this years first lightning fires?

 

[slowp]

It is still pretty green where there's no slash around. I did shut Twinkle down at one, even though I was working on a road with water running down the road ditch. I usually consider roads the same as working on a landing, but it is a good excuse to quit when it is too hot! (insert whining now).

And the little patch of snow in the ditch was still there yesterday.

 

[Metals406]

It is still pretty green where there's no slash around. I did shut Twinkle down at one, even though I was working on a road with water running down the road ditch. I usually consider roads the same as working on a landing, but it is a good excuse to quit when it is too hot! (insert whining now).

And the little patch of snow in the ditch was still there yesterday.

WOW!? Snow? What elevation were you at? I know some patches can last a long time in real shaded areas.

What kind of hours do you work? Are you allowed to roll-up early and go home if you want?.. Or do you drive to the office to finish the day?

 

[slowp]

WOW!? Snow? What elevation were you at? I know some patches can last a long time in real shaded areas.

What kind of hours do you work? Are you allowed to roll-up early and go home if you want?.. Or do you drive to the office to finish the day?

I work maxi-flexi, which means I can pretty much start when I want. I've been going in at 6, but if we continue will go in earlier--it is good to show the flag. Going home depends on how many phone calls await, and how many demands are made from the people in the big office. I dread returning to the office.

I believe the snow patch was close to 4000 feet. According to the logger, who has snowmobiled into the area, it gets some deep drifts on the road. The higher trails are still snowy, but will not be for long. I think we are hitting close to 90 today.

 

[bullbuck]

i read an article in powder(skiing magazine)and these guys would take mountain machines up in the woods and seek out clearcuts to climb and ski,these guys were lovin it,i think it was in oregon?sounded like a hoot to me,we have some aspen cearcuts down in these parts that i always love to put down down my best highmark...