Last winter I dropped a bunch of trees on the hillside above my house, and have been bringing them down slowly for most of the last year. Right at the peak of my hillside I cut some medium cedars and one medium sized Doug Fir. The cedars can stay there for a bit, I plan to use them on some pole structures, but, being Cedar, they can wait and not deteriorate too quickly. The Fir I really wanted to get in before winter, it's a fair bit of wood and the lower trunk was pretty free of branches, which makes this one easier to split than the typical young trees I'm downing for firewood. They were all piled together on a pretty steep slope, and bucking in place would have the rounds going right into the house, from way up. I had to get them down the side of the hill. So, I started limbing them yesterday, which was tough. Some sections were 12' off the ground over a steep hillside. I had to straddle the trunks and work my way down, but I got the fir limbed, and some of the cedar. I was able to get my truck off the side hill and get a 100' chain on the trunk. Took a few pulls, and one bad jerk that I am embarrassed about, but I was working alone and couldn't see the chain on that one. Anyway, it's down, bucked, and in the truck ready to offload into my splitting area. I'm tired today! Here's some pics, I've got a video of the pull going up on Youtube, but it's not cooperating right now, so video to come... The carnage from up top... The old girl on top of the hill, getting ready to work... Hooked up.... Success! Ready to buck.... Loaded.... Me likey.... Ready to offload, some of my cedar poles getting ready for the draw knife, stacks, and my helpers waiting in the yard.... Dinner...
Cool NW! Nice work. Looks like tiring work. Keep it up. What structure are you going to build in the future?
Thanks guys! Gas, I will use the poles for more day shelters for my sheep and cows, a covered outdoor cooking area, and probably some permanent covers for my stacks around the fence line eventually. Maybe a small structure up on top of the hill, like a gazebo around a fire pit, or something.
