Felling Two White Pines
September 8th, 2003

See the pictures          or          Read the Story

         We had decided to build an all-season cabin on the property. The site we selected required the removal of two of our large white pines. These trees were over 100 feet high and probably abour 100 years old. The first was 42 inches in diameter and the second 38 inches. We discovered that we would be able to use the wood from the pines in the construction of the new cabin. On September 8th, 2003, two tree removal crews arrived shortly after 9:00am. By noon both trees had been limbed, felled, trimmed for the sawmill, and the waste hauled off.

         The first tree stood well away from the two existing cabins, and was free of limbs for the first 40 or 50 feet. Above that were healthy branches and a bushy green top. Tait Jones had done tree work for me in the past, but he defered to his cousin and mentor, whom we see in the short sleeved red shirt in the pictures. At first he tried free climbing the tree, thinking that he could attach his safety belt when the trunk got narrow enough. But wisdom prevailed, and he spent a few minutes flinging a weighted line over a branch about sixty feet up the tree, and pulled a heavier manilla safety rope over. His brother (the heavier gentleman in the sleeveless red t-shirt) belayed him, and he quickly clambered up the trunk using lineman's spikes.

         We wanted to get three sawable logs out of this tree, each more than twenty feet long. The game plan was to trim limbs on the way up and cut off the top, then section the rest. White pines are brittle trees, and they tend to splinter upon impact. After topping, a notch and cut were made at about 50 feet, and a 25 foot section dropped head first ten feet from the trunk, then fell away with a resounding thud. The remaining trunk was felled with a spring line to direct its fall onto a (relatively) flat area. It broke on landing, leaving two usable sections.

         The second tree was too close to one of our cabins to drop limbs with impunity, so it was decided to bring it down in just two sections. The top half would not be saved, and the job proceeded quickly. Both sections were down quickly. The rest of the crew had been cleaning up all along, and the entire process was over by lunch. The pictures show as much of the story as I could capture, so look at them now if you have not already.

 
 

created 10/23/03
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