New and experienced climbers over 50 #36

Ran across this today! 

 

tonight's sunset at the lake.

no seeums were brutal.. 

sunday I was bucking up a pretty old tree that is likly past what most folks would bother with for fire wood but its still solid enough to give off some good heat and it will be in the sept, Oct, Nov slot in my wood pile so super dry and quick starting will be good stuff.  The bark was in that falling off stage.

 It was a very cold day and several baby snakes fell out of the bark. at First I was bummed because I thought I had squished one but then I realized that it was just so cold that the snakes were very sluggish but otherwise fine. I made a pile of the bark and put the snakes  under it. Hope they made out ok.  

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

sunday I was bucking up a pretty old tree that is likly past what most folks would bother with for fire wood but its still solid enough to give off some good heat and it will be in the sept, Oct, Nov slot in my wood pile so super dry and quick starting will be good stuff.  The bark was in that falling off stage.

 

Nice! Was just bucking some birch. What’s the choice firewood in your area Nick?

Up here birch is the gold standard. I built some experimental elevated drying bins, no stacking, just throw the wood in. This wood is well-seasoned at this point. Been drying for 3 winters while I was up on the slope burning seal oil. Lol

Birch is so beautiful to cut and hold and burn

Nice wood sheds. My current situation is not ideal. I keep my wood in  my garage but because of space constraints I don't have a space for airflow between the two stacks.

My favorite firewood is Oak split relatively thin and well cured. #2 is a tie between Hard maple, yellow birch and beech. #3 Black Birch/cherry. #4 is ash and soft /Red Maple. #5 is white birch . #6 is cedar and spruce #7 is pine. Don't bother with poplar and Bass wood.   Apple and iron wood are both really good but never available in enough volume to make a difference . apple is hard to stack because it's never straight.  We  are very spoiled  here in the north east. When I lived in Wyoming they burned pine and liked it.   This years wood is mostly hard maple with a little black birch, apple and a few sticks of ash and cedar. 

Last nights sunset must have been influenced by fire smoke from somewhere.

I burn everything from the property but mostly oak since that's the species blocking out our sun. Definitely love the birch bark for kindling. I do put aside the coniferous wood for the garage as an experiment of sorts, so many folks say "only hardwood or you'll have too much creosote ", I can say with certainty BS! Burn it wide open hot, no problem whatsoever.  We have lots of poplar too, I just split a cord of it Sunday, that tree dries quickly. Easy to handle giant logs too 

Fire smoke from western and central Canada--multiple, widespread, and largely uncontrolled fires are currently burning in several provinces and impacting the air quality in many portions of the US and eastern Canada. It is extremely early in the season for fires, let alone such extensive ones---but, yeah, climate change is a hoax, isn't it!!!!

Nice wood drying structure Colden, very creative.

M.M. you obviously had plenty of energy left to 'burn' on Sunday after our gym session on Saturday!!!!

Alan Rubinwrote:

Fire smoke from western and central Canada--multiple, widespread, and largely uncontrolled fires are currently burning in several provinces and impacting the air quality in many portions of the US and eastern Canada. It is extremely early in the season for fires, let alone such extensive ones---but, yeah, climate change is a hoax, isn't it!!!!

Nature is a beast, at least the land will be better off afterwards. I've dropped a few trees here with signs of the big fire of 1947 on MDI, you'll occasionally see some stumps in the park that are well preserved from the char from that fire

You guys make us Wyomingites jealous. Oak, maple, birch! We have lodgepole pine and the occasional doug fir. Aspen too but i have no love for it as firewood. What I would give to have hardwoods aplenty to burn.
I’m a cabinetmaker so occasionally have some scrap chunk of something hard to burn and am always amazed to see glowing coals still in the stove in the morning.

For my sugarmaking i burn anything I've got. But i like to have a mix of hard and softwood. Unlike with a woodburning stove, I am burning as hard and fast as i can. Softwood can be great in the mix. While a nice dry hemlock burns up fast, it gives off a *ton* of heat. And if i have all hardwood, sometimes the coals can start to build up.  Though since installing a blower under the fire that has been less of an issue. 

What do you all run for a chainsaw?  I just bought an Echo CS4910.  Lighter than my 20 year old Homelite (Home Depot) and about a thousand times more powerful. And Echo is supposed to be very reliable. I love it.

GO

It's crazy to have climbers here from across the United States and several other countries, who can all compare firewood.     Pretty wonderful.

I decided to go somewhere else this morning.  I wanted to revisit Rubicon, and also look for a route somewhere in that area called White Mamba. (12b)  I accidentally left my guidebook behind, so I just headed 'west' in hopes of bumping into something.

Not far beyond Rubicon I saw a huge light formation, and thought 'that must be it'.  The closer I got the more I thought... there's NO WAY that can be climbed.  Right up on it, it is outrageous.

I hope Bob can explain himself on this route.     I had to take a seat, and just admire the line... try to figure out how it could ever be climbed. I can see how this one would get into your heart, and you wouldn't be able to let it go.  I wish I could have been there.  

This is why I can't walk with the neighborhood ladies.  I'd go 'off trail' and just keep going.

What is a 12b anyway?  Anything after a 10a is pretty much foreign to me.  Maybe Paula can explain.  As for White Mamba, just load me up on steroids, throw a top rope up there, and "I'm going in!"    To walk that thin dike, with no holds that I can see, on very upright stone, would take nerves of steel and incredible abs.  And everything else.  Just wow. 

Rubicon

GabeOwrote:

What do you all run for a chainsaw?  I just bought an Echo CS4910.  Lighter than my 20 year old Homelite (Home Depot) and about a thousand times more powerful. And Echo is supposed to be very reliable. I love it.

Been since the early 80s (!) but I worked and lived the summer in the woods on a thinning contract a friend underbid.  Four of us.  I think everyone had a different saw and we had three back ups.  10-12 hours a day except Sunday when we worked 6 hours then went to town for groceries and saw service.  We thinned on KIng's Hill in Montana and used Gene's Saw Service in White Sulphur Springs (RIP Gene...he was a good 'un).

Best saw we ran was a Husky.  Hands down.  Next a Stihl.  I had a Dolmar which was a lemon but ran great until it broke (spindle off axis).  Fixed under warranty the first time then again after I sold it.  Ugh.  We had a couple of Echo's, Mcculloch and a Homelite (we called it a "doglight") which we ran if our saws were down.  Which we hated as a couple of the back up saws didn't have much vibration reduction.  The Echo's were ok and I think they've improved over the years.

A couple of arborist friends run Stihls.

Better yet...what do you all run for PPE?  End of the summer of thinning, my chaps had numerous holes through them.  Steel toed boots were cut down to metal in multiple places.  Had hunks of plastic out of my helmet even with a chain brake (rang my bell a few times).  Got a taste for why loggers have a short life span...  There is something about running a saw...good times.

Brian in SLCwrote:

Better yet...what do you all run for PPE?  End of the summer of thinning, my chaps had numerous holes through them.  Steel toed boots were cut down to metal in multiple places.  Had hunks of plastic out of my helmet even with a chain brake (rang my bell a few times).  Got a taste for why loggers have a short life span...  There is something about running a saw...good times.

Some sobering data here for the non-professional saw users among us.

Lori Milaswrote:

What is a 12b anyway?  Anything after a 10a is pretty much foreign to me.  Maybe Paula can explain.  As for White Mamba, just load me up on steroids, throw a top rope up there, and "I'm going in!"    To walk that thin dike, with no holds that I can see, on very upright stone, would take nerves of steel and incredible abs.  And everything else.  Just wow. 

Lori, you do not walk on the dike, rather the dike serves as hand-holds. It has some pretty thin cruxes and gets rather pumpy for a face route.

Yup, took a chunk out of my neck and jaw at 18 with one of those things, otherwise reasonably skilled but no PPE of course. A minute bit of inattention bucking a big red oak that came down in a storm and Bam! I highly recommend you get and use good PPE. I don't use it very much these days , but I I've always liked my Husqvarnas.

Randywrote:

Lori, you do not walk on the dike, rather the dike serves as hand-holds. It has some pretty thin cruxes and gets rather pumpy for a face route.

Thanks, Randy. I thought it might go that way.  Glad I went and had a look... it's an impressive line! 

Oh yeah chainsaws! I’ve got an old Stihl O36 that I love. It’s about 30 years old and runs great with an 18” or 20” bar. I’ve fixed or replaced a few parts but it just cuts. Also have one of the smaller newer Stihls that has a plastic housing and I didn’t care for it until I put an aftermarket souped up carb on it and different drive sproket no and bar with bigger chain. It cuts great with a 14” or 16” bar and is pretty handy if you are up a tree or limbing. Also have Makita cordless saw which is surprisingly good for odd jobs or working on a log house inside, also doing trailwork when I don’t want to pull start a saw every few minutes.

Ppe always chainsaw pants or chaps, boots never sneakers,  plus a helmet with face guard and ear muffs. Always.

Jonsereds 2260 which is a 60cc pro saw with 20" bar. Chaps and helmet.  The chaps really save your pants from getting trashed. Be aware that chaps won't protect from most electric saws because they don't have a clutch.  Before I got my pro saw I ran a civilian 50cc husky for about 15 years and burned it out clearing job sites. My first saw was a Homilite  XL12 .  fairly beastly saw. the old blue and white rigs from the 70s. 

Lori Milaswrote:

Anyone else see the fallen giant?  Looking up his nose?  Lower right in the photo.

GO

Looks like a pig.

Hey Norm, Saw your post regarding chainsaws. We met in the East Fork Valley years ago, and you shared some smoked Elk meat with us. I've done a huge amount of chain saw work, mostly with the biggest Jonsered's, and recently with a Husky 395XP. Years ago, before those chainsaw mills were available, I spent 20 years making mostly Oak beams on my timber lot, in preparation for a timber frame retirement house, here in NH. You cannot see the frame from these photo's but the roof rafters are 22ft. Oak 8x8's, and the front and back top beams are 40ft. 8x8's. After many years under cover, all the beams were planed square and smooth. I finally put it up after I retired, ( just before the real aches and pains set in). With all the additions, and timber frame garage, it is exactly 100 feet long. Those oak "Summer Beams" in the living room, pictured above are 12"x14", and dried over 20 years before I did the finish work on them.