What crazy stuff have you done?

[Humptulips]

After reading a few recent threads I was thinking about some of the crazy stuff I've done over the years and was wondering what kind of good stories others have to share. Doesn't have to be a story full of danger. I just like to hear a good yarn.
Maybe I'll start off with a little story that I remembered from AK after reading another thread.
I was hooking on a 009 madill with a 90 foot tower. The mainline fairlead started smoking one day so I went up on the pass line to grease it. The owner was pretty worried we might have damaged the bearings so he asked me if I could somehow check the bearings so if he needed parts he could order them. It takes along time to get parts in AK sometimes. Of course I couldn't tell anything without pressure on it so I had the crew run the lines around and while standing on the top of the tower I had them yard a couple turns of logs. Of course I had my climbing belt and rope on and tied in but it still was a pretty good ride. It don't look it from the ground but the top of them towers flop around a quite a bit when you're yarding logs.
Would have made a good video.
Let's hear your best story!

 

[slowp]

Wow! That was scary. I tried to never even look up at the top of the tower when standing on the landing as it was too scary.

 

[tramp bushler]

Crazy things

............ Ya ;; That is plenty scary enough ....

. Cuttin timber on Dall Is. in the wind gave me my most recent scary times ...

 

[slowp]

I once gulped down 3 Canadian beers on my birthday along with lunch then skied the diamond mogul run that I always had trouble with, fast enough to have to wait and wait for the others and they were all way better skiers than me. I just thought I skied it normal but they mentioned "Olympic Team".

Hmm, that's all I can think of, stupid er I mean crazy skiing stuff like racing down the hill, catching an edge and cartwheeling. I got bonked in the head by my ski because I had the tie on things back then. Going off "da chump" and not realizing that the landing area was perfectly flat and I thought I'd totally blown out the arches of my feet, taking a class of brats down the tough run and picking up the pieces behind, etc. The death cookies at Shasta are not soft, they only look that way.

 

[Marc]

I once gulped down 3 Canadian beers on my birthday along with lunch then skied the diamond mogul run that I always had trouble with, fast enough to have to wait and wait for the others and they were all way better skiers than me. I just thought I skied it normal but they mentioned "Olympic Team".

Hmm, that's all I can think of, stupid er I mean crazy skiing stuff like racing down the hill, catching an edge and cartwheeling. I got bonked in the head by my ski because I had the tie on things back then. Going off "da chump" and not realizing that the landing area was perfectly flat and I thought I'd totally blown out the arches of my feet, taking a class of brats down the tough run and picking up the pieces behind, etc. The death cookies at Shasta are not soft, they only look that way.

I was caught in a small slide once in the backcountry in Canada. Not big enough to bury me, but enough to carry me with it for 30-40 feet and get my pulse pounding pretty good. Good thing my party was practicing recommended safe travel techniques.

A slight buzz def. helps me in the bumps too though. Also lifts my pool game a notch or two incidentally.

 

[mile9socounty]

Well, crazies thing I think I can remember was this last fall. We were working down of Barton Road close to Glendale, Or. Thinning a unit for the BLM. Most of what we were cutting was viney stuff, Hazel nut, Maple, Ash. Anyways, getting to the point. One of our lead Forest Officers basically told us to do whatever it takes to get the stuff on the ground. So good old me, well I start bucking ash in half above my head. Well, I can say a 12in30 some odd feet chuck of ash straight to the chest doesn't feel too pretty. I dropped my saw, cigarette flew out of my mouth and I laid on the ground. Got a nice scar from it.

That and going up the hill or down into the unit without TP. That's scary, short sleeving it.

 

[Humptulips]

Well, crazies thing I think I can remember was this last fall. We were working down of Barton Road close to Glendale, Or. Thinning a unit for the BLM. Most of what we were cutting was viney stuff, Hazel nut, Maple, Ash. Anyways, getting to the point. One of our lead Forest Officers basically told us to do whatever it takes to get the stuff on the ground. So good old me, well I start bucking ash in half above my head. Well, I can say a 12in30 some odd feet chuck of ash straight to the chest doesn't feel too pretty. I dropped my saw, cigarette flew out of my mouth and I laid on the ground. Got a nice scar from it.

That and going up the hill or down into the unit without TP. That's scary, short sleeving it.

Ha I never use my sleeve. Moss is the loggers friend.

 

[slowp]

Ha I never use my sleeve. Moss is the loggers friend.

Not here. That nice thick moss is full of abrasive volcanic ash. Owie!!

 

[RPM]

"I once gulped down 3 Canadian beers on my birthday"

Yah.....chugging Canadian beer will make people do crazy sh*t

Most stupid thing I probably ever did was ride a cargo hook on a 100' long line under a helicopter cutting cedar shake blocks on Vancouver Island. It was fly day and last couple of slings before the end of the day....anyway my last sling came apart 10' in the air and dumped...I was going to hook another and the pilot said enough and to grab on to the hook - basically you can staddle the thing (it has a metal cage around the top of it to protect the mechanical workings of the hook) and sit on it and contrary to WCB and aviation rules. It was a relatively quick ride to the landing - around 1/2 mile down slope and a good 100' above the ground - over an existing cutblock to the landing. Young and dumb (I was 19).

 

[deeker]

I worked in the explosives industry for 15yrs in Utah. One of the products we produced were pentolite primers/boosters. Stable from impact (could smash them with a mallet) and stable from fire, they would burn like a flare though not explode. They required either a blasting cap or an electric cap.

We were burning a building down in the winter in the early 80's next to my production building. And a fireman walked into my building. We were pouring Trojan 16L's. About the size of a Coke can. One table was by the doorway and had been "broken out" pulled of the molding pins.

I picked a primer up and threw it to the fireman. He looked like an NFL receiver with the superbowl on the line. It was completely safe. He finally brought his juggling act under control and safely held the primer. P*#sed his pants.

The plant manager spent about an hour until he was horse yelling at me and my crew. We were all laughing. The fireman had been trained in our own classes about what we worked with, but did not pay attention. We changed how we trained the fireman. But it was very funny.

The downside???? I was the new instructor of those classes.

 

[Humptulips]

Not here. That nice thick moss is full of abrasive volcanic ash. Owie!!

Hey it's better then using a snowball, which I have done. That wakes you up!

 

[Humptulips]

"I once gulped down 3 Canadian beers on my birthday"

Yah.....chugging Canadian beer will make people do crazy sh*t

Most stupid thing I probably ever did was ride a cargo hook on a 100' long line under a helicopter cutting cedar shake blocks on Vancouver Island. It was fly day and last couple of slings before the end of the day....anyway my last sling came apart 10' in the air and dumped...I was going to hook another and the pilot said enough and to grab on to the hook - basically you can staddle the thing (it has a metal cage around the top of it to protect the mechanical workings of the hook) and sit on it and contrary to WCB and aviation rules. It was a relatively quick ride to the landing - around 1/2 mile down slope and a good 100' above the ground - over an existing cutblock to the landing. Young and dumb (I was 19).

Hey, I cut blocks a few times. Rode the hook once but I can't say I would care to repeat it. I didn't feel very safe.
On the other hand I've rode the rigging a number of times. Didn't care for that either but did it again. Usual scenario is hot , tired and a long steep hike out. You're tired body over rules your good senses.
One time the crew and I decided to ride out. We choked a tree length hemlock pole and climbed on. I had the bug and I picked us up just a few feet off the ground and started going ahead easy. Every once and a while I would have to cable up a bit. Everything was fine until we got to a small ridge that we had to gain a lot of height to clear. I started cabling up and the crew started hollering when we got about 30 feet in the air. I had to keep going up untill we were about 50 feet high and we still drug a little over that hump. Must have been to much for one guy as he bailed off whern we were close to the ground going across that ridge.

 

[redprospector]

I'd tell you about some of the crazy stuff I've done, but I'm not sure the statute of limitation is up yet.

Andy

 

[ropensaddle]

I'd tell you about some of the crazy stuff I've done, but I'm not sure the statute of limitation is up yet.

Andy

Yeah that too! Here is one I hate to tell but here goes anyway!
Back in 80 I got introduced to this climbing tree work thing and
the buddy that introduced me let me borrow a pullon to do my
first removal said they would not pay more than a hundred.
I said great I will do it had never climbed with gear and told
him all I need is a little piece of rope. He laughed and said
you don't want a saddle I said nope I can handle it he smiled
and let me have a small rope and the pullon to use. I kept seeing
him drive by and was wandering what is he doing. I decided I
would have to climb it and get a few limbs off so I shinneyed
up to the limbs and once up seen that the limb would have
to be tied or it would hit the roof. I tied a prettsal knot and
a silly butt tie that I can't remember how I did but it held,
just peta to untie. I then knew I had to climb down to cut
some off to untie ended up shinneying that tree five times.
I then tied it too my 67 ford pu made a wild I am sure notch,
if ya would call it that and started cutting it. Tree going over
and the stopped at hinge, I cut more then tried to pull it
with the truck and ended up backing up and jerking 8
times to get it over. The pullon would cut for fifteen minutes
and get hot quit running. The log was around 33" and the
saw 16 and I soon found out why it would not fall without
jerking earlier! I also figured out I was not going to be able to
finish with this saw. I decided to wait and when the lady left
I hooked a log chain to the part I could not cut and drug it
four to five blocks down streets to my home! My buddy in
this process had came back by and followed my chain marks
and was lhao and said well you got it done huh, I said yeah
and in my teen aged mind thought it was a complement.
I had scratches over half of my body and that friend
said son if you are willing to work that hard would you
be interested in cleaning up my brush and got my start
many years later I think back to when I was the hack

 

[tramp bushler]

Standing ontop a spar tree .

...It was actually a pretty short Spar tree , as it was for a wind generator not a yarder ..About 65 feet tall.

The wind mill had stripped its gears in a 80 knot blow we had in Sitka . and it needed to be taken down to be sent out for repair ...

The reason I had to stand on top the tree was the wind mill had an 18 " long pivot shaft that had to come out of the pedastal base ....Sitting on the tree my arms wern,t long enough so I had to stand up and lift the whole thing up with it on my shoulder ... the top of the tree was about 12 "diameter and I had on my White corks and Buckingham fixed gaff spurs ..I put several feet of slack in my rope. The wind mill weighed about 125 lbs ..
I used the pedastal a little as a balance point of reference and basically did a one leg squat so I could get my other leg in position to sit on the top of the tree and lower it to the ground...The people I did it for videoed the whole thing ...I had the video stored at a friends house and their kids recorded cartoons over it ..................http://arboristsite.com/images/icons/icon8.gif
Angry

Thank God it all worked out ...The funny part is the guy,s wife asked him while I was standing up getting ready to sit down ,, [What happens if he falls ]?? He said SSHHHHHHHHHH ........ You could hear it on the video.....

I,m glad it was a calm day ..
gumboot

 

[Basica Guru]

When I was about 16 and my brother was 12, we were out cutting wood with my Dad. We found a pretty large oak to cut in the middle of a small patch of woods. We had been hearing for years about my mom and her sister "riding" tree's down when grandpa dropped them.

We finally convinced Dad to let us try it. We climbed up about 40 feet and waited while he cut. When he told us to get ready, we hugged the tree as tight as we could. It seemed like it took forever for it to start to lean and slowly move. Once it started to go, it seemed like the ride was over in a second.

We survived the ride down relatively unscathed. We would have gotten to do it again, but my brother spilled the beans to my mother. Just because she did it does not mean it was okay for us to.

 

[Burvol]

I've seen people get killed infront of me on the road, in cars, and on foot...saw a guy drowned once too. That stuff is crazy to me, it makes the pit of your stomach ache.

 

[oldirty]

I've seen people get killed infront of me on the road, in cars, and on foot...saw a guy drowned once too. That stuff is crazy to me, it makes the pit of your stomach ache.

brutal.

 

[mile9socounty]

The few and the brave.

My A driver and myself watched 13 Marines and 1 Naval Corps man burn to death. 4 Javelin rockets went off after a flare was improperly shot off. Worse thing was, we had to tow what was left of the vehicle.

http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/mile9socounty/Random%20Stuff/?action=view&current=100_9985.jpg
http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/mile9socounty/Random%20Stuff/?action=view&current=100_9984.jpg

 

[Humptulips]

Never seen anyone killed and only a few guys not counting myself hurt. What you described to me is less crazy and more just heartwrenching.